Established with the aim of standardising correct and legal construction in South Africa, and for which local authorities, professional architects and engineers, are responsible for implementing, it has become evident that the National Building Regulations are not strictly adhered to by all construction professionals, resulting in a large percentage of new buildings not being compliant.
A main contributor to this phenomenon is a measure of ignorance among players in the sector regarding the roles and responsibilities of each function in the construction work flow. Further to this, there are also a number of misconceptions among professionals and contractors in the built environment about the extent of their involvement in a project until its completion and how this impacts on the conditions of the National Building Regulations being met.
It is for this reason that the Lephalale Municipality has taken a proactive approach in addressing the topic of the National Building Regulations – with special reference to the laws governing energy usage and energy efficiency of buildings – at its second Annual Builder’s Workshop.
The workshop was addressed by representatives from the council, the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS), the Institute for Timber Construction South Africa (ITC-SA), the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) and the South African Glass and Glazing Association (SAGGA).
Covering the legal roles and responsibilities of professional practitioners in the built environment with regards to the implementation of SANS10400-XA (energy usage in buildings) and SANS204 (energy efficiency in buildings), the event aimed to sensitise built environment professionals responsible for submitting building applications to their local authorities about their legal responsibilities and to clarify any misconceptions about their accountability and responsibility in the process.
The municipal building control office relies on the sound knowledge and integrity of the professionals involved in construction projects from start to completion to ensure conformance to the regulations by issuing a certificate of compliance.
According to the Lephalale Municipality, the founding principles of the National Building Regulations should be understood to enable their proper implementation. In order to understand and interpret these correctly, it is essential to understand the philosophy and intent behind them, even though they are highly technical documents. Furthermore, the technical aspects of the documents should be treated as a technical ‘checklist’ and the user should have a firm grasp of their contents.
The second Annual Builder’s Workshop was made possible by Lephalale Municipality. The Institute for Timber Construction South Africa (ITC-SA) arranged for the NRCS to present on the National Building Regulations, sponsored the venue, refreshments, and promotional caps and registered the workshop through the South African Institute of Architects (SAIA) and the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), rendering the event CPD accredited.
