Bunckenburg Address - New Zealand Institute Of Quantity Surveyors Conference

Introduction:

• Good morning, I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak to you and deliver this year’s Bunckenburg Address.

• I see the address - named in honour of your former President Henry Herbert Bunckenburg – has been a tradition of the NZIQS since 1986. I am honoured to be the latest person to deliver this speech to you.

• This morning I will cover Government’s priorities for the building and construction sector and the Department of Building and Housing’s work programme.

• As you will be aware, the Department is about to become part of the new super ministry - The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Its inclusion in the new Ministry recognises the sector’s importance to New Zealand and its future wellbeing, and the important part it plays in driving our economy.

• The driving goal of this change is to develop a single dedicated business-facing Government department that can strengthen policy capability, improve the regulatory environment, bring together business-facing services and improve the Government’s own internal coordination.

• I can confirm the Government remains committed to its goals for the building and construction sector, including the rebuilding of Canterbury following last year’s devastating earthquakes.

The Department’s work programme

• In addition to its valuable work across the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Programme, the Department is engaged across a broad work programme.

• Our goal is to have a more efficient and more productive sector focused on building it right the first time.

• The reality is the sector is currently one of the least productive and least efficient contributors to our economy. For example, to date, the sector has had a high tolerance for rework. That is, if it doesn’t get it right first time, the view was it could always sort it out later – well, maybe. A 2006 survey by the New Zealand Centre for Advanced Engineering found that 69% of newly-completed buildings had a defect at the time of handover to the client.

• That’s not good enough, and we are tackling the problem head on through the Licensed Building Practitioner scheme, the recently introduced Restricted Building Work designation, the Building Act reforms and other initiatives such as the Productivity Partnership which I will come to shortly.

On-line consenting

• One area of particular importance is our plan to introduce a nationally-consistent online consenting system.

• This system aims to provide for, and facilitate, the ‘end-to-end’ processing of consents using standard forms and consenting processes to provide applicants with a common experience, regardless of which Building Consent Authority (BCA) receives their consent application.

• The Department, in collaboration with Land Information New Zealand, Ministry of Science and Innovation and Ministry for the Environment, is in the early stages of investigating the concept and feasibility of developing an integrated online strategy.

• The strategy, GeoBuild, will utilise smart technology linking all aspects of the construction process, from design through procurement and construction and maintenance, to achieving productivity gains and quality improvements within the built environment.

• One important component of this initiative is the development of a National Online Consenting system. It would introduce a centralised, paperless, Internet based hub that receives, captures, and allows consistent processing of all building consent applications. Processing of consents, including inspections, will be conducted by BCAs.

• I readily acknowledge the solid gains in performance BCAs have delivered through accreditation, but further improvements are still needed. The proposed new system will deliver those improvements by ensuring national consistency in both standards and delivery mechanisms and costs.

Consolidation of BCAs & improving building control administration

• Allied to this is the issue of whether we also need to consolidate, or at least better align, BCAs.

• Last year I wrote to Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) indicating that I questioned whether retaining 69 Building Consent Authorities (BCAs) is really in the best interests of New Zealand. I also advised that I wanted to see progress on using technology to improve service delivery and make back room efficiencies.

• Since then, the Department has twice met with a nationally representative group of Councils, chaired by LGNZ. The focus has been on developing a common understanding of the opportunities from system changes, particularly for building and construction sector productivity. Alignment of services nationally will produce consistency of service delivery, and a national on-line consenting system will enable this.

• It has been agreed that the group (of Council and sector representatives) will form a high-level reference group for the work programme, and that Councils will provide relevant staff to work with the Department.

Building Code compliance & building work accountabilities

• Discussions at the Royal Commission of Inquiry on the Canterbury Earthquakes have highlighted the importance of the skills and accountability of designers, engineers and others involved in building and construction. The Building Amendment Act 2012 (the Amendment Act) more clearly signals and reinforces accountabilities for building work and Building Code compliance of all the parties involved in construction projects.

