[WATCH] Change to construction site regulations will allow engineers to act as site managers

Construction regulations introduced by the government last month, following a series of construction site accidents, will be amended to allow engineers to act as Site Technical Officers.

Under the regulations published last month, the role previously referred to as a site manager, now a site technical officer, will have to be carried out by an architect, or an individual approved by an architect. 

Addressing a press conference, Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg said that a legal notice would be published in the coming days, that would amend the regulations in order to allow individuals with a Bachelor’s degree in engineering to qualify for the role.

The amendment, he said, was the result of further consultations with the Chamber of Architects, the Malta Developers Association (MDA), MCAST and the Chamber of Engineers, and was intended to allow more professionals to work as Site Technical Officers given that there weren’t enough architects to keep up with the demand.

Borg said that the chamber had agreed to compile a list of all those architects that wanted to offer this type of service, while MCAST had already passed on a list of former students who were willing to work in the industry.

He said that as a result of the latest round of discussions and the proposed amendments, the chamber had agreed to withdraw directives it had announced following the insitial publication of the new regulations.

New regulations have already changed mentality

Giving an updated on the state of play of the industry since the new regulations were announced, Borg said that there had been 2,500 submissions related to new obligations brought about by the legal notice.

“The absolute majority of construction sites,” Borg said. “The law is being understood and implemented.”

Moreover, he said there had also been 1,100 declarations by architects that there was no danger to third party properties, noting that it was now clear that many had followed the rules in the past, a number of others were not.

The minister also noted that there had been 78 method statements submitted for building works, which was not required under the new rules. “It is clear that there is more awareness and so people are submitting these documents even when they are not required.”

License for contractors by year’s end

Referring to a voluntary registration scheme for contractors, which was announced last month and which is being administered by the MDA, Borg acknowledged that the solution wasn’t ideal, and pledged to have the system changed into a proper licensing system by the end of the year.

“A voluntary register can’t be the way to identify who is qualified and able to give a service in this sector,” the minister said, adding however that the country lack a legal framework on the basis of which it could issue a license.

Ultimately, he said, an industry as important as the construction industry needed to have higher standards and a clear way of identifying competence. This was important both for professionals and ordinary citizens, he said.  

Agency to be announced in matter of days

Borg acknowledged that the Building Regulations Office, which was set up in 2011 and which started operating in 2012, had never been given the necessary resources to do its job.

He reiterated that the government was working on setting up an agency that will govern all aspects of the sector and which eventually will be changed into an authority with the power to take action against those who break the law.

The agency, he said, would be launched in a matter of days with work then continuing on converting it into an authority.

Asked what timelines were being envisaged, Borg said that he personally would like the authority to be in place by the end of the year, but said that ultimately this would depend on parliament’s schedule once MPs return from summer recess.

After summer, the minister said parliament would also start discussing amendments to the Periti Act, which governs the architectural profession.