Why UK-SPEC HRB is the gold standard for evidence

CABE CEO Richard Harral states the importance of evidencing competence to work on HRBs and why the Engineering Council’s UK-SPEC HRB is the gold standard.

Building safety is now a priority, never more so than in relation to higher-risk buildings (HRBs). The need to prioritise the safety of residents and building users places a clear ethical responsibility on individuals to ensure they are working within the limits of their own competence. Yet this still leaves the question open as to how they evidence that competence.

To date, most professionals working on HRBs may not have been challenged on their competence to undertake HRB work at the HRB Gateway stages. Well-understood problems with progressing HRB applications through the compliance regime have somewhat obscured the importance of managing competence in HRB supply chains, but the latent risks are still there.

Once building work is complete – whether a new build, or remediation or maintenance work including minor works – it becomes an area of potential liability for the remaining lifetime of the building.

The dutyholding regime in England and Wales sets out clear requirements for demonstrating and managing competence. And being able to prove that has been undertaken effectively could be material in both prosecutions or civil claims arising through breach of contract and in relation to the Defective Premises Act.

The Building Safety Act has created the perfect environment for litigation and it is arguable that the industry has become over-exposed. Once a claim is made, legal teams will start to lift the lid across the full range of possible lines of action – that includes whether project teams have robust evidence of competence. If you are required by contract or appointment to comply with the building regulations, then you have a legal obligation to prove you were competent to be undertaking that work – and that applies to each member of the team and the supply chain (if you were responsible for their appointment).

Particularly in relation to HRBs, this poses real problems for consultants and clients alike. Assessing complex and varying combinations of individual qualifications and experience is time-consuming and reliant upon a range of assumptions that fall short of a genuine assessment of competence. While basic due diligence remains important, how do you know that the experience someone claims to have is accurate? How do you map generic qualifications against the type of work being undertaken? It is simply not realistic to expect individual competence to be evaluated in depth at the point of appointment or contract.

UK-SPEC HRB

This is where the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence and Commitment Contextualised for Higher-Risk Buildings (UK-SPEC HRB) comes in. In essence, this provides a bespoke competence framework targeted at those working on HRBs. Assessments are delivered by a number of professional engineering institutes – including CABE – and to the same standard as required for registration of Chartered and Incorporated Engineers (CEng and IEng) and Engineering Technicians (EngTech).

What makes UK-SPEC HRB unique is the multi-level and multidisciplinary nature of the assessments that can be undertaken. The framework has three levels of competence that can be assessed: CEng, IEng and EngTech. This enables the full range of participants within project teams to be assessed, including technicians, designers and Principal Designers. While the main framework is designed to assess generalist professionals, including building engineers, there are specialised annexes relating to building services, façade engineers, fire engineering and structural engineering.

This means it can act as a common denominator of competence across a wide range of general and specialist disciplines. In effect, it provides a robust framework to qualify teams within individual disciplines, but also across entire projects.

Safer buildings

The UK-SPEC HRB standard is not a simple ‘bolt-on’ certificate. Successfully passing assessment gives entry onto a publicly accessible HRB register held by the Engineering Council, and eligibility to join the main Engineering Council register at CEng, IEng or EngTech level. This is a fully recognised competence-based assessment that vigorously measures the full range of capability needed to deliver effective professional services on HRBs.

This standard can play an important role in delivering safer buildings for residents. It provides clear examples of knowledge, understanding and demonstrable skills required to deliver safe and sustainable outcomes, in effect providing a map for training and professional development.

It also provides multiple levels of third-party assurance. For employers, using CABE as an assessment provider provides confidence that the results are independent. CABE itself is subject to audit of its HRB registration assessments as part of its Engineering Council licence.

I am convinced that the time to act is now. For individual members, UK-SPEC HRB provides a unique differentiator that will enhance career progression, as well as the comfort of having clear evidence of competence to work on HRBs.

For employers, the ability to qualify teams through such a robust process not only provides assurance but should also make them more insurable, now and in the future.

What is clear is that potential liability is already accruing and evidence of competence will help manage exposure. More importantly, qualifying to the UK-SPEC HRB standard will provide a clear and easily defined marker to help build trust with the regulator, clients and residents in the longer term. It will ultimately help to deliver safer buildings.

Find out more from CABE and the Engineering Council.

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