Role of Standards in Building Code recognised as vital

The Standards Council welcomes the final report of the Royal Commission into the Canterbury Earthquakes and notes that the Commission reinforces in its report that ‘the suite of Standards supporting the Building Code plays a vital role in ensuring our buildings are designed well and built well’, Standards Council Chair, John Lumsden said today.

‘We have followed progress of the inquiry closely over the last 18 months. Indeed, we made three written submissions and appeared before the Commission. Following the release of the Commission’s Interim Report in October 2011 we brought sector stakeholders together to discuss ‘where to from here?'

‘We have, over the last year, worked with a wide range of industries including fire, insurance, electrical, gas, research, and engineering on learnings from the earthquakes and the challenges faced. We have done as much work as we practicably can to date to help work towards a strong and resilient rebuild of the Canterbury region with up-to-date Standards.’

John Lumsden said it was imperative that building and construction Standards are funded to be regularly reviewed and updated as recommended by the Royal Commission.

‘We would welcome being part of a work programme alongside the agencies mentioned in the Commission’s recommendation to identify the priorities for the development, review, and update of compliance documents and Standards in the Building Code.’

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