Findings of the review

Criterion 6 - Procedures for accepting producer statements

Purpose

To establish whether producer statements accepted by the Council are adequate to achieve compliance, and whether the Council producer statement acceptance regime is credible, non-contestable, and clearly understood and consistently practised by staff.

Background

Producer statements are written statements, supplied by qualified people on behalf of the applicant for a building consent, that certify the design of the building component or the construction of that component meets the performance requirements of the Building Code. The producer statement system allows territorial authorities or building consent authorities to recognise the assurance of qualified and experienced people that the work will be technically acceptable (eg, statements from structural engineers).

Initial review

The initial review identified that the Council had no formal policy or procedures for dealing with producer statements, no register/list of assessed and approved authors or providers, and no internal audit process for checking the validity of a producer statement or the credibility of the author. The Department found that producer statements were being readily accepted from recognised design professionals, but were rarely accompanied by design calculations, which are necessary to check design decisions and part of the required consent documentation. The Department also identified that producer statement providers rarely nominated compliance with Building Code Clause B2 Durability, and there was no evidence that the Council was assessing durability in some other way.

Recommendations to the Council	Action taken by the Council before the follow-up review
Develop formal policy and procedures for accepting producer statements, with particular attention given to: the acceptance criteria for authors (eg, qualifications, competence, insurance, professional affiliations, quality assurance procedures, work history) the form, and the information to be provided on the form the limitations and scope of acceptance of authors the charges for accepting a statement (which should include cost-recovery for undertaking regular audits) audit procedures.	The Council had not implemented this recommendation.
Ensure that, where appropriate, producer statements detail compliance with Building Code durability provisions, or make means to assess this aspect in some other way.	The Council had not implemented this recommendation.
Ensure design calculations are always supplied with producer statements, as these form part of the required consent documentation for the public record.	The Council advised it has begun to require design calculations to be provided.

Recommendations to the Council

Action taken by the Council before the follow-up review

Develop formal policy and procedures for accepting producer statements, with particular attention given to:

the acceptance criteria for authors (eg, qualifications, competence, insurance, professional affiliations, quality assurance procedures, work history)
the form, and the information to be provided on the form
the limitations and scope of acceptance of authors
the charges for accepting a statement (which should include cost-recovery for undertaking regular audits)
audit procedures.

The Council had not implemented this recommendation.

Ensure that, where appropriate, producer statements detail compliance with Building Code durability provisions, or make means to assess this aspect in some other way.

The Council had not implemented this recommendation.

Ensure design calculations are always supplied with producer statements, as these form part of the required consent documentation for the public record.

The Council advised it has begun to require design calculations to be provided.

Follow-up review

In February 2006, the Council had no formal policy for accepting producer statements. The Council advised that it was waiting for the release of the Department of Building and Housing's 'means of compliance' guidance document to ensure its procedures align with this guidance material. The Department notes that this issue is also covered in the Building Consent Authority Development Guide, released in February 2006, and suggests that the Council refer to this document when developing a formal policy for accepting producer statements.

The Department found that the Council did not have in-house technical capability to assess certain aspects of specific design (such as structural design calculations or specific design durability requirements) and placed heavy reliance on producer statements as a mechanism for confirming compliance with the Building Code.

The Department made a set of further recommendations during its follow-up review.

Recommendations to the Council	Response from the Council
Develop a rigorous policy for accepting and checking producer statements to ensure it covers the following issues. When it will require a producer statement Its acceptance criteria for producer statement authors The required form and content for producer statements Whether it should impose a charge for the acceptance of a producer statement to cover the cost of undertaking regular audits Internal audit procedures.	In September 2006 the Council advised that such a policy is to be developed by the Mainland Building Consent Authority Group. The Council has developed the following acceptance criteria for producer statements. For engineers must be from those with chartered professional engineer status For plumbing and drainage (water pressure tests) only from registered plumbers/drainlayers (registration details are checked online) Other advisers must be BRANZ-accredited Charging for acceptance of producer statements is covered by the new deposit and the actual time/cost format of charging for building consent processing and inspections. Internal audits will be undertaken when resourcing permits.
Obtain training for staff in the assessment and adequacy of producer statements.	The Council advised that it is unaware of training courses on the assessment of producer statements, other than as part of qualifications such as the WelTech diploma.
Where the Council does not have the technical capability and the producer statement does not detail compliance with Building Code durability provisions, ensure the Council engages a suitably qualified individual to assess this aspect of the specific design.	The Council advises it is implementing this recommendation. It advertised for Expressions of Interest in late 2005 and has a number of consultancies under contract to provide expert services. Further contractors will be added to the list of preferred contractors as necessary. It is also developing a Consent Risk Matrix.

Recommendations to the Council

Response from the Council

Develop a rigorous policy for accepting and checking producer statements to ensure it covers the following issues.

When it will require a producer statement
Its acceptance criteria for producer statement authors
The required form and content for producer statements
Whether it should impose a charge for the acceptance of a producer statement to cover the cost of undertaking regular audits
Internal audit procedures.

In September 2006 the Council advised that such a policy is to be developed by the Mainland Building Consent Authority Group.

The Council has developed the following acceptance criteria for producer statements.

For engineers must be from those with chartered professional engineer status
For plumbing and drainage (water pressure tests) only from registered plumbers/drainlayers (registration details are checked online)
Other advisers must be BRANZ-accredited

Charging for acceptance of producer statements is covered by the new deposit and the actual time/cost format of charging for building consent processing and inspections.

Internal audits will be undertaken when resourcing permits.

Obtain training for staff in the assessment and adequacy of producer statements.

The Council advised that it is unaware of training courses on the assessment of producer statements, other than as part of qualifications such as the WelTech diploma.

Where the Council does not have the technical capability and the producer statement does not detail compliance with Building Code durability provisions, ensure the Council engages a suitably qualified individual to assess this aspect of the specific design.

The Council advises it is implementing this recommendation. It advertised for Expressions of Interest in late 2005 and has a number of consultancies under contract to provide expert services. Further contractors will be added to the list of preferred contractors as necessary.

It is also developing a Consent Risk Matrix.

Conclusion

The Council has not implemented the Department's recommendation to develop and implement sound, formal policies and procedures to underpin its assessment of and decision-making on producer statements it receives and accepts. While the Department supports the initiative of the Mainland Building Consent Authority Group developing a policy and procedures, it is concerned to note that its recommendation, first made in 2003, has not yet been implemented.

The Department notes there are options for staff training in assessing producer statements. The Council could engage a consultant in building control (several practise in the market) or another building consent authority with experience in producer statements to train staff in this area.

The Department reiterates its position outlined above (see our conclusion on criterion 6) that it considers regular internal audits of decision-making are an important, and not overly resource-intensive, quality-assurance mechanism, which are used successfully by many organisations, including regulatory agencies.

The Department supports the Council's endeavours to seek external expertise to help it with its regulatory activity under this criterion.