Building Control Policy

As part of our dedication to adopting Best Practice within our industry and in accordance with The Building  Control Performance  Standards Wilkinson  Construction Consultants Ltd have adopted the following policy.

RESOURCES

1. We will appoint a client manager for each of our clients, to ensure a consistent service and single point of contact no matter how many projects you may have with us. Additional resources will be allocated internally within WCCL, whenever workload requires to ensure that we can deliver the promised services within the agreed timescales.
2. The directors review resources monthly and will ensure that additional resources are provided to maintain service standards.
3. All projects will be managed by a project manager who is fully qualified and experienced, and all projects will be reviewed and signed off at completion by a director.
4. We will not take on a project unless we have the resources and ability to service it fully.

CONSULTATION

5. We will give initial notice to the Local Authority under the Building Acts and in the form required in the Building Regulations, and where appropriate Issue plans certificates to the Local Authority.
6. WCCL will undertake all necessary consultation with the relevant fire authority and will issue a certificate of compliance on completion. We shall follow the Fire Safety Procedural guide as the basis for consultation.
7. We will consult with local authorities, sewerage undertakers and the like to ensure the design satisfies their requirements .We will advise as necessary over Local Acts and/or Regulations and other statutory requirements.
8. We will pass the views of all statutory consultee’s onto the client, and project team .

ASSESSMENT OF PLANS

9. The initial submission of plans, specifications etc. will typically be  checked  within 10  working  days (generally our plan check is less than  5 working days) and  a report  returned  indicating any comments, conditions or non-compliances, indicating the drawing No. or Nos. to which we are referring.
10. Any letters and revised plans will be checked when received, and a response sent confirming receipt and any comments within 10 days, to provide an auditable trail.
11. All correspondence will be addressed to the sender and copied to the client and project team.
12. Records will be kept of the design assessment philosophy, and any statutory and/or discretionary consultations, for future reference and continuity of control.

SITE INSPECTION

13. We will provide an inspection plan on outlining the number and frequency of inspections using the guidance in the Green Street Berman report as the basis of determining the inspection plan.
14. We will visit sites on a regular basis at intervals to suit the nature of the works, typically we anticipate the need to attend all live sites at an average of one visit per month.
15. We will inspect during key construction phases  such  as  structural  alterations,  drains,  fire- stopping and  pre-completion, either in response  to  a  request  or  as  part  of our  inspection routine.  The exact number of visits will depend  on the complexity of the scheme, the quality controls evident on site and any problems encountered.
16. We will advise the Contractor /Client forthwith if any work if found not to be in compliance with Building Regulations and where possible provide advice on rectification.
17. Site visit records will entered into the system while on site wherever possible and any non- conformity raised immediately with the site agent with a written copy sent for general distribution.

COMPLETION

18. Upon satisfactory completion of the relevant work we will issue a final certificate to the Local Authority, the Client and the design team. We will provide additional copies of the certificates for insertion into the Health & Safety File for handover to the occupier upon completion of the project upon request.
19. We shall notify all statutory consultee’s of commencement and completion of the project and any significant departures from plans. We will invite  the  Fire Authority to  attend  our  final inspection if they so wish.

ARCHIVING OF RECORDS

20. All relevant project records will be retained by the WCCL for a minimum period of 15 years.
    Once complete  arrangements  shall  be  made  for  their  transfer  into  safe  keeping  via  our Document Storage  supplier.  Documents can be retrieved  from archive  upon  written  request from the original client/copyright holder. We reserve the right to make reasonable charges for the copying and retrieval of any documents once archived.

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

21. We shall ensure that all of our staff are  suitably qualified for the  role that  they  undertake through  an  annual appraisal. We will  keep  annual records  of this appraisal and  commit to provide funding to enable necessary training to be undertaken.

PERFORMANCE REVIEW

23. WCCL will undertake   a  performance  review  at  the  end  of  every  project,  and  survey  our customers  to ensure  that  we have met their needs. WCCL also commit to working with other BCB’s through trade and professional groups to developing best practice.
24. WCCL will collect data and make returns  annually to satisfy the Building Control Performance indicators

MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

24. We have adopted a quality assurance system to enable us to document,  control, and monitor our projects and performance.

BUSINESS ETHICS

25. We will observe  the  normal  professional  standards   and  business  ethics  expected  of  our profession. Please note  that  we are not willing to enter  in reverse auctions or similar bidding mechanisms and will not knowingly attempt to supplant a competitor.
26. Approved Inspectors are not allowed to have a financial or professional interest in the design or construction of the project that they are overseeing. Therefore, we may decline a request to provide additional services advertised on our website if these could lead us into conflict. As part of our Quality system all projects are subject to conflict of interest check before we proceed

CUSTOMER CARE

27. We will offer up to 30 mins free advice
28. We will attend meetings as reasonably requested in connection with the design and construction of the project where these are indicated at the time of our fee bid.
29. At all times from the inception of each project to completion we are available for advice on all aspects of building and fire legislation, by phone, text, e-mail or social media
30. If no correspondence is received during a 3-month period WCCL will contact you to establish the status of the project.
31. WCCL will provide all new clients with a guide to the approved inspector system or for larger clients we can provide a short lunchtime CPD seminar on how the Approved Inspector system works.
32. Clients can also sign up to receive a copy of our newsletter, or follow our blog, which gives new, views and updates on important changes to regulations. Please also feel free to visit our website www.thebuildinginspector.org
33. We recognise that despite our best  efforts  things sometimes go wrong therefore  we  have published our complaints policy on our website.