Time flies! Can it really be 30 years since APS was founded by the redoubtable team at RIAS in Edinburgh in response to the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994? says Andrew Leslie.
Thirty years is almost a career in itself – I should know. I was there from the start, with 20 years’ experience as a UK architect under my belt. My involvement with APS has been a second career, balancing CDM and H&S consultancy with membership roles across three organisations.
As part of APS’ 30th-anniversary celebrations, we hosted five days of insightful discussions on CDM’s evolution as well as the Member Recognition Awards. Nick Charlton Smith deservedly received the Pioneer Award for founding APS
and serving as technical editor for many years – congratulations to him and all the winners!
APS and CDM have driven change, reduced accidents and fostered a culture of safety, collaboration, inclusion and mental wellbeing. With post-Grenfell regulatory compliance now in play, APS, alongside members and industry partners, will continue to lead in promoting excellence and innovation.
APS relies on members stepping up to shape strategy – taking on roles like president, president-elect, board directors and committee members – all driven by commitment to the cause and the wider industry.
Time for reflection
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report made 58 recommendations but overlooks progress on designer competence, omitting references to BS 8670, PAS 8671 and APS’s work. This well-publicised work should have been recognised. It also missed an opportunity to promote collaboration between professional bodies and specialist industry organisations.
Competence assessment remains non-mandatory. For the principal designer building regulations role in England and the roles still to be unveiled in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, adherence to the principles set out in PAS 8671 is crucial for progress to be made.
As of now, the APS Principal Designer Building Regulations England Register (PDBR register) of assessed individuals lacks endorsement from the Building Safety Regulator, as do other schemes.
Low uptake suggests designers avoid non-mandatory requirements – yet another ‘race to the bottom’. The industry’s reliance on self-certification and self-regulation has led to systemic issues. Existing reform efforts, though imperfect, have potential – if made mandatory.
Most professional and trade bodies assess competence only upon initial qualification and/or entry and maintain membership through CPD – self-assessed, without revalidation. True competence assessment requires periodic revalidation.
The Grenfell Phase 2 Report indirectly highlights that professional membership can create a false sense of competence within organisations. It also acknowledges commercial pressures driving shortcuts in design, construction, product supply, regulatory oversight and client services – resulting in real risk to workers, building occupants and future users.
Compliant services
APS’s CDM 2015-assessed members provide additional assurance to clients. The APS PDBR register of competent individuals reassures clients that organisations employing registrants have the capability to deliver safe, compliant services.
If industrywide competence is achieved, additional top-heavy bureaucracy under the report’s ‘system transformation’ proposals becomes unnecessary.
Can we be optimistic? Given how Latham, Egan, Prescott and even parts of Hackitt have been largely ignored, it’s debatable – unless the industry establishment is willing to change its behaviour. What is certain is that APS will keep fighting to reduce injuries and fatalities in the built environment.
Andrew Leslie is CEO of the Association for Project Safety.
