High risk buildings - verification during construction: industry guidance

10. Annex 1 – Simplified Process Map

Step 1 Pre warrant stage.

• Minimum of 12 weeks before first building warrant submission is expected.
• Structured discussion with the building standards verifier.
• Anticipated that not all information can be provided at an early stage depending on progress of procurement and appointments.
• Information captured using Pre-Warrant Compliance and Procedural Form.
• Discuss approaches to compliance with each section of the technical handbooks.
• Submission plan detailing proposed stages, design certification and all CDP use.
• Consultations or reports which are required to inform a building warrant application.
• Details of designers, contractors including who is expected to sign the completion certificate.
• Details of the relevant person in terms of the Building (Scotland) act 2003.
• Contractor(s) inspection and test proposals, use of clerks of work, passivhaus certifiers etc.

Step 2 Building warrant application.

• Checkpoint - have proposals changed such that the pre warrant stage needs revision?
• Procedural information will be requested during warrant assessment, to allow a Compliance Plan (CP) to be issued by the building standards verifier.
• Project timescales will be required - planned start date and completion date.
• Anticipated submission dates of any temporary occupation or use application, completed compliance plan, and completion certificate.
• Further detailed information on measures by the RP, design team and contractor(s) to monitor and assure compliance with the building warrant approval and the building regulations, including the principle that all work must have building warrant approval before commencing on site.
• The CP will be produced by the building standards verifier and building warrant will not be issued until information is provided to their satisfaction.

Step 3 Building warrant granted, and compliance plan issued.

• The CP is issued with the approved building warrant and must be shared with the full design team, contractor(s) and Relevant Person who will be identified on the CP.
• At issue of amendments to the building warrant, including further stages, the building standards verifier may issue a revised CP.
• The Relevant Person should be reminded by the design team and contractor of their statutory duty under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 to submit a completion certificate at completion, which certifies compliance with the approved building warrant and the building regulations.

Step 4 Construction stage.

• As soon as a project commences work on site, the CP becomes a live document, to be updated by the building standards verifier. This includes an assessment of the undertaking of commitments to compliance made by the Relevant Person through their agent as recorded on the CP.
• Only work which has building warrant approval should be undertaken. Carrying out work without approval, including amendments for stages, is an offence under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003.
• The CP, section F, will list the minimum compliance commitments that the Relevant Person must expect his design and delivery teams to fulfil, so that the submission of the Completion Certificate can be made without being considered a reckless act.
• The CP, section H and J, will also include an expression of the verifiers plan to carry out ‘reasonable inquiry’, the required minimum inspection and evidencing they require.
• Section I will be used to record other unplanned or reinspection by the building standards verifier.
• The building standards verifier will expect to be notified of inspection in accordance with the CP. Failure to be notified will likely lead to disruptive inspections before a completion certificate can be considered.
• The RP must ensure that during construction his contractors deliver the compliance evidence to allow them to submit the completion certificate without committing an offence under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003.

Step 5 Completion stage.

• The RP should ensure they are appropriately advised that work is completed and compliant.
• The compliance declaration on the completion certificate submission may be signed by a duly authorised agent, but it is the RP who submits, in accordance with the requirements of the Building (Scotland) Act 2003.
• The completed CP should clearly show responsibilities for, and record the actions taken to evidence, a compliant building, and the verifiers reasonable inquiry plan and actions.
• The verifier will consult the compliance plan and consider if their planned reasonable inquiry has been completed and decided whether to accept or reject the completion certificate submission.
• The completed CP must be included as part of the public record on the Part 2 of the statutory Building Standards Register held by Scottish Local Authorities.