Workshop on legislation guiding energy usage in buildings

GEORGE NEWS - A workshop for local authority building control officials and other stakeholders in the building industry will be held on 11 and 12 April at George Municipality.

The topic is 'Implementation of the National Building Regulations: practical and legal aspects with specific reference to SANS10400 Part-XA: Energy usage in buildings.

The latest SANS10400XA 2021 (Edition 2) has been promulgated and published (relating to the new energy calculations, etc.), and professionals have started attending CPD courses and are now starting to apply the new deemed-to-satisfy-the-regulation rules.

The purpose of the workshop is to sensitise all the role players in the build environment tasked with submitting building applications to the local authorities to their legal responsibilities and to clarify any misconceptions about accountability and responsibility.

The municipal building control officer who heads up the building control function relies on the knowledge, understanding and implementation of the SANS 10400 building code. How much deemed-to-satisfy-the-regulation rules are utilised, ensure buildings are constructed with integrity and in conformance to the regulations by issuing a certificate of compliance.

Why, then, are so many buildings not conforming to the code?

To address this controversial issue, presenter Rudolf Opperman (Rudolf Opperman, technical advisor on architecture and the National Building Regulations) will explain the legal role and responsibilities of professional practitioners in the build environment concerning implementing SANS 10400 Part A – General principles and requirements (2022), SANS 10400 Part D – Public safety (2022),

Opperman says the founding principles of the National Building Regulations should be understood to enable the proper implementation of the legislation which is used to govern the built environment.

"To understand and interpret the National Building Regulations correctly, it is important to understand the philosophy and intent behind the regulations. Although it is a piece of highly technical legislation, the functioning thereof should be grasped. The technical part thereof should be treated as a technical tick box and the user should be able to know where to obtain this information from the technical documentation available."

Format

The workshop will be presented in a lecture format with open question-and-answer sessions that would allow for healthy debate and interaction to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the subject.

People who should attend are building control officers, their staff, fire prevention officers, architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, project manager and building contractors.

The programme is presented by the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications – National Building Regulations Department (NRCS-NBR).

The event starts at 09:00 and concludes at 12:45 and is free of charge.

People who should attend are building control officers, their staff, fire prevention officers, architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, project manager and building contractors. Photo: Unsplash