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Professional competency

Construction and civil engineering professionals are recognizing a growing need for increased professional development within the industry. Construction standards can provide effective and efficient frameworks to improve professional competency within construction organizations.

Raising the bar on professional competency

Explore how standards can help you effectively improve professional competency in your construction organization

Raising standards of professional competence in construction
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Raising standards of professional competence in construction

A major lesson from the Grenfell tragedy, highlighted by Dame Judith Hackitt in her independent review, Building a Safer Future (2018), was that the competence requirements of those responsible for the safety of higher risk buildings must be agreed upon across the built environment and enforced in regulation. A strong consensus has emerged that the quality of work and culture must be improved. Raising competence standards is a key component of this transformation. The Launch of the Built Environment Competence Standards work programme In response, BSI, working with the MHCLG (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government), initiated a Built Environment Competence Standards (BECS) programme to help with the delivery of the regulatory policy that will be set out in the forthcoming Building Safety Act. To learn more about this programme, download our brochure here. The new national competence standards framework is designed to support the delivery of regulatory policy and the regulated roles responsible for building safety (the top-down approach), while also providing the interface to the ongoing large-scale sector-led programme of work to ‘raise the bar’ in terms of competence of the workforce generally (the bottom-up approach). The plan is to produce four standards in total: one on competence criteria for building safety, and three on specific roles that will be invoked in the legislation. Our programme of new standards is also designed to enable a large-scale sector-led initiative to raise standards of competency across the built environment. There are many benefits to developing these standards: Crucially, they will help to improve building safety. In this case, that means primarily the safety of residents, but also of the workforce, including emergency responders The standards will make it easier for different parts of the built environment to work together by establishing agreed core principles, terminology, and requirements on competence. This will provide a shared understanding of roles along the supply chain The impact goes further: the standards will provide a bridge to wider competence requirements being developed for the professional, technical and artisanal skills of those working in the built environment, raising the quality of work, the behaviour and the culture of individuals Across the built environment, from housing, industrial, commercial, hospitals and schools, to civil engineering, infrastructure and urban spaces, our standards are designed to help you establish good practice, build resilience, and embed competence. With a BSI Knowledge subscription, professional competence is at your fingertips with instant access to over 9,000 best practice documents related to the construction industry. Request to learn more. Core Criteria for Building Safety Competence What does BSI Flex 8670 v3.0 do? Well, it sets the core criteria for building safety competence - including fire safety, structural safety and public health - for all individuals working in the built environment. Its purpose is to improve safety outcomes throughout the building life cycle. In addition, this standard will support the progressive development of a more consistent approach to the use of competence frameworks across the built environment. The final iteration of BSI Flex 8670 has been published. Users of this standard are strongly encouraged to adopt it. This includes anyone responsible for the development, maintenance or application of sector-specific competence frameworks for roles, functions, activities or tasks that are critical to and directly influence safety in and around buildings. Later in the year, BSI will review feedback on its use. This will be used to inform the evolution of BSI Flex 8670 v3.0 into a full British Standard, BS 8670, set for publication in 2022. The Benefits of BSI Flex 8670 for Businesses As to why you should adopt the Flex standard into your business, there are several very good reasons. Foremost among them is that, quite simply, it will help to improve standards of competence and therefore building safety for residents and for a building’s workforce, including emergency responders. In addition, by establishing agreed core principles, terminology and requirements on competence, the standard will make it easier for different parts of the built environment to work together. It will provide a shared understanding of roles along the delivery supply chain.  The standard’s use will also help raise the quality of work, the behaviour, and the culture of individuals. The standard will also prove useful for those who want to capture pertinent information related to competency as part of the golden thread of information required for the lifespan of a building. Adopt the BSI Flex 8670 standard into your business for FREE today.Read more
How to keep your stakeholders engaged in infrastructure projects
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How to keep your stakeholders engaged in infrastructure projects

