Councils promote collaboration with industry

In the second part of our special report on building consents, we hear from senior managers at two of the largest councils about common reasons why site inspections fail and what they are doing to help improve the overall process

Last month we looked at how incomplete applications are a common cause of delay in the consenting process. This month, failed inspections – another problem affecting both builders and councils across New Zealand – is under the spotlight.

Auckland Council building control manager Ian McCormick said common reasons for building inspections failing include sites that aren’t ready or builders not having the proper documentation with them.

Ian said that to prevent inspections failing as a result of the above, or due to substandard workmanship, he recommends the principal builder on a project examine everything before an inspector arrives to make sure everything is as it should be.

“As part of a programme we’re developing called Consenting Made Easy, we’re creating a quality assurance checklist for builders to enable them to perform more effective checks before we arrive. Hopefully this will help increase the pass rate.”

He said that another tool they were looking to develop was a qualified work stream, to recognise those who have invested in their own quality assurance systems.

“If applicants could prove to us that they have been checking stuff off throughout various stages of a project – with photos, or whatever it may be – we could potentially begin to place greater reliance on that information and, as a result, reduce regulatory oversight.

“For example, we could drop a 12-inspection regime on a single-level three bedroom home to a four-inspection regime. When we’re on site, we’d be looking to make sure that the quality assurance system they’re using was working and up to date.”

Simplicity and self-regulation (or standards)

Ian said that builders tend to imagine encyclopedia-sized volumes when people talk about quality assurance systems, so there should be a focus on creating simple tools that are easy to roll out and can be used by anyone.

“The end result we want is an industry that is more self-regulating, which recognises the responsibilities people have and the consequences for not discharging them.

Anything that enables that to happen would be welcome, because more regulatory oversight isn’t the answer – it should be about the industry being able to operate effectively with some simple quality assurance systems.”

Head of building consents at Christchurch City Council, Leonie Rae, said the council developed Partnership Approvals to help large commercial customers, such as Housing New Zealand, with the planning process.

Partnership approvals

Generally, Partnership Approvals are for commercial projects that are high profile (either in terms of the site or the proposed development), have a high dollar value, contribute significantly to the local economy, are highly complex or are managed by customers with multiple projects.

Leonie said clients, who pay for the service, are assigned a case manager who works through the entire planning process with them – starting with resource consent – to help ensure applications are as complete as possible before they’re submitted.

“The case manager serves as a single point of contact at the council; to help clients plan for all the utilities and any approvals they might need, such as a temporary road closure, and to make sure they’ve checked off everything they need for all the required consents. 

“We’re finding it’s working really well to help them save time by stopping delays. Around 60% of developers in the city are signed up.”