Yes. Another Certifier can provide a Form Q. SER will normally require the permission from the original Certifier to allow the new Certifier to access the online certification data. See SER Guidance Note 13 for further details.
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Yes, online payments are our preferred method.
There is also provision to pay via cheque. For payments over £1,000 we are also able to accept payment via BACS.
All of your certificates are accessible on the new system and can be downloaded in their original form from the certificate status report on your user home page. You are also able to create amendments to warrant and add further stages to these legacy certificates.
Sole Practitioners may certify provided they are registered as both an Approved Certifier and an Approved Body.
A Firm is able to apply to join the Scheme as long as it permanently employs an Approved Certifier (i.e. on a permanent rather than contract basis) or there is an application from a Chartered Engineer employed by the firm either pending or accompanying the firm application.
A Certifier would normally be expected to complete all aspects of the certification of the projects for which they have been appointed. However, there may be situations, such as retirement, suspension or death which would preclude a Certifier from issuing further certificates. In such situations, it will be necessary for the a new Approved Body to be identified to take over the certification of the project.
Certification Co-ordinators do not have to be engineers. One of the main duties of the Certification Co-ordinator is to be responsible for ensuring that the conditions under which the Approved Body was approved are fulfilled and maintained, which does not require them to hold any engineering qualifications.
However, the Certification Coordinator should be sufficiently senior in the firm to be able to ensure that all the Approved Body requirements are being met.
We have produced a set of step-by-step tutorials that can be accessed at various stages of the site. These include:
- Joining the scheme
- Producing certificates
- Renewing your membership
- Auditing and the audit process
You can access the Certifier-related tutorials via the 'Certifier Actions' section of your homepage, and the Body-related tutorials via the 'Body Actions' section. Certain tutorials relating to certification processes will also be available when you undertake the relevant process on the site.
For a certificate that was generated using the old SER system, contains Schedule 1 items and has not been superseded by a certificate generated using the new system, you should create and issue the Form Q using the previous process; e.g. printing a blank Form Q and hand-writing the third party designed elements. You are able to issue a Form Q for such certificates even if the Schedule 1 includes items that are no longer permissible as per SER Guidance Note 12. Local Authorities have been advised to accept old-style Form Qs in these circumstances, but will not accept them otherwise.
When completing Schedule 1 for a certificate which is to supersede (e.g. additional stage(s) or amendment to warrant) a certificate generated using the pre-October 2016 SER system, you will be provided with a list of the items that were entered onto the Schedule 1 for the previous certificate. You should re-enter all items from this list that are still permissible for the applicable Risk Group (see SER Guidance Note 12 for further information). You will not be able to enter items that are no longer permissible; however they do remain valid. When generating the Form Q you should enter such items by hand. Local Authorities have been made aware that they should accept Form Qs which were generated in the current system but which contain hand-written additions in these circumstances only.
This can be done at any time via your Body Account home page. On this page you are able to navigate to 'Body Actions' and then 'Certification Coordinators'. Here you will find a link to 'Update Certification Coordinators'.
A Sole Practitioner is required to be registered as both an Approved Certifier and an Approved Body.
You can contact us by phone, email, or letter using the below details:
P: +44 (0)20 7201 9116
E: [email protected]
A: Structural Engineers Registration Limited
47-58 Bastwick Street
London
EC1V 3PS
United Kingdom
Follow the contact us link at the bottom of the page whenever you need these details.
Please use the email address and password that you registered with initially.
You can access the Log In/ Log Out button via the top right of all pages throughout the SER website.
Discussions have taken place between SER and the Scottish Government's Building Standards Division regarding the procedure to be followed when structural changes occur to projects for which a certificate has been issued to the Local Authority but where a Warrant has yet to be granted.
To avoid any possible confusion Approved Certifiers should select 'Generate Structural Changes to Certificate Issued to Local Authority (Warrant Not Yet Granted)' from their admin area when required to generate a certificate in these circumstances.
Membership is renewed online via the task on your account home page (this will automatically appear when you are due to renew).
Please note that renewal reminders are sent to the email address that you log in with.
None of your credit/debit card information is stored in paper form by us and our data storage complies with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.
Non Chartered Engineers (IStructE or ICE) are not eligible to join the Scheme. However you may still make Building Warrant applications to Local Authorities in the traditional way.
In the case that only a single Certifier and Body are audited we endeavour to have our auditors complete the process within a day.
Please be aware that if more than 1 Certifier is audited the process may take longer.
The average length of time from when SER receives the hard copy of an application form to an applicant being accepted onto the Scheme is approximately 10-12 weeks.
This is dependent on the strength of the initial application plus factors such as whether the assessors request further information or for the applicant to attend an interview before a final assessment decision is reached.
In general all Certifiers and Bodies are initially audited within a year of their activation date. Subsequent audits are dependent on the outcome of that audit as well as a number of other risk factors. These include number, type and risk group of projects certified since the previous audit.
Option 1: An Approved Body could be engaged to provide certification services. In order that the Approved Certifier can provide appropriate advice on the process of, and the information required for, certification. The certifier should be engaged at an early stage in the design programme so that the warrant application, including the staging of submissions, together with the delivery of information for certification can be properly planned.
Option 2: Design calculations, drawings and specifications could be submitted to the Verifier along with the application for Building Warrant. Sufficient time will need to be allowed for consideration of this information by the Verifier.
Option 3: You could consider applying to become a member of the scheme. The requirements for membership are given in the Scheme Guide which can be downloaded from http://www.ser-ltd.com/resources/scheme-guide. It should be noted that the application process can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months and it is likely that you will be asked to attend an interview with assessors from the Scottish Registration Board.
The Scheme requires that all applicants must generally have a minimum of 5 years' building structures design and checking experience.
Applicants with less than 5 years experience should be aware that their application may not be approved on the basis of insufficient experience.
Generally, sub-contractors and suppliers are considered in the same way as other designers. Their designs should be comprehensive and sufficiently detailed so that a Certifier can assess whether or not they comply with the relevant Building Standards.
It is important that submissions by sub-contractors and suppliers are aligned with the warrant application programme such that there is sufficient time for scrutiny by the Certifier, and for comments to be resolved before certification can be completed. Delays to the submission of information may delay the issue of the certificate of design.
These are regulations made by Scottish Ministers under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 to ensure that buildings are safe, efficient and sustainable for all.
Building Standards are those levels of safety, efficiency and sustainability prescribed within the Building Regulations that are required to be met when building work or a change of use (conversion) takes place.
There is a procedure which permits the certification of the design of prescribed building elements, the final design of which is normally designed by a third-party designer employed by the supplier or contractor, to be undertaken on the basis of a performance specification provