National Building Control and Market Surveillance Office (NBC&MSO)
The NBC&MSO is managed as a separate Business Unit on behalf of the 31 Building Control Authorities by Dublin City Council (DCC). The 31 Building Control Authorities are represented by the City and County Managers Association (CCMA). The County and City Management Association (CCMA) is the “representative voice” of Ireland’s local government management network. Its members are the Chief Executives of the 31 County and City Councils and the Assistant Chief Executives of Dublin City Council. The CCMA are Council to the board of The Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), the vehicle/agency of the local government sector, working for Local Authorities with Local Authorities. The LGMA operates through several established committees, each concerned with a specific policy area, and the NBC&MSO reports to the Housing and Building Committee.
The purpose of the NBC&MSO is to provide oversight, support & direction for the development, standardisation and implementation of the Building Regulations and Market Surveillance of Construction Products Regulations as an effective, shared service in the 31 Building Control Authorities; through Training, Inspections, Compliance & Support; IS-BCMS (www.nbco.localgov.ie). Collaboration is through an Advisory Committee and three regional Building Control Committees. The overall vision is to promote a “Culture of Compliance” with the Building and Construction Products Regulations among owners, builders, designers, and certifiers to ensure a good, compliant building stock.
The NBC&MSO Advisory Committee is chaired by Richard Shakespeare (Assistant Chief Executive of Dublin City Council), with membership from The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH), Construction Industry Council (CIC), National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM), Building Control Authorities, Chief Fire Officers Association(CFOA) and Mairéad Phelan Head of the NBC&MSO.
BACKGROUND NATIONAL BUILDING CONTROL OFFICE AND MARKET SURVEILLANCE OFFICE
The Regulatory Framework for Building Control includes the Building Control Acts 1990-2014, Construction Products Regulations, Market Surveillance and Energy Performance in Buildings Regulations. The purpose of regulation in a civilised society is for the health and safety of the citizen and the protection of the environment. Therefore, the purpose of the NBC&MSO is to promote a culture of compliance with the building and construction products regulations through a five-pillar programme which includes:
- Education and training -31 building control authorities, professions and stakeholders involved in the building process.
- Inspections for Compliance and Enforcement of these regulations; the EU Energy Performance in Buildings Regulations and Construction Products Regulations EN standards system. We are using the latest innovative technology, i.e., Drones.
- Compliance Support through a customer relationship management system.
- Project managing the National Information System to administer building control in Ireland, i.e., the Building Control Management System, which is a bespoke system designed by this Office
- Market Surveillance of Construction products for which the Office is the national designated authority or regulator; and contact in Europe for coordinated enforcement and international cooperation; a member of the Union Product Compliance Network and a member of the EU administrative cooperation groups for CPR.