BUSINESS AND TRAINING 11

We all strive to complete projects within time , on budget and to the specified quality .

‘ All ’ includes the end-user and / or the developer of a project , the professional consultants involved , and the contractor and subcontractors who must ‘ make it work ’ – not to mention those who have to enforce statutory compliances .

What is compliance ? In the building and construction industry , as in other industries , rules and regulations have been developed and revised over time – initially to promote the safety of the service providers and users and latterly to promote good industry practices , referred to as ‘ standard ’ for a particular product or event to comply with universally applicable measurement and enforcement criteria .

Users , designers and contractors must all be familiar with regulations and codes of practice applicable in their respective fields of expertise . Designers may rely on authorities to check their work , contractors may assume that a design complies with standards or regulations and the user , who probably has the least technical expertise , may assume the final product is fit for purpose and should operate reliably for a reasonable period … But what if this is not the case ?

Many regulations have been drafted to place the onus on the owner of a project . For example , the Occupational Health and Safety Act ( Act 85 of 1993 as amended ) states the owner is the ‘ responsible person ’ to ensure regulations are adhered to – and accept responsibility should an accident or fatalities occur . While the owner may delegate to others who are competent to exercise this authority , he / she retains ultimate responsibility .

Standards or Regulations – including submission of plans to the local authority ( LA ) for approval , acceptance by the LA , commissioning of services or facilities until the issue of an occupation certificate ( OC ) in the case of a building . The OC cannot be issued until Certificates of Compliance for the constituent components ( electrical , plumbing , timber roof trusses , safety glazing etc ) have been accepted . The user cannot occupy a facility until an OC has been issued – occupation without it is illegal !

Authority to issue a certificate A certificate in the building and construction industry is a legal document recording compliance with specified criteria issued by an authorised person or a statutory body . For example , an electrical compliance certificate issued by a registered electrical contractor authorised by virtue of industry recognised qualifications and experience . Such a document is unique – in principle only a single original can be issued with copies so marked and it cannot be changed or revised . If changes are required , then an issued certificate must be cancelled and be replaced with a new correct certificate . Various propriety systems have been developed to authenticate a signature on electronically generated certificates – an essential tool to protect legally binding documents .

A certificate has no value if it is issued by a person without delegated authority or recognised qualifications .

Some certificates may expire after a stipulated period or if the circumstances under which they were issued have changed – for example , building alterations to suit a new tenant .

Architect and Construction Project Manager , a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors ( RICS ) and is a visiting lecturer at the School of Construction Economics and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand . Having recently retired as the Chief Executive Officer of the Joint Building Contracts Committee ( JBCC ) he specialises in the avoidance of construction disputes by way of lectures , technical articles dealing with aspects of contract administration for various industry publications arising from the use of Standard-form Contracts including the Federation Internationale des Ingenieurs-Conseils ( FIDIC ), the General Conditions of Contract ( GCC ), the JBCC or the New Engineering Contract ( NEC ) to find an acceptable settlement without resorting to legal processes , where possible . info @ buildstrat . co . za

No one in the chain of activities from conceiving a project , to finding the optimum design solution , to providing the facility or a product , to using the final article can escape responsibility for his / her actions .

What is a certificate ? The completion of the various project phases requires certification in a prescribed format that information provided is correct and / or performance is following

Consequences of compliance or non-compliance Should an event occur due to a malfunction or failure of the facility or damage to parts of or destruction of the whole facility , a consequent inspection and analysis of events and all certificates will have to be undertaken to establish the root cause thereof and to question the authority of all decision makers in the project chain and the adherence to standards and regulations from a design and a construction perspective .

“… the issue of an occupation certificate ( OC ) in the case of a building .”

May 2023 Volume 29 I Number 3 www . plumbingafrica . co . za