BBA, CIBSE, Future Homes Hub, Passivhaus Institute, NHBC, MCS, CITB etc etc etc

[Alan Ambrose]

As I've been attempting to nail down details of my build and I'm coming across an increasing number of 'Government', 'Industry' and for want of a better word/acronym 'NGO' organisations. Some of them make 'the rules' and/or are big influencers on people who have power (e.g. building control).

 

As I've been looking at, say, Part O, I've been wondering 'where do these rules come from', 'who's making them', 'who's running these organisations', 'who owns them', 'what authority do they have', 'which get government funding', 'which are really for-profit masquerading as something else', 'which are really scams' etc etc etc.

 

Maybe everyone else just accepts 'the rules' and gets on with it ?

 

Does anyone have a sense of the landscape and/or answers to any of the questions?

 

 

[Mike]

4 hours ago, Alan Ambrose said:

Maybe everyone else just accepts 'the rules' and gets on with it ?

No, generally you adopt those that are necessary or beneficial depending on a variety of factors. In particular worth knowing about these:

• BBA certificates - optional, but the definitive guide to when and how a particular material or system should be used for it to perform as intended, and a step up from 'manufacturer's recommendations' as they're independently evaluated. If there's a problem later, deviations could provide grounds for legal action - for example by you against the installer, particularly if you had incorporated certificate compliance into your contracts. Originally set up by the Government, now non-profit but with Government links.
• NHBC - optional - provide an alternative to the Building Regs Approved Documents based on their experience, plus their consumer warranty. Their standards are a useful resource and normally easy to follow. Originally set up by the housebuilding industry and encouraged by Government, now independent of both.
• Passivhaus Institute - the optional gold standard for designing and producing a low energy building. Until they came along, deigning such buildings was pretty unscientific and the results variable. An independent institute founded after scientific research and experimentation that originated at Lund University.

• MCS - Required if you want the associated financial benefits. Government sponsored.

 

Edited November 20, 2023 by Mike

[kandgmitchell]

Well there used to be a group called BRAC - the Building Regulations Advisory Committee. They advised the Secretary of State on building regulation matters and were drawn from various sources in the building industry. The last group had a fire officer, a chief BCO, a couple of top bods from the NHBC, a guy from Barretts, a disability consultant, someone from BSI - a total of some 14. Not sure where the original input for the "need" of a new regulation like Part O came from in the first place though. All swept away by the new Building Safety Act. A similar type of group now is set up within the HSE reporting to the Building Safety Regulator.

 

No doubt they are thinking of new bits of paper we shall all need even as I write this..........

[Alan Ambrose]

>>> Not sure where the original input for the "need" of a new regulation like Part O came from in the first place though.

 

Yes, it would be interesting to know. To pick an example, here's the spiel from Future Homes Hub:

 

In September 2020, the Future Homes Task Force was set up to develop a long-term delivery plan for the sector in line with the Government’s legally binding net zero and wider environmental targets. The Delivery Plan is divided into four areas with a goal and roadmap for each area. The Delivery plan also set out the specification for the Hub.

 

The Future Homes Hub has now been set up as a non-profit making company limited by guarantee. We are an independent organisation bringing together the homebuilding sector with the wider circle of supply chain, infrastructure, finance and government organisations that need to collaborate. Over 40 of the largest homebuilders committed and many other related organisations committed to working together through the Hub to achieve the goals on publication of the plan.

 

Here are the steering group members - now how did these guys get selected?

 

Adam Graveley, Element Four
Professor Kevin Lomas, Building Energy
Research Group, Loughborough University
Simon McClelland, Story Homes
Danielle Michalska, Barratt Developments
Clare Murray, Levitt Bernstein
Neil Murphy, TOWN
Anastasia Mylona, CIBSE
Oliver Novakovic, Barratt Developments
Richard Partington, Studio Partington
Martina Pacifici, AHMM
Dale Saunders, Taylor Wimpey
Michael Swainson, BRE
Victoria Tink, DLUHC