BSI FLEX 8670 V2 – OVERARCHING FRAMEWORK FOR BUILDING SAFETY COMPETENCE OF INDIVIDUALS
The BSI Flex 8670 document has been created in response to findings from the Hackitt review. This review highlighted a fragmented approach to – and a lack of consistency in – the processes and standards for assuring the competence of those working on buildings as a major flaw in the current regulatory system. Accordingly, BSI Flex 8670 will provide a set of core principles of competence, including leading and managing safety, communicating safety, delivering safety, risk management, regulations and processes, building systems, ethics, and fire/life safety.
This new standard is relevant to Building Safety Managers, Designers, Principal Contractors, Principal Designers and other duty holders.
This article will provide you with a brief overview on some of the key information covered in the BSI Flex. The points covered in this article are an Overview of The BSI Flex, Objectives of The BSI Flex and finally, who is intended to use the BSI Flex. We also provide you with a link which will take you directly to the ‘BSI Group’ website where the full document can be download for viewing.
The BSI Flex is currently out for public comment and the deadline for these closes on 02/02/2021.
The below information has been taken from the ‘BSI Group’ Website and directly from the BSI Flex 8670 document.
Overview of The BSI Flex
This BSI Flex specifies requirements for sector-specific competence frameworks for individuals working in the built environment. It is intended to support the development of an overarching framework for oversight of building safety competence of individuals including encouraging the development and application of core building safety competences in practice. Organisational and team competence is discussed as the context within which individual competence needs to be assured but is itself out of scope of this BSI Flex.
The BSI flex is broadly relevant to any sector-specific competence framework relating to roles involving the specification, design, manufacture, procurement, construction, inspection, assessment, management, operation, maintenance, refurbishment, and demolition of buildings. This includes technical and non-technical roles, and individuals working under their own authority as well as under the supervision of other competent individuals. It is also intended to span a wide range of levels of competence from basic awareness to very detailed application by subject specialists.
It is not intended that this standard is to replace existing professional, technical, or vocational training or competence frameworks and does not set out all the specific requirements for any given sector-specific framework.
Though, individuals that are being assessed for building safety competence is expected that the sector-specific frameworks against which they are assessed will demonstrate conformity with the core requirements and core competences set out in this standard relevant to the role, function or task being undertaken.
The requirements and competences set out in the specification are relevant to all types of built environment activity but are intended to be added within sector-specific competence frameworks or to allow assessment in relation to specific types of buildings or activities.
Objectives of BSI Flex
The BSI Flex is intended to achieve four overarching objectives:
• Set core requirements for behavioural and building safety competence for all person
working in the built environment in order to improve industry culture and safety outcomes
throughout the building life cycle.
• Drive adoption of consistent good practice in the development and use of competence
assessment frameworks across the built environment.
• Enable consistent and objective evaluation of different sector-specific competence
frameworks against common criteria by regulators, clients and employers.
• Support development of suitable mechanisms to provide robust assessment of individual
competence.
Who is intended to use the BSI Flex?
This BSI Flex is of relevance to organisations with ownership or responsibility for the development, maintenance, or application of sector-specific competence frameworks for built environment roles, functions, or tasks. This includes but is not limited to individuals involved in the specification, design, manufacture, procurement, construction, inspection, assessment, management, operation, maintenance, refurbishment and demolition of buildings.
This BSI Flex is also relevant to regulated or duty-holding roles with statutory responsibilities such as:
- Principal designers
- Principal contractors
- Designers
- Contractors
- Building safety managers
- Building control professionals
Note: The list above is not exhaustive therefore this British Standard may be relevant to other groups or roles. Responsibility for ensuring that sector-specific frameworks are kept up to date rests with the authors of those frameworks given that the scope of regulation and duty-holding roles is likely to change over time.
This BSI Flex is intended to be used by professional groups, trade associations, trades or any other group from relevant built environment actors looking to develop or achieve recognition for a relevant competence framework. It is anticipated that those frameworks will then be subject to review by a committee on industry competence working under the aegis of the Building Safety Regulator.
This BSI Flex will be of specific interest to assessment bodies who might be tasked with assessment of competence of individuals against any sector-specific competence framework.
We hope that you found the read beneficial and that it provided you with some of the key information taken from the BSI Flex document.
For more in depth information the full BSI Flex 8670 v2 document can be downloaded here.