Navigating the Building Safety Regulator’s (BSR) requirements for Gateway 2 and 3 is required for HRB, but it can be time-consuming. The required documentation for both Gateway 2 and Gateway 3 submissions is extensive, and the regulatory requirements must be met precisely to avoid delays or rejections.
Below is a practical breakdown of the compliance requirements, highlighting some of the potential challenges and solutions for managing them efficiently. While there are other ways to demonstrate compliance, we highly recommend DocuBuild (and yes, we may be a little biased).
Gateway 2 Requirements:
Detailed Drawings, Specifications, and Reports for Fire Safety and Structural Safety:
Principal designers and contractors must submit comprehensive documentation, including fire safety systems and structural design plans. Issues arise when these documents aren’t fully aligned with BSR requirements, leading to delays. Ensuring everything is tracked and updated in a single system reduces these risks and helps maintain full compliance.
A Competence Declaration from the Client/Employer:
The client has verified that all appointed parties, including the principal designer, principal contractor, and any other relevant personnel, meet the necessary competencies required under the Building Safety Act. This includes a documented review of qualifications, relevant experience, and past project performance. DocuBuild tracks and manages competency documentation, simplifying compliance with BSR’s competency verification process.
The Construction Control Plan:
The construction control plan outlines how building work will be managed to ensure compliance with building regulations during both the design and construction phases. Incomplete or unclear plans can delay approvals or lead to non-compliance, so it’s essential to ensure every risk and requirement is documented and addressed upfront.
The Change Control Plan:
Managing and documenting changes is critical, as they must be assessed for their impact on building safety. The key challenge is maintaining version control and ensuring all changes are logged in real-time, allowing stakeholders to easily track changes and ensure regulatory compliance. With DocuBuild, every change can be logged and tracked, ensuring a fully traceable process that maintains version control and records approvals, aligning with the BSR’s expectations for accurate and comprehensive change management.
Building Regulations Compliance Statement:
The compliance statement outlines the approach taken in designing the HRB to meet building regulations, referencing key documents that align with fire safety, structural integrity, and safety management. DocuBuild keeps a digital record of all relevant documents, ensuring they are linked, up-to-date, and readily accessible for regulatory review, providing the BSR with complete, transparent compliance documentation.
Fire and Emergency File:
The fire and emergency file includes strategies, measures, and policies to manage building safety risks, particularly around evacuation in case of emergency. Missing or outdated fire safety plans can lead to compliance issues. Having the fire and emergency file centrally stored and updated helps ensure safety measures are regularly reviewed and meet ongoing regulatory expectations.
Mandatory Occurrence Reporting Plan Statement:
The mandatory occurrence reporting system ensures that any safety incidents, particularly those relating to fire and structural integrity, are logged and managed with urgency. Our platform tracks and reports incidents with full details, providing the necessary audit trail for compliance. The system ensures that incidents are reviewed, with corrective actions documented and monitored. This meets the regulator’s requirement for accurate and timely reporting, ensuring transparency and accountability for building safety.
Partial Completion Strategy:
If applicable, the partial completion strategy outlines how parts of the building will be completed and occupied separately, while maintaining compliance. Our system tracks each stage of the project, ensuring compliance is met at each phase. For each phase, compliance records are automatically updated, and the system allows the project team to monitor and report progress, ensuring regulatory expectations are met for both construction and occupancy stages without unnecessary delays.
Client Statement:
If a third party submits the application, a statement confirming client authorisation is required. DocuBuild tracks and securely stores all client-related documentation, ensuring full transparency and easy access for the regulator
Gateway 3 Requirements:
As-Built Plans and Information:
Final versions of as-built plans must be submitted with updated documentation. Missing or outdated documents can lead to delays, so a system that tracks changes and ensures all documents are finalised before submission is crucial.
Controlled Changes and the Change Control Log:
All controlled changes to the project and the associated log must be submitted. With DocuBuild, all changes are logged, tracked, and linked to their impact on the project, ensuring that all controlled changes are documented and in compliance.
Building Regulations Compliance Statement (Signed):
Both principal contractors and designers must sign a statement confirming compliance. Ensuring these signatures are completed and stored properly avoids delays during submission.
Golden Thread Handover Confirmation:
A signed statement from both the client and the accountable person confirming that the relevant handover information has been received. DocuBuild facilitates the seamless handover of all Golden Thread information. Ensuring that it is stored and tracked, providing both parties with clear, documented evidence of the handover process.
Each of these requirements can present challenges, but with the right information management system in place, the submission process becomes more streamlined, reducing risk and ensuring compliance.