Stakeholders can make or break your project. If you're leading an infrastructure programme, failure to get stakeholders on-side can spell expensive delays. That’s where PAS 11007:2019 Stakeholder engagement for infrastructure projects – Specification can help. In the words of Ian Richardson, Sector Lead, Built Environment, BSI, 'Often on infrastructure projects the stakeholders can feel they are being inconvenienced due to a lack of understanding of the requirements and timing of their involvement. 'This document provides a framework to ensure communication with stakeholders is accurate and honest and that their concerns are understood, addressed and mitigated if necessary. It opens a way forward for much better engagement with all those involved. 'The application of this PAS will enable a more efficient delivery of infrastructure projects through greater inclusion and satisfaction of all users and stakeholders affected by the project.' Infrastructure investment: an overview UK Government figures show that almost £650bn of public and private sector finance is expected to be invested in infrastructure between 2021-2030, not including that proposed by the devolved powers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Over £400bn is already in the pipeline for more than 500 projects, with major programmes planned in transport, energy, utilities, digital infrastructure, floods and coastal erosion, science and research, and social infrastructure such as housing and schools. The Kendal Flood Risk Management Project, the Thames Tideway Tunnel and Hinkley Point C nuclear power station are just a few of the priorities in development. Each project involves myriad stakeholders, with vastly differing – and sometimes competing – interests. Understanding the stakeholder engagement lifecycle By establishing processes at organizational and project levels and communicating effectively, you can engage stakeholders throughout the lifecycle of your infrastructure project. This six-stage iterative process guides you through the project. Full details are available in the PAS. 1. Understand context and benefits At this stage the objective is to determine how working with stakeholders will create value and achieve desired outcomes. This includes setting objectives and establishing a policy for an inclusive approach. 2. Ensure capability and capacity Here, the desired outcome is to ensure that the organization has the skills and knowledge to engage with stakeholders and the resources and tools to support its work. Key to this stage is establishing leadership, ensuring that systems are in place for effective communications, and considering lessons learnt from earlier stages or projects. 3. Identify and segment stakeholders Now is the moment to look beyond your internal organization. Who are your stakeholders? What are their needs and expectations? How is it best to communicate with them? Stakeholders must be segmented and prioritized according to how affected they are by the project and to what extent they could influence its progress. Your organization needs to ensure that it devotes its efforts to creating the greatest value for the greatest number of people involved. 4. Engage with stakeholders Now you are ready to engage. You will need to develop an organizational stakeholder engagement plan (SEP) and SEPs for each segment to deliver the value and benefits required. Each SEP must include an action plan that can be updated or amended as required, particularly following feedback from stakeholders. 5. Evaluate performance Organizations must adopt performance metrics based on the value they hope to gain from their engagement, and they must carry out evaluations at defined intervals. If these evaluations reveal performance gaps, your organization should develop intervention plans. 6. Improve performance Your objective here is to understand your performance level and ensure that your organization's processes are designed and implemented effectively. Benchmarking against other organizations, modifying processes and responding to feedback all come under this category. You should be looking for continual but sustainable improvement incorporating lessons learnt. About PAS 11007:2019 This Publicly Available Specification (PAS) was developed by a steering group of experts from organizations including Aggregate Industries UK Ltd, the Association of British Certification Bodies (ABCB), Gattaca Plc, Highways England, Measure to Improve, National Air Traffic Control, Network Rail, Scottish Water, Suffolk County Council and Warwick Business School. The sponsor, Kier Highways, has developed a highly effective business model based on collaborative working with suppliers, resulting in rapid improvements in performance and client satisfaction. Add PAS 11007:2019 to your collection today. Discover BSI Knowledge Over 100,000 more internationally recognized standards are available for simple and flexible access with a BSI Knowledge subscription. Our tailored subscription service allows you to build your own custom collection of standards or opt for access to one of our pre-built modules, keeping you up to date with any changes. With support from a dedicated BSI account manager, our subscription service helps you achieve a more coherent and effective approach to best practice. Request to learn more.

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