Standards Development

Scope

This British Standard gives recommendations for core criteria and competence thresholds for individuals using or otherwise working with construction products. It also gives recommendations for applying these criteria to sector-specific competence frameworks in a uniform approach.

This British Standard is designed to be applicable to all construction products in the built environment. It is not limited to construction products contributing to structure, fire systems or other performance attributes.

This British Standard is designed to work alongside BS 8670 to provide additional core requirements for the competence of persons using or otherwise working with construction products in the built environment. Where applicable, both should be used together to map against competence frameworks. It is intended that further development will be required from the different industries of the built environment to make the core criteria specific and appropriate to individuals’ functions, accountabilities and responsibilities.

The standard is applicable to competence frameworks for individuals performing functions across the entire built environment with all construction products, including but not limited to those:

• Developing, marketing or selling construction products

• Providing technical support for construction products

• Specifying construction products or designing with construction products

• Procuring construction products

• Handling or installing construction products

• Supervising, managing, inspecting or verifying other functions or projects involving construction products

• Exchanging information about construction products

• Owning, maintaining or decommissioning construction products

It is not limited to those working on HRBs.

This British Standard is intended for use by those with responsibility for the development, maintenance or application of industry-specific or organisation’s competence frameworks for roles, functions, activities or tasks undertaken by individuals where these are critical to and directly influence decisions about construction products in built environment projects. This includes competence frameworks for technical and non-technical roles, and for individuals either working under their own authority or under the supervision of other competent individuals.

The standard might also be relevant to regulated, dutyholding or statutory roles such as (but not limited to):

• Principal Designers;

• Principal Contractors;

• Designers;

• Contractors;

• Building control professionals; and

• Accountable persons for buildings in occupation.

Persons with accountability for building safety, or acting as clients for building work, might also find the recommendations of the standard of use.

This standard is not intended to replace existing professional, technical or vocational training or competence frameworks, which continue to reflect the full range of competences required for particular disciplines, roles, functions, activities or tasks.

This standard does not cover organisational and team competence, third-party assessment schemes or the process of product testing.

Purpose

This British Standard is being proposed following publication of the CSG WG 12 white paper on construction product competence.

The purpose of the standard is to help ensure that individuals using or otherwise working with construction products are competent to do so and can demonstrate their competence to others. The standard is expected to describe five levels of core criteria that should be achieved, demonstrated and maintained by all individuals making choices concerning construction products at all levels in the built environment sector. It is also expected to include a methodology of application to define how those core level criteria can be mapped by industries within the built environment sector consistently to their competence frameworks.

The standard is intended to be used, in conjunction with BS 8670, by all industries in the built environment sector to map against their existing training and qualifications to demonstrate the construction product competence of the individuals in their work force. They may also use it to identify any gaps in their training and qualifications.