• The Amendment Act also introduced the framework for providing for a risk-based approach to building consent and inspection requirements so that these are aligned to the risk and consequences of building defects and the skills and capabilities of those doing the work. For the residential sector, this means that consenting for simple houses built by licensed building practitioners will be streamlined, which should result in fewer delays.

• For commercial buildings, risk-based consenting will be based on a risk profile which will inform a quality assurance plan setting out how those risks will be managed during construction. The plan will be audited by the BCA. The expectation is that there will be earlier identification and consideration of project risks, greater accountability by designers, documented means of managing those project risks and transparency on liability.

• However, risk-based consenting will not be introduced until the sector is ready. The lessons learnt in Canterbury will be considered when regulations for risk-based consenting are drafted.

Review of policy settings for earthquake-prone buildings

• The Department has accepted all of the recommendations of the Expert Panel’s Report on the Structural Performance of Christchurch CBD Buildings in the 22 February 2011 aftershock, and will now lead a significant programme of work to ensure the knowledge from this technical investigation is applied for the benefit of the Christchurch rebuild, and New Zealand as a whole.

• The consequent work programme includes:

I. a comprehensive review of policy settings for earthquake-prone buildings, due for completion in August 2012, regarding the level / standard set and timeframe for work to be done;
II. leading a programme of work to help practitioners keep up to date with the latest developments and requirements for the seismic design of buildings;
III. a review of the measures and methodology used for post-earthquake inspection of buildings;
IV. working with the Cement and Concrete Association of New Zealand and leading building contractors to review the level of in-situ concrete strength; and,
V. working with the engineering profession to develop new guidance and standards for earthquake strengthening and construction, based on the information and learnings from the Christchurch earthquakes. These will be made available to territorial authorities, building owners, engineers, and relevant building professionals.

Restricted Building Work & licensed Building Practitioners

• On the 1st of March 2012 the Restricted Building Work designation took effect. Restricted Building Work is any work which is critical to the structural integrity or weathertightness of a house or small-to-medium-sized apartment building. As a rule, Restricted Building Work is work that requires a building consent.

• The designation is underpinned by the Licensed Building Practitioner scheme as Restricted Building Work can only be carried out by a Licensed Building Practitioner or under the direct supervision of a Licensed Building Practitioner.

• The Licensed Building Practitioner scheme is a national building competency scheme that was established to raise standards and accountability across the building and construction sector, and to give consumers greater confidence in the quality of building work done.

• It underpins an efficient and accountable building sector focused on quality. Licensing confirms a practitioner’s level of expertise, and practitioner responsibility and accountability becomes clearer. It’s a scheme which rewards diligent, hard-working and trustworthy building practitioners, and it enhances consumer protection.

• From the point of view of building practitioners, the benefits of being licensed have increased considerably with the introduction of Restricted Building Work.

• The licensed Building Practitioner scheme brings a new level of professionalism to the industry. It will drive increased standards as professional development and competency assessment become the norm for the trades.

• This will help increase the quality of our building stock and give some career pathways to those in the industry.

• Once restricted building work is bedded in, the Government will consider whether any adjustments are required to the licensing scheme, including whether some of the broad licensing classes currently in place are fit for purpose.

• The combined effect of Restricted Building Work, the licensed building practitioner scheme and our Building Act reforms will be a more efficient and productive sector with less red tape, more streamlined consenting and compliance systems, and clearer accountabilities for all parties. That’s got to be good for the sector, consumers, yourselves and also the economy as a whole.

The Productivity Partnership

• The final piece of the puzzle is the Productivity Partnership. This will also drive skills with the implementation of its skills strategy which will see all major players proactively seeking the necessary skills training and certification.

• It has three other work streams, evidence – which seeks to provide the knowledge to build a better industry on; construction systems - included in this is the IT, BIM and of course online consenting ; and procurement which will streamline Government and private enterprise projects nationwide avoiding delays and identifying shortfalls.

• A key measurement of the success of this scheme is to reach a 20% gain in productivity by 2020. Its aim, a transformed more profitable and more productive sector.

• Having the sector, which is currently underperforming, increase its productivity has major social and economic benefits for all New Zealanders.

Conclusion

• Thank you. I wish you well for the remainder of your conference. I am happy to take any questions.