CABE delivering the future of building control

CABE’s Building Inspector Competence Assessment Scheme has been approved as an independent provider scheme by the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). 

The new process from CABE - the Chartered Association of Building Engineers - will enable building inspectors to evidence their skills, knowledge and experience, and gain the necessary certification to allow them to apply to the BSR’s register of building inspectors.

The Building Safety Act 2022 has made it a mandatory requirement for all building control inspectors undertaking restricted activities, or functions, to register with the BSR. 

Building control professionals who do not register with the BSR will not be able to continue to work in building control.

These changes affect more than 4,000 building control inspectors in England who from October 2023 need to evidence their competence before applying to the BSR’s register of building inspectors.

CABE has been working closely with the BSR. 

As one of the first organisation’s to be approved as an independent competence assessor, it will be supporting the regulator and professionals working within building control.

CABE’s new Building Inspector Competence Assessment Scheme will be open to all building control professionals, but applications from existing CABE members will be prioritised until October 1.

After this date all applications will be dealt with on a first come first served basis. 

The scheme follows a competence-based portfolio assessment process which will allow successful applicants to achieve the required certification that can be used to provide evidence of competence to the BSR.

Dr Gavin Dunn, chief executive of CABE, said: “Building control professionals have a vital role in helping to deliver buildings that are safe, sustainable, and accessible to all. 

“CABE is delighted to be able to play its part in supporting professionals to demonstrate their competence and in developing a culture of continuous improvement that will help protect the public interest in the long term.

“We do not underestimate the challenge in getting the building control profession ready by the April 2024 deadline. It is a huge undertaking, and we are in constant talks with relevant organisations to make this transition as smooth as possible.”

CABE has also become the first professional engineering institution to receive a licence from the Engineering Council to offer HRB registration.

The establishment of the Building Safety Act (2022) means professionals working on Higher-Risk Buildings (HRB) with duty-holding responsibilities – clients, principal contractors, principal designers, and those with maintenance responsibilities – now must demonstrate that they are competent to undertake their roles under the act. 

Clients also have the additional responsibility of proving they understand their own obligations and ensuring that the professionals they are hiring are competent. 

This requirement to prove competence shifts the focus to the individual. 

CABE is now able to help professionals to demonstrate their competence to work on buildings in the scope of the act with the introduction of the Engineering Council’s Higher-Risk Buildings (HRB) process. 

CABE, along with other professional engineering institutions (PEIs), has worked with the Engineering Council to develop the UK-SPEC HRB Standard.

The new standard sets out the competences and the commitments that are expected of professionals and indicates the level of work they are competent to undertake. 

CABE is the first PEI to be awarded a license to offer Engineering Council HRB registration. 

The competence-based registration process will be launched in the next couple of months and will support professionals to demonstrate how they meet and understand their responsibilities.