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Skills We have reached the stage where strategy needs to be turned into business as usual. George Swann, FIS Skills and Training Lead, asks: “Have you and your organisation made the necessary changes to ensure you stay on the right side of UK law?” COMPETENCYMANAGEMENT WHAT IS IT? 8 www.thefis.org F ollowing the Grenfell disaster in which 72 people lost their lives and the publication in October 2020 of the report ‘Setting the Bar’, which was produced in consultation with 13 working groups representing the sectors of the construction industry, it’s time to implement changes at an organisational level. Improving competence Setting the Bar made 59 recommendations for improving the competence of the construction industry. In summary, these recommendations described setting up a new system of competence to raise the bar and offer reassurance to occupiers and owners that buildings are safe. This was followed by the introduction of the Building Safety Act in June 2022, all of this work focused on determining the competence of the construction industry and has now reached the stage where strategy needs to be turned into business as usual. FIS strongly recommend organisations review what they already have and make the changes necessary to ensure they stay on the right side of UK law. To support members FIS has produced a Guide to Creating a Competency Management Plan. www.thefis.org/skills-hub Penalties Penalties have not been published for failure to comply with the Building Safety Act, and enforcement associated with wider changes to the building regulations is under consultation. We do, however, know that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is now the authority under which enforcement will be carried out. As an example, for a contravention of the Health and Safety at Work Act the maximum penalty in the magistrates’ court is an unlimited fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both. In a Crown Court, the maximum penalty is an unlimited fine or imprisonment not exceeding two years or both. The Act imposes a duty on organisations to demonstrate proof of competence at every level. www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/ enforcementguide/court/sentencing- penalties.htm Competency Management Plan (CMP) FIS suggest that a CMP will ensure organisations can present proof of competence when needed. CMP’s are not a new concept they have been used since the 1920s and there is clear evidence that organisations that manage competence linked to their mission and vision are progressive and successful. The difference between planning and not planning is when you plan you will see failure coming, when you don’t plan failure will come as a surprise. It is very likely organisations already have the elements needed for a CMP and these simply need to be consolidated and contextualised. The FIS guide suggests and signposts readers to the constituents for a viable CMP but cannot determine what an inspector will be looking for should an organisation come under scrutiny. When most of us think competence we think about individuals, however, the Building Safety Act is about the competence of an industry consisting of an estimated 2.8 million people with at least 13 sectors and approximately 220 recognised occupations. The finishes and interiors sector employs approximately 280,000 people in 36 construction trade occupations across an estimated 10,000 organisations and that is just those involved in the installation aspects, add the manufacturers, suppliers and the support elements, finance, human resources, health and safety, training and administration and this number balloons by at least a further 10%. Everything I have read to draft the FIS guide, and the references listed, suggests competence is the responsibility of the individual. However, I strongly believe the level of competence is not only determined by the individual’s skills, knowledge, George Swann, FIS Skills and Training Lead Organisational Figure 1. Diagram of Competency Management Plan (CMP) Functional Occupational