First building inspector competency certification scheme gains UKAS accreditation

The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) has granted the UK’s first accreditation of a building inspector competency scheme.

The accreditation has been awarded to the Building Safety Competency Foundation (BSCF) for its Building Control Inspector (BCI) competence certification scheme.

UKAS carried out its assessment of the BCI competency certification scheme against the internationally recognised ISO/IEC 17024 standard (Conformity assessment: General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons).

Successfully completing the BCI certification scheme is one of the three prescribed registration routes under the Building Safety Regulator’s (BSR) new Building Inspector Competency Framework (BICoF). The Building Safety Act 2022 makes BICoF registration mandatory for all classes of building inspector, working in both the public and private sectors, in all types of buildings across England and Wales.

Whilst the BICoF does not provide an exhaustive list of competency criteria, assessments under the BCI certification scheme include a review of the relevant qualifications, knowledge and experience academic/technical qualifications, as appropriate to each inspector’s role. Continuous professional development is another important aspect, as building inspectors must be reassessed every four years in order to maintain their BICoF registration.

Highlighting the potential significance of this accreditation, Lorna Stimpson, CEO of BSCF said: “The BCI certification scheme rigorously evaluates the competence of building control professionals across all inspecting roles and specialisms. In addition to helping building inspectors meet mandatory BSR registration requirements, the BCI certification scheme aims to raise standards of technical competence throughout the industry.

“UKAS accreditation provides a valuable additional layer of independent scrutiny to the process, further enhancing the BCI competency certification scheme’s reputation and its potential to restore faith in the industry’s ability to deliver safer buildings.”

Lorna added that the requirement to be reassessed every four years added an extra layer of assurance. “We think it’s really important that we continue to test competence on a regular basis, which is also required by UKAS accreditation. Building control professionals need to be able to demonstrate that they are continuously developing their skills in line with the needs of clients, and that any learning is being applied to projects.”

Congratulating BSCF on its achievement, Lorraine Turner, Accreditation Director at UKAS added: “UKAS accreditation has long been recognised as demonstrable proof of competence across a wide variety of industry sectors. UKAS was able to utilise this extensive experience to respond at pace and develop accreditation of the BIC competency certification scheme, reflecting the important role accreditation continues to play in underpinning confidence throughout the built environment.”