Building Safety Manager

In April 2022, the government announced a series of amendments to the Building Safety Bill, this included scrapping the role of Building Safety Manager. This they suggest will give the Accountable Person greater freedom to implement safety procedures that suit the circumstances of their building, and will also remove the associated cost of appointing a Building Safety Manager.

The Building Safety Manager had previously been described as: ‘Named by the Accountable Person, the Building Safety Manager will support the Accountable Person by carrying out the day to day functions of ensuring that the building is safely managed and promote the openness, trust and collaboration with residents fundamental to keeping buildings safe.' Where the accountable person is: ‘The duty-holder during a building’s occupation.’ Ref A reformed building safety regulatory system, Government response to the ‘Building a Safer Future’ consultation, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, April 2020.

Setting the bar. A new competence regime for building a safer future. The Final Report of the Competence Steering Group for Building a Safer Future, published in October 2020, had suggests that: ‘The Building Safety Manager can be an individual or Manager (BSM) organisation whose principal role is to support the Accountable Person in the day-to-day management of fire and structural safety in the building.’

In July 2021, the Building Safety Alliance, an industry-led, not for profit organisation launched a central register and a certification scheme for building safety managers. Some landlords had already appointed building safety managers in anticipation of the expected change to the law.

The government-funded Built Environment Competence programme developed a set of British Standards via three steering groups, made up of built environment professionals. These standards included PAS 8673 Competence requirements for the management of safety in residential buildings which covers some of the areas of competence required in managing a building safely (previously, sometimes referred to as a building safety manager or simply and more generally building safety management).

PAS 8673:2022. Built environment – Competence requirements for the management of safety in residential buildings, specifies competence requirements for managing safety in residential buildings and other developments incorporating residential accommodation. It gives guidance on detailed competences and the assessment of competence. It covers competence and commitment in regard to building structures and building systems, including building services; interaction of systems and components; operational practices necessary to maintain buildings safe for occupants; risk management; managing the golden thread of information, including other digital information; managing change, including the consequences of human behaviour; leadership, communication and planning skills; and personal commitment to ethical behaviour and professional standards.

It provides a benchmark for assessing competence in building safety management and is directed towards individuals and organisations responsible for management of residential building safety. As the programme looking a competence standards was government funded PAS 8673:2022 is freely available for download.

The related standards available under the Built Environment Competence programme include;

• BSI Flex 8670 v3.0:2021-04. Built environment. Core criteria for building safety in competence frameworks. Code of practice, was published on Apr 30 2021, and is currently under review.
• PAS 8671:2022, full title: Built environment. Framework for competence of individual Principal Designers. Specification. It specifies competence thresholds that individuals are expected to meet when delivering or managing the duty holder functions of the principal designer, and additional competencies for working on higher-risk buildings (HRBs). Areas of competence include appropriate behaviour; legislative and regulatory framework for compliance; management o design work compliance; and technical framework for compliance.
• PAS 8672:2022. Built environment. Framework for competence of individual Principal Contractors. This standard specifies competence requirements for the duty holder role of principal contractor. It also describes specific competences common to all principal contractors and those which are additional for those undertaking the role on higher-risk buildings (HRBs). It covers roles and responsibilities; skills, knowledge and experience; behaviours and ethics; additional competences for higher-risk buildings; and limits of competence.

The British Standards Institution (BSI) is the UK National Standards Body (NSB). It publishes standards and provides a range of books, self-assessment tools, conferences and training services. It also represents UK economic and social interests in European and international standards organisations.

British Standard (BS) publications are technical specifications or practices that can be used as guidance for the production of a product, carrying out a process or providing a service.

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• Building Safety Bill.
• Building Safety Regulator.
• Diploma in Building Safety Management.
• Duty holder.
• Government response to the Building a Safer Future consultation.
• Grenfell articles.
• Grenfell Tower Fire.
• Hackitt review of the building regulations and fire safety, final report.
• Setting the Bar Final Report.