The Building Safety Act 2022 was introduced following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in 2017. It is a significant legislation that applies to the entire built industry, providing stringent measures to make buildings safer. One of the major themes of the Act is around competency. Everyone working on and maintaining buildings must be competent at what they do and be able to provide credible evidence. Proof of training and ongoing training is therefore an important part of this. We look at competence in more detail and what is means for the lift industry.
Understanding competence
When referring to competency, this is described in section 11F of the Act as an individual who has the skills, knowledge and behaviour necessary to carry out a role, and where they are not an individual, has organisational capability to carry out the role. An individual should have the correct ‘behaviour’ and co-operate if they don’t have the skills or experience to complete a job.
As a result of the Act, new regulations have also come into force. The most notable one includes The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) Regulations 2023 with a new Part 2A of the Building Regulations 2010. This covers the general competency requirements for all construction professionals and the duties, competence and behaviour of three key duty holders – the client, principal designer and principal contractor.
To facilitate this, the British Standards Institution (BSI) introduced PAS 8671 – a framework for competence of principal designers and PAS 8672 a framework for competence of principal contractors. Both outline areas of competence and how to maintain them.
How to demonstrate competence
Lift engineers will need to prove their competence when undergoing any lift installation or maintenance work that could impact the safety of a building. Evidence of competency will also need to be documented. The technical expertise required will be dependent on the job; it is therefore important that individuals have recognised qualifications and are compliant with building regulations.
Where high-risk buildings (HRBs) are concerned, documentation needs to be submitted before any building work can commence. This includes a competence declaration, building regulations compliance statement and various plans that will need approval by the Act’s new Building Safety Regulator (BSR). A specific Industry Competence Committee (ICC) has also been set up to advise the BSR to help improve competence in the built environment.
The Building Safety Act 2022 imposes a strong safety culture in the lift and built industry, which can only be a good thing. Lift companies and engineers will need to ensure they have the capabilities and behaviours to carry out work in buildings that will satisfy the key duty holders. This will ensure that lifts are safe and remain safe for those that occupy the buildings.
Do you have the right skills and can you prove your competence? View our Toolbox Talks and IOSH certified courses to ensure you stay up to date with industry topics and can demonstrate the necessary skills to carry out your role.
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