Competence, collaboration and compliance at HBF Tech Conf

Competence is set to be a key focus for all technical aspects of homes delivery, according to Stephen Andrew, Taylor Wimpey’s group technical director.

Speaking at the Home Builders Federation’s Technical Conference in Birmingham, Andrew, part of a panel on the Future Homes Standard, said ensuring competence was not “just a building safety conversation. I think that conversation is spreading across everywhere else”.

For the industry this would mean good “record keeping” and for Taylor Wimpey “competency of myself, technical teams and contractors”.

In an example, Andrew pointed to the requirements under Part L 2021 to provide photographic evidence at every critical stage of construction. “We deployed this across fire safety as it’s the right thing to do.”

Under the Building Safety Act 2022, competence is a mandatory requirement, with individuals designing, constructing and maintaining buildings needing to demonstrate relevant skills, knowledge and experience.

Andrew joined a panel which included Ross Holleron, head of homes and construction at the Future Homes Hub and Ryan Mee and Claire Enstone, Eco2Solar’s ceo and director of technical respectively.

Andrew also noted the level of collaboration the industry had achieved through the HBF and Future Homes Hub, on the approach …