The Complete Guide to Competence and SKEB

Competence is the combination of what someone can do, what they understand, what they have done before and how they act when it matters. The Building Safety Act 2022 and the regulations made under it use this structure, and the industry standards that followed adopt it too.

It applies to people and to the businesses they work for. An organisation must show it has the systems, resources and people to deliver the work it takes on. The regulations call this organisational capability.

For clients, SKEB is useful because it turns a vague question, "is this contractor any good?", into four things you can ask about and check.

It also works in both directions. A contractor that can describe how it develops and records SKEB in its own teams is far more likely to give you the evidence you need for your building.

The Building Safety Act 2022 followed the Grenfell Tower fire and Dame Judith Hackitt's Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety. Its competence requirements came into force through the Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023, which added a new Part 2A, Dutyholders and Competence, to the Building Regulations 2010.

Part 2A applies to building work that needs building regulations approval, whatever the height or use of the building. Higher-risk buildings carry an extra layer of duties, covered in the next chapter.

The dutyholders

• Client: the person or organisation the work is done for
• Designers: anyone who prepares or changes a design
• Contractors: anyone who carries out, manages or controls the work
• Principal Designer: the designer appointed to plan, manage and monitor the design work
• Principal Contractor: the contractor appointed to plan, manage and monitor the building work

What the client must do

• Make suitable arrangements for planning, managing and monitoring the project so the work meets the Building Regulations
• Allow enough time and resources for that to happen
• Appoint a Principal Designer and Principal Contractor where more than one contractor is, or is likely to be, involved
• Take all reasonable steps to satisfy themselves that anyone they appoint is competent
• Share building information with designers and contractors as soon as practicable

Designers and contractors have matching duties. They must only take on work they are competent to carry out, plan and monitor that work and cooperate with others on the project. People still in training can do the work under suitable supervision.

Many of these roles mirror those under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, and the same organisation often fills both. The duties are still separate: CDM is about health and safety during construction, while Part 2A is about whether the finished work meets the Building Regulations.

Most of the Act's building control reforms apply in England. Wales and Scotland have their own regimes, but evidenced competence is good practice wherever you build.

During design and construction, a building is higher-risk if it is at least 18 metres high or has at least seven storeys and contains at least two residential units. Hospitals and care homes that meet the same height test are included. For these buildings, the Building Safety Regulator is the building control authority.

The three gateways

• Gateway 1, planning: a fire statement is submitted with the planning application for relevant buildings, a requirement in place since August 2021
• Gateway 2, before work starts: the Building Safety Regulator must approve the building control application, including a client declaration that the Principal Designer and Principal Contractor are competent. The statutory period is 12 weeks for new buildings and 8 weeks for work to existing higher-risk buildings
• Gateway 3, completion: a completion certificate is needed before a new higher-risk building can be occupied, backed by evidence that the work meets the Building Regulations

The golden thread

The golden thread is the accurate, up-to-date information the people responsible for a higher-risk building need to keep it safe. The Higher-Risk Buildings (Keeping and Provision of Information etc.) (England) Regulations 2024 set out what Accountable Persons must keep, including plans, external wall design and materials, maintenance and inspection records and the safety case report.

For contractors, that means clear records of who did the work, what was installed and how key decisions were made, handed over in a form the client can use.

What happened to the Building Safety Manager?

Early drafts of the Building Safety Bill proposed a statutory Building Safety Manager. The role was removed in 2022, before the Act was passed. Once a building is occupied, responsibility for safety sits with the Accountable Person and Principal Accountable Person, who can appoint competent people to help them.

At Starfish Construction, competence is developed through on-the-job training, an online Learning and Development Hub and management support and mentoring for every team member. Training starts at induction and continues throughout each person's career.

That structure matters because regulations, products and methods keep changing. A competent team is one that keeps learning, records what it has learned and shares it between projects.

One integrated team

Design, surveying, remediation, scaffolding, asbestos management and aftercare sit within one group. Working as one team reduces handover gaps between disciplines, keeps standards consistent and lets knowledge move from project to project.

Digital records with Procore

Starfish Construction uses Procore across every project to manage documents, workflows, reporting and communication. It gives clients real-time visibility of progress, assigns clear responsibility for each task and builds a central, audit-ready record that supports the golden thread.

Warranties and handover

As a product-neutral contractor, Starfish Construction works with a range of manufacturers. Manufacturer warranties on façade, roofing and remediation systems typically run for 25 to 30 years, depending on the products specified, and are handed over with the project documentation.

Questions to ask

• Who will manage the Principal Contractor or Principal Designer duties, and what is their experience on similar buildings?
• How does the organisation assess, record and refresh the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours of its people?
• Which competence frameworks does it work to, such as PAS 8671 or PAS 8672 for higher-risk buildings?
• Can it show recent projects of a similar height, use and building envelope type, with references?
• How is the competence of subcontractors checked and supervised?
• What records will you receive at handover, and in what format, to support the golden thread?

Assumptions to avoid

• That a trade body logo or a card on its own proves competence for a specific task
• That competence duties only apply to higher-risk buildings
• That a CDM appointment automatically covers the Building Regulations roles; confirm the appointments in writing
• That competence checked at tender stays current for the life of the project