Tetra Tech’s Alan Skipper, civil and structural engineer, explains the expanded Principal Designer role under amended building regulations and how duty holders can prepare for new responsibilities in design safety.
In the aftermath of the Grenfell tragedy, the Building Safety Act rightly shifted the spotlight onto higher risk buildings (HRBs), particularly residential structures exceeding 18 meters in height.
Subsequent secondary legislation in England and Wales amended the building regulations, introducing new duty-holders and responsibilities. While these changes specifically target HRBs, the requirements and principles are applicable to all building projects and include the introduction of a new Principal Designer duty-holder. This role, distinct from the Principal Designer under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (CDM), has raised questions within the industry regarding its integration and the necessary competencies.
Building regulation requirements
The amended building regulations emphasise collaboration and coordination among all designers to ensure the overall design complies with relevant regulations. The Principal Designer (PD) will take a central role in facilitating this cooperation.
The PD can be an individual or a corporate appointment, but a named individual must be allocated to the role and a company must have the necessary organisational competence in processes and procedures. The PD is responsible for developing, documenting, and implementing a plan detailing how they will fulfil the role.
Navigating competency challenges
The required level of PD competency will vary depending on the nature, scale, and complexity of the project. The use of the same Principal Designer title under both Building Regulations and CDM Regulations might suggest an intention to unify roles, covering both health and safety (H&S) in construction and operation, and Building Regulations compliance. However, scepticism arises as the roles demand different capabilities. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) contemplates the integration, offering guidance and training for the Principal Designer role under both sets of regulations, but questions persist regarding the feasibility of a single individual having adequate competence for both roles, especially on commercial and complex projects.
Another challenge to address is how individual competence will be assessed. Organisations may offer independent verification or accreditation, and the RIBA has initiated such a scheme. However, accrediting competence universally raises questions, given the variability in project competence requirements.
Competence of the organisation and individual proposed to fulfil the PD role should be assessed on a project-by-project basis, firstly by the employer as part of project team selection, and also by the organisation employing the individual.
To navigate these challenges, our approach focuses on developing robust processes and procedures to ensure organisational competence for the PD role. This involves documenting a competence assessment for the individual proposed for the PD role on each project. Our toolkit, readily available to the PD, serves as a resource to be drawn upon as needed to form part of their plan to fulfil the role.
About the author
Alan Skipper
Alan Skipper is an operational director with responsibility for civil and structural engineering design delivery.
He has an almost 40 year record of multi-disciplinary design delivery in civil engineering and building developments. His experience encompasses complex projects in the industrial, logistics, energy and rail sectors, including the Transport for London Elizabeth Line train maintenance facility at Old Oak Common, and South Clyde Energy Centre in Glasgow.
Alan is a Chartered Engineer with a BSc in Civil Engineering, and full memberships of the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists.