12 - Technical knowledge and ability of staff

Purpose

To examine the collective technical knowledge and ability of the building control unit regarding the Building Act, Building Regulations and the Building Code and to examine staff training provisions.

Background

Building control has progressively become more scientifically complex as new building materials and building systems gain wider use, as safety provisions become more comprehensive and as housing density increases. Construction methods now allow for smaller margins of error and the technical knowledge and expertise of building control staff must increase with that trend.

Findings

The Department found that the Council has taken a proactive approach to staff training and development. The Council has undertaken an assessment of technical staff competence, recorded individual competence in a skills matrix, developed a staff training plan, invested in training programmes and was using the skills matrix to allocate work.

The Department's review of case studies identified areas of on-site non-compliance, which suggests that some staff may be operating outside their scope of competence. The Department found that deficiencies in staff expertise exist in assessing and inspecting fire, mechanical ventilation, signage and accessibility compliance (issues mostly pertaining to commercial buildings).

Recommendations to the Council

Response from the Council

Ensure all building control work is allocated to staff or contractors with the requisite competence to perform the work. Options include: obtaining a peer review of the mechanisms for evaluating staff competence implementing quality assurance mechanisms such as quality audits of building consent processing, inspections and approval work to help assess the accuracy of staff competence assessments.

The Council advises that work instructions have been developed to ensure work is assigned to competent staff to work independently or under supervision. Levels of supervision required have been defined in the work instructions for assessment of a building consent, inspections and issuing a code compliance certificate and include triggers for co/peer review. Internal audits of work instructions or processes monitor the appropriateness of the supervision, and external audits (eg, IANZ assessment for accreditation) also provide feedback. The Council advises that it is planning to use a formal assessment tool being developed by the Wellington Regional Consents Group to assess the competence of building officers.

Conclusion

The Council has progressed the Department's recommendations. Although the Council has invested in staff training and development, the Department's case studies did note technical weaknesses and limitations around commercial building compliance. In particular, the Council needs to further strengthen the collective competencies in, or available to, its building control unit for the complex nature and volume of work it is undertaking - especially for commercial buildings. The Council needs to further invest in and train its staff in this area.