BILD364 Assignment 3 Brief

Aim

This assignment is designed to help you understand the building consent process and regulatory controls over the duration of a construction project from the perspective of a building official. While most of you won’t go on to become building officials, gaining insight into how and why they approach their work in the way they do will help you navigate approval processes more effectively in your future projects. Developing the ability to see things from others’ perspectives is a well-established and highly effective way to learn.

Process

This assignment will take you through processing and issuing a Building Consent, amendments to Building Consents, site inspections, issuing of Code Compliance Certificates and Compliance Schedules with a few surprises on the way that deal with wider issues.

The five parts cover the following topics:

1. Vetting of Building Consent applications.
2. Processing Building Consents applications.
3. Processing and issuing Building Consent
4. Inspections and Offences.
5. Code Compliance Certificate and Compliance Schedule.

The work for this assignment will handed out progressively over a three week period to allow you to complete the report in stages. This is designed to help you manage your workload and reduce end of trimester stress – do not put off the assignment tasks until just before the due date…

You may discuss your work with your classmates, but your response must be individual.

Part 1: Vetting Building Consents

In the Assignment 3, “Slytherin Tower Documents” Nuku folder is a set of documentation for an application for building consent for an alteration and additions to an existing building “Slytherin Tower”.

For your Part 1 report please answer the following questions:

1. Does this set of documents pass an initial vetting or completeness check? Briefly describe your reasons. 
2. Provide a list of additional documentation (if any) that is required before the consent application can be lodged. This list does not include an assessment of detailed information on the plans and specs, or any errors that you may have noticed within the documentation provided to date.
3. Code Clause Table: The ‘Building Consent Application form’ includes a requirement that all relevant code clauses are listed. Identify which clauses apply to the proposed building work in the MS Word table provided. Note: not all NZBC code clauses are relevant to this project, so firstly consider which are required, then indicate how information relating to that code clause will be communicated to provide the BCA with “reasonable grounds”. Note: This exercise does not require you to identify means of compliance.

 Part 2: Processing Building Consents.

The applicant has submitted further documentation for a building consent for the proposed building work in Slytherin Tower. Please consider this documentation alongside the original application from Part 1.

1. Provide a bulleted list of examples of details that are missing and/or incorrect on the plans and specifications provided.
2. Update and revise the code clause table from Part 1 Q3 ticking any more documents you think are needed to process the consent.
3. List any other requirements which must be met for the Building Consent Authority or Territorial Authority to be able to issue the building consent.

Part 3: Processing and Issuing Building Consents.

In the Nuku Assignment 3 module, “Part 3 Documents” is a set of drawings for the building, documentation relating to the doors and a sample “Producer Statement”.

1. For your report, state whether based on all documentation provided to date, you accept the building consent application and would issue a building consent, or refuse to issue building consent. Give brief but specific reasons for your decision.
2. List for each part or type of the work below what you believe is the most important piece of information you need to receive to determine on “reasonable grounds” whether you should issue a building consent for the new building work. Give brief (one sentence) reasons for your choice.
   a. Window Installation
   b. Seismic Frames
   c. Installation of carbon fibre strips to strengthen slab.
3. Discuss whether you believe the approach taken by the designer is sufficient to ensure the building complies “as nearly as reasonably practicable” to current NZBC requirements for the alteration and change of use. The total cost of work is $7.5M. Please focus on proposed improvements and work on the building, not quality of documentation.

Part 4: Inspections and Offences.

In the Assignment 2, “Part 4 Documents” Nuku folder there are additional drawings showing the final egress. You need to consider all documentation to date. You may assume that the building consent has now been approved, despite its imperfections. 

1. The designer has to provide two stairs and separate egress from each of the two stairs serving the apartments at ground floor level as shown on the revised drawing. As a major change to the building consent, how this should be formally documented? Is an amendment to the building consent appropriate or should it be documented after construction is complete?
2. A building inspector has seen that the fire rated wall between the dentist and a ground floor apartment has been lined with 10mm standard GIB™ board rather than 13mm Fyreline™. How should the inspector respond?
3. A contractor’s employee has been injured after a breeze block fire wall partially collapsed while they were installing the carbon fibre sheet underneath in a gap where one course of breeze blocks had been removed. Worksafe has ordered this work stopped. What could the BCA (not Worksafe) expect the designer to provide in terms of the NZBC before the work could recommence? Note the BCA and/or TA has a range of options they can take including: informal discussion with the contractor; a formal notice to fix (it is an offence not to comply with a notice to fix); refusal to issue a Code Compliance Certificate (or an implied threat not to); or even closing the building, if building work has rendered it “dangerous” or “unsanitary”.

Part 5: Code Compliance Certificate and Compliance Schedule.  

The construction has achieved practical completion. No new documentation has been provided. You need to consider all documentation provided to date and take into account the following:

A. A change to the egress through the ground floor has been submitted as an amendment to the Building Consent and approved.

B. The Structural Engineer and Fire Engineer have issued PS4 Producer Statements for the work.

C. The building inspector is satisfied that all the weatherproofing has been carried out adequately.

1. State whether a Code Compliance Certificate (CCC) should be issued. List additional information required if the CCC should not be issued.
2. List the specified systems in this building that must be listed on the compliance schedule. Specified systems are defined in Schedule 1 of the Building (Specified Systems, Change the Use, and Earthquake-prone Buildings) Regulations 2005. 

Final Report

Each student must write an individual report (min. 1500 words, max 2500 words, illustrated) outlining what you have learnt from this process. This report is intended to test what you have learnt from the tutorials. This report must include a summary of the Building Consent process for the studied building but focus on the issues that have arisen during the course of part one and two of this assignment. Highlight problems with the process. In order to achieve a good grade you will need to discuss and emphasise lessons you have learnt during the various parts of the assignment.

A suggested layout for the report is:

1. Introduction
2. A summary of the Building Consent process (in general and as it applies to Slytherin Tower).
3. Difficulties
4. Recommendations for improving the Building Consent Application process
5. Conclusion
6. References
7. Appendix which includes answers to ALL the questions posed in Parts 1-5 (excluded from word count):
   • Part 1: Vetting Building Consent Applications
   • Part 2: Processing Building Consent Applications
   • Part 3: Processing and issuing Building Consent
   • Part 4: Inspections and offences
   • Part 5: Code Compliance Certificates and Compliance Schedules

The summary should include a discussion on this building’s consent process, but more importantly aspects of the process generally applicable to all Building Consents, or Building Control. You may wish to differentiate between Slytherin Tower and general observations in separate sub-sections. If you believe the legislative and/or regulatory framework should be altered then suggest alternatives and justify them. You should bear in mind that resolving one problem may create others, and potential problems with such changes should also be canvased. Use diagrams and figures as much as possible to illustrate your points and ensure that they are referenced in the text.

Marking Schedule