Best Practice

Construction Permitting Reforms

Leading Edge Building Permitting Systems

Presented by, Andrew Minturn

Managing Director

Qualtech International

Working with the Sector in a

“Collaborative and Co-operative” Customer Centric system

“Help Us to Help You”Stakeholders actively participate in City’s

improvement projects

The objective of the

confirm phase is to

ensure that the Permit

applications is

compliant with the

appropriate laws and

other regulations; fit for

purpose and safe to

occupy. The completion

of the confirm phase is

when the application

has been granted and

issued.

The object of the

approve phase is to

ensure that the

development has been

constructed to the

confirmed design and

all Permit conditions

are satisfied. The

completion of the

approve phase is when

all building/resource

inspections are

complete and the

appropriate

compliance certificates

are issued.

The objective of the

prepare phase is to

ensure that all Permit

applications are as

complete as possible, to

a high level of quality,

before they are received

by the Permitting body.

The completion of the

prepare phase is when

the application is

accepted and allocated

to the appropriate unit

for confirming.

Development Permitting“A new Approach”

Prepare Confirm Approve

Development Pre-Application Engagement and Assistance

Scheme

Joint initiative between Planning and Building

Control

Risk Based Categorisation of Buildings

Risk Based Permitting System

Streamlined permitting channels

1. Hong Kong SAR, China

2. Singapore

3. UK

4. New Zealand

5. Canada

6. Malaysia

A. Are risk-based building approvals used

B. Are there comprehensive building rules

C. Is there a One-Stop-Shop

Global Examples of Risk Based Permitting Systems

Establish a Customer Advisory Group

• Architects

• Engineers

• Developers

• Commercial builders

• Residential builders

• Electricians

• Plumbers

• Surveyors

Meet regularly (every six

weeks)

Develop customer

centric projects to enhance the

permitting system

Members should

included representatives from (but not

limited to)

Building Permitting Improvement Programme

Regular sector engagement

Invite sector representative to participate in the

improvement projects to convey

their perspective as to how the project outcomes would affect the sector

Lift the Quality of Building Permit Applications

Set agreed quality level of applications with input from the design sector

Create examples of “quality applications” to be used as

references and training

Develop guidance material

Develop and implement sector awareness and

training on how to produce a quality permit

application

Standard Plan Approval Scheme

Low to medium risk buildings that are being repetitively constructed could gain an approval

for the “standard” design with

accompanying approved variations

An application submitted with a the “Approved Standard Plans Certificate” will receive a much faster assessment and the permitting agency

should focus on ground conditions and

foundations

The building permit application is

accompanied by the “Approved Standard

Plans Certificate”

Permit Submission

Tracking

Permit

Workflow

Processing

Permit

Communications

Electronic Onsite

Inspections

Final Approval

Occupancy Certificate

Municipal Corporation

Regulatory System

Digital Plans/BIM Permit Submission Portal

Monitoring,

Performance and

Evaluation

Inspection Request

Online Digital Permitting System

Infrastructure

Modelling

Building Information

Modelling

Built

Environment

Information

Modelling

Whole of Environment

Geospatial Information

Modelling

Digital

Online

Permitting,

Inspection and

Approval

System

Slide 12

An Interoperable Whole

Environment Information Model

Ministry of Civil Defense & Emergency Management

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research

Environmental Research

Ministry for theEnvironment

Transport Agency

Ministry Building and Housing

Earth, geosciencesand research

LIFELINES & UTILITIESLand InformationCadastral and Geospatial information

PRIVATESECTOR

LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES & DISTRICT MUNICIPALITIES

GOVERNMENT

Slide 13

Interoperable Whole Environment Information

Model Participants/Collaborators

Ensure that the

Building Technical

Regulations are

revised no less

frequently than every

5 years, to take into

consideration

developments in

building and

construction science.

Consideration could

be given to

developing a National

Building Code and

ratified under the

National Building

Regulations and

Building Standards

Act No 103 of 1977.

Government Legislative

Recommendations

The overriding principal for these reform

recommendations is to remove obstacles

of process inefficiencies, introduce new

innovative ways of doing business and

dismiss the stakeholder’s perception of

the municipality being seen an

“Inhibiter to Development” and become

the “Enabler of Development”.