National Building Regulation Awareness Program for Building Industry Practitioners

The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications – National Building Regulations Department (NRCS-NBR) is inviting all building control officers, their staff, fire prevention officers, and building industry practitioners to attend the National Building Regulation Awareness Program on the 11th and 12th of April 2023. The program focuses on the implementation of the National Building Regulations with specific reference to SANS10400 Part-XA: Energy Usage in Buildings.

Background: The National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act of 1977 (Act 103 of 1977) is the enabling Act that underpins the National Building Regulations. The Act is supported by subsidiary legislation in the form of the SANS 10400 suite of documents referred to as the Application of the National Building Regulations standards.

The suites of documents contained within the 23 SANS 10400 documents are mirror images of the National Building Regulations and provide the  performance methodologies that, if used, will satisfy the requirements of the National Building Regulation. The applicable South African National Standards 10400 are listed in the program invitation.

Implementation of SANS 10400 Part XA: The latest SANS10400XA 2021 (Edition 2) has been promulgated and published, relating to the new energy calculations, etc. Professionals have started attending CPD courses and are now starting to apply the new "deemed to satisfy the regulation rules."

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. However, many buildings are not conforming to the code, which raises the question of why.

To address this issue, Mr. Rudolf Opperman, Technical Adviser Architecture and the National Building Regulations (NRCS), 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), and SANS 10400 Part-XA – Energy Usage in Buildings (2021).

Who Should Attend: Architects, engineers, architectural technologists, quantity surveyors, project managers, building contractors, building control officials, and fire prevention officers of the Local Government should attend the program.

Conclusion: The National Building Regulation Awareness Program is an opportunity for building industry stakeholders to gain knowledge and understanding of the National Building Regulations and the SANS 10400 suite of documents. By implementing the standards contained within these documents, building industry practitioners can ensure buildings are constructed with integrity and conform to the regulations by issuing a certificate of compliance.