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Improved coordination between the Department and Standards New Zealand

Standards New Zealand (SNZ) and the Department are working together to improve the way in which Standards are used as part of the New Zealand building regulation system.

Getting the balance between effectiveness, efficiency and simplicity, while still allowing and even encouraging innovation, is one of the major challenges for building regulators worldwide. National and international Standards often play an important role.

New Zealand Standards are commonly cited by the Department as a means of compliance with the New Zealand Building Code. Historically, the BIA undertook a separate evaluation and consultation process following the publication of a Standard. This has meant a period during which a new Standard has no status in regulation, and there is also no guarantee that it will be cited at all. In this situation, the Standard can still be used, but approval by a territorial authority may be more complicated. Territorial authorities have become more concerned about risk since issues such as weathertightness emerged, making approval of designs that do not comply with the Compliance Documents more difficult.

In an attempt to make life easier for designers and builders, SNZ and the Department have agreed in principle to a combined process that will assist in the Department being able to cite a new Standard as soon as it is published. This process will also apply to amendments to Standards that are already cited by the Department.

‘Previously, due to the large number of Standards that are cited in the Compliance Documents, it might have been possible for an amendment to a cited Standard to slip through the cracks and not be cited at all,’ said Nick Saunders, Senior Technical Adviser with the Department.

The new consultation process will require increased coordination between the Department, the SNZ project manager and the SNZ technical committee. The consultation requirements of the Department are much the same as those of SNZ, so there are definite efficiency gains that will result from the collaboration.

The public comment period (typically eight weeks) for Standards developed through joint consultation will be advertised widely by both organisations. Both will explain the process and ask for comment on:

  • the technical accuracy of the Standard in question
  • its suitability for citation by the Department as a means of compliance with the Building Code.

SNZ business relationship manager Mark Batt stated, ‘We will be asking for all comments to be submitted to SNZ and we will then evaluate them jointly with the Department. Comments about the suitability of the draft Standard for citation by the Department will also be considered by the SNZ committee. We expect that modifications to a draft Standard resulting from such comments will mean that when the Standard is published, it will be much more likely to be a means of compliance that has broad industry support and is a workable, effective solution.’

The first joint SNZ/Department consultation documents are expected for comment some time in March or April.

This article is based on one which first appeared in the February/March edition of Standards New Zealand’s Standards magazine. For more information on SNZ: (04) 498 5990 or visit www.standards.co.nz Standards New Zealand website.