Building officials

Building officials of developed countries are generally the jurisdictional administrator of building and construction codes, engineering calculation supervision, permits, facilities management, and accepted construction procedures.

Qualifications

In some jurisdictions building officials act as project engineer or project manager for the chief building official who is the jurisdiction's formally recognized building official. Usual quailfiications are a Bachelor's degree in Administration, Engineering, or Architecture, an extensive building construction background, and in some instances are licensed as a Professional Engineer or Architect. Building officials can be certified.

New Zealand

The government of New Zealand has set up a mediation service^[1] to resolve cases of houses that failed watertightness.

In the United States, there were three major nonprofit organizations developing building codes for the governing of building constructions, but they have since been merged into one in 1994, the International Code Council (ICC). ICC publishes the International Building Codes, used by most of the jurisdictions within the United States. The former organizations included Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc. (BOCA), International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO), and Southern Building Code Congress International, Inc. (SBCCI).

There are several other major code publishers in the United States. The Uniform Plumbing Code and the Uniform Mechanical Code are both written by an organization that was established by code officials.

On May 17, 1926, International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials began with a mandate “to advance the latest and most improved methods of sanitation; to promote the welfare of and harmony between the owner, the builder, and the craftsman; to accomplish a uniformity in the application of the provisions of the ordinances; and to promulgate the mutual benefit of the members".

Reference^[2]

England & Wales

In England and Wales building control bodies (BCB) may be of two primary forms, either established under Local Authority control or private bodies (Approved Inspectors). Applicants wishing to carry out work controlled under the Building Act have the choice to select either the local Building Control or an Approved Inspector. However, where local legislation is prevalent the Approved Inspector will be charged with liaising with the relevant local authority body for the necessary approvals.

The Secretary of State issues guidance in support of the Building Regulations in the form of Approved Documents which are not mandatory. The Building Regulations are functional and therefore designers are free to offer alternative solutions to satisfying the functional requirements. The burden of proof is then placed on the designers to demonstrate that the alternative solution proposed offers a level of performance which satisfies the intent of the functional requirement. There is nothing in the Regulations which imposes a duty on the applicant under those circumstances to use the guidance as a benchmark of performance, although this is of course a route often taken as a way of demonstrating that an alternative approach is of an acceptable standard.

Appeals against decisions made by BCBs are to the Secretary of State who will make a determination after considering all of the facts of a particular case.

Notes

↑ Weathertight Homes Resolution Service

External links