SPATIAL SECTOR NEWS
Author: unknown
CONTRACT DOCUMENTS
LICENSED BUILDING PRACTITIONER SCHEME
RESTRICTED BUILDING WORK
LBP APPLICATIONS
CHANGE TO BUILDING CONSENT PROCESS
SKILLS MAINTENANCE/ CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
INSURANCES
NEXT STEPS
SPATIAL SECTOR NEWS – February 2012
The Designers Institute CEO Cathy Veninga and Spatial Board Members Vee Kessner, David Wingate and Andrew Tu’inukuafe have been working hard to progress a comprehensive suite of Member Services for the Spatial Sector. Before getting into the detail, please note that this update contains a plethora of acronyms which seem to be endemic in our industry– it can get a little confusing!
CONTRACT DOCUMENTSFirstly, we will soon be releasing a Spatial Design Services Agreement covering key aspects of the Designer/ Client relationship such as payment, copyright, insurance, and dispute resolution. This will be followed by a Spatial Procurement Agreement, which again will cover key issues including payment, ownership, liability, warranties, agency relationships and commission. The Spatial Design Services Agreement is intended to be linked to New Zealand Construction Industry Council (NZCIC) Design Documentation Guidelines for Interior Design, which will sit alongside the existing NZCIC Guidelines for Architecture and Engineering Services. We will be forwarding a suggested draft of the Interior Design Guidelines to NZCIC for their review. In terms of construction contracts, we intend to use New Zealand Standard construction contract documents in conjunction with appropriate special conditions. In the near future, we will be reviewing these documents so that we can make recommendations to Spatial Members. Also, we will be coordinating these with Masterspec to ensure that there is consistency across all contract documents.
INSURANCESWe will shortly be able to offer Designers Institute Members access to a competitive package of insurance cover specifically tailored to their needs. Members will reap the benefits of a collective offer through an insurance broker, which will be competitively tendered to insurance companies periodically.
LICENSED BUILDING PRACTITIONER SCHEMEIn October, we visited the Department of Building and Housing (DBH) in Wellington to discuss the upcoming requirement for Licensed Building Practitioners and, in particular, ongoing Skills Maintenance or Continuing Professional Development (CPD). In a change signalled in the Building Act 2004, from March 1, 2012, Restricted Building Work (RBW) must be done by a Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP - find out more at the DBH website: www.dbh.govt.nz/lbp ).
RESTRICTED BUILDING WORKRBW is work that is critical to the integrity of a building, making sure the building is structurally sound and weathertight. Design RBW is any design work that involves primary structure, weathertight elements, or fire safety systems in residential buildings (i.e. houses, and small to medium-sized apartments). For further information, download the guide on what RBW means for designers: http://www.dbh.govt.nz/UserFiles/File/Publications/Building/rbw/builditright-designers.pdf . Clients should be informed that they need to engage Trade LBPs to undertake RBW on site. It is an offence for them to knowingly not use an LBP to carry out RBW, and it is also an offence for a person to undertake RBW if they are not an LBP, or have not been supervised by an LBP. LBPs must be appropriately licensed to undertake a particular type of RBW (be it Design, Site, or Trade), and have an obligation to work within their competency or personal professional expertise.
LBP APPLICATIONSNZ Registered Architects are “deemed” to be licensed in Design and Chartered Professional Engineers are “deemed” to be licensed in Design and Site. Otherwise, Spatial Members must apply to be an LBP Design in the design class relevant to the building category in which they have an appropriate level of knowledge and experience (download the application form here: http://www.dbh.govt.nz/UserFiles/File/Publications/Licensing/pdf/lbp-design-application-form.pdf ). Members may also apply for a Site License if they believe they have the appropriate skills and experience.
CHANGE TO BUILDING CONSENT PROCESSPlease also note that from March 1, 2012, Building Consent Authorities (BCAs) will require Building Owners to submit a Memorandum (Certificate of Design Work) with any building consent application which includes RBW. Therefore, the LBP will be required to prepare this Memorandum for the Owner which specifies what the RBW Design is, how it complies with the Building Code, and your LBP Number or Registration Number for Architects or Engineers (refer here for further details: http://www.dbh.govt.nz/builditright-designers-process ).
SKILLS MAINTENANCE/ CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTBeing licensed includes a requirement to maintain your skills and knowledge. Design LBPs require up to 36 Skills Maintenance Points every two years (wherein one hour of learning equals one point). We are in the process of developing a framework of Skills Maintenance/ CPD for Designers Institute Spatial Members that is consistent with the LBP Scheme, encompasses current Designers Institute events, develops opportunities for new learning, and is inclusive of the content provided by other industry organisations.
NEXT STEPSIn addition to the above on-going work, two items that we intend to look at in more detail in the future are Spatial Design Fee Guidelines and a Spatial Salary Survey .
Posted on: February 22, 2012