Technical
The Scottish Building Standards Hub (SBSH) Technical and Procedural Unit (TPU) is responsible for delivering the hubs range of building standards system services, operating it's hubs of experts, and delivering technical and expert advice to local authority building standards professionals on technical, regulatory, and/or procedural matters.
The SBSH TPU is also key to the research and production of content relative to publication of information papers as well as undertaking research in support of verifiers position relating to dispute resolution cases.
Building Standards System Services
The three main building standards system services that the SBSH deliver are:
- The Scottish Type Approval Scheme (STAS).
- Information Papers.
- The Dispute Resolution Process.
STAS is a national approval scheme that allows customers to have their building design, or system design pre-approved, which then quickens the building warrant application process as only site-specific elements require to be checked.
Information papers promote clarity and national consistency on the subject matter covered. They benefit both local authority verifiers and the building standards customer through the guidance they offer.
The Dispute Resolution Process (DRP) is a customer complaint mechanism that is embedded in the Performance Framework under which all local authority building standards services must act. The DRP is a facility open to an applicant where they disagree with a technical, procedural or regulatory interpretation that a local authority verifier is adopting in the consideration of a building warrant submission, building project or proposed development through a preliminary enquiry.
These three building standards system services were previously delivered by Local Authority Building Standards Scotland (LABSS) and whilst they remain LABSS products, the administration, management and operation of these systems are now undertaken by the SBSH.
Fire Engineering Expert Hub (FireHub)
The SBSH operates, manages, and supports the fire engineering hub of experts. This is known as the FireHub.
The FireHub is a panel of experts from both industry and public sector who will look at matters of national interest with a view to establishing a consistent position or opinion.
Matters of national interest can include a variety of subjects for consideration, such as:
- Providing expert opinion as part of a review relating to fire.
- Providing expert opinion on a new and innovative product or system/method of construction in relation to fire.
- Providing expert opinion on nationally occurring construction/remediation matters in relation to fire.
- Provide expert opinion in relation to matters of ministerial interest in relation to fire.
FireHub also facilitates wider operational partnerships that allow verifiers, through the SBSH, to access opinion/peer review in areas of fire related building standards activity, including peer review on level 3 fire engineered design solutions.
Structural Engineering Expert Hub (StructHub)
The SBSH operates, manages, and supports the structural engineering hub of experts. This is known as the StructHub.
The StructHub is a panel of experts from both industry and public sector who will look at matters of national interest with a view to establishing a consistent position or opinion.
Matters of national interest can include a variety of subjects for consideration, such as:
- Providing expert opinion as part of a review relating to structure.
- Providing expert opinion on a new and innovative product or system/method of construction in relation to structure.
- Providing expert opinion on nationally occurring construction/remediation matters in relation to structure.
- Provide expert opinion in relation to matters of ministerial interest in relation to structure.
StructHub also facilitates wider operational partnerships that allow verifiers, through the SBSH, to access opinion/peer review in areas of structure related building standards activity, including peer review on complex structural engineered design solutions.
Expert and Technical Advice
The SBSH further supports the building standards delivery model by providing expert advice to local authority verifiers on matters related to:
- Fire, and
- Energy and the environment.
This advice relates to these parts of the technical standards and extends to providing peer review on fire engineered design solutions that follow an alternative approach to published guidance.
In addition to providing expert advice in these key areas, the SBSH also will provide technical advice to verifiers in all other areas of the standards where clarity is required. This advice also extends to regulatory and procedural aspects of the building standards system.
As one of the key linkages between the SBSH and the LABSS network, the SBSH supports the operation of LABSS Consortium Technical Working Group (CTWG) and provides technical assistance to this group. The CTWG is the established means to co-ordinate national outcomes through technical and procedural interpretational matters.