The National House Building Council, usually known as the NHBC, states its primary purpose as raising the construction standards of new homes in the United Kingdom (UK), and providing consumer protection for homebuyers through its 10-year Buildmark warranty.
A certification mark on a commercial product indicates the existence of an accepted product standard or regulation and a claim that the manufacturer has verified compliance with those standards or regulations. The specific specification, test methods, and frequency of testing are published by the standards organization. Certification listing does not necessarily guarantee fitness-for-use. Validation testing, proper usage, and field testing are often needed.
Planning permission in the United Kingdom is the planning permission required in the United Kingdom in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or buildings. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title to that land or building, but will also need "planning title" or planning permission. Planning title was granted for all pre-existing uses and buildings by the Town and Country Planning Act 1947, which came into effect on 1 July 1948. Since that date any new "development" has required planning permission.
An inspection is, most generally, an organized examination or formal evaluation exercise. In engineering activities inspection involves the measurements, tests, and gauges applied to certain characteristics in regard to an object or activity. The results are usually compared to specified requirements and standards for determining whether the item or activity is in line with these targets, often with a Standard Inspection Procedure in place to ensure consistent checking. Inspections are usually non-destructive.
Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the spread and impact of a fire.
On commercial products, the presence of the logo means that the manufacturer or importer affirms the goods' conformity with European health, safety, and environmental protection standards. It is not a quality indicator or a certification mark. The CE marking is required for goods sold in the European Economic Area (EEA); goods sold elsewhere may also carry the mark.
A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design. Certification confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production is in compliance with applicable airworthiness requirements established by the national air law.
Product certification or product qualification is the process of certifying that a certain product has passed performance tests and quality assurance tests, and meets qualification criteria stipulated in contracts, regulations, or specifications.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that as of 2011 defines the fundamental structure and authority for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare within the United Kingdom.
Building regulations in the United Kingdom are statutory instruments or statutory regulations that seek to ensure that the policies set out in the relevant legislation are carried out. Building regulations approval is required for most building work in the UK. Building regulations that apply across England and Wales are set out in the Building Act 1984 while those that apply across Scotland are set out in the Building (Scotland) Act 2003. The Act in England and Wales permits detailed regulations to be made by the Secretary of State. The regulations made under the Act have been periodically updated, rewritten or consolidated, with the latest and current version being the Building Regulations 2010. The UK Government is responsible for the relevant legislation and administration in England, the Welsh Government is the responsible body in Wales, the Scottish Government is responsible for the issue in Scotland, and the Northern Ireland Executive has responsibility within its jurisdiction. There are very similar Building Regulations in the Republic of Ireland. The Building Regulations 2010 have recently been updated by the Building Safety Act 2022.
Development Management, formerly known as planning control, or development control, is the element of the United Kingdom's system of town and country planning through which local government or the Secretary of State, regulates land use and new building, i.e. development. It relies on a "plan-led system" whereby development plans are produced, involving various stages of public consultation prior to being adopted. Subsequently, development that requires planning permission, which is granted or refused with reference to the development plan as the starting point, then other material considerations are taken into account. The term "development management" is often abbreviated to DM.
A certificate of occupancy is a document issued by a local government agency or building department certifying a building's compliance with applicable building codes and other laws, and indicating it to be in a condition suitable for occupancy.
Building officials of developed countries are generally the jurisdictional administrator of building and construction codes, engineering calculation supervision, permits, facilities management, and accepted construction procedures.
In aviation, airworthiness is the measure of an aircraft's suitability for safe flight. Initial airworthiness is demonstrated by a certificate of airworthiness issued by the civil aviation authority in the state in which the aircraft is registered, and continuing airworthiness is achieved by performing the required maintenance actions.
An environmental health officer (EHO), also referred to as a public health inspector, is a person responsible for carrying out measures to protect public health, including administering and enforcing legislation related to environmental health and providing support to minimize health and safety hazards.
A swimming pool fence is a type of fence placed around swimming pools, to create a passive barrier to restrict the access of small children to the swimming pool. Swimming pool fences must have a self-closing and self-latching gate/s to be compliant to most countries' laws and codes.
A building control body is an organisation authorised to control building work that is subject to the Building Regulations in England and Wales (similar systems are provided in Northern Ireland, and in Scotland where the term 'building standards' is used. Such regulations or standards are also known as building codes in other parts of the world.
The British Board of Agrément (BBA) is a UK body issuing certificates for construction products and systems and providing inspection services in support of their designers and installers.
British Columbia Commercial Vehicle Safety & Enforcement is a provincial law enforcement agency that is responsible for the compliance and enforcement of the commercial transport sector, protection of the environment and transportation infrastructure of British Columbia, increasing road safety and protecting the motoring public.
The operations manual is the documentation by which an organisation provides guidance for members and employees to perform their functions correctly and reasonably efficiently. It documents the approved standard procedures for performing operations safely to produce goods and provide services. Compliance with the operations manual will generally be considered as activity approved by the persons legally responsible for the organisation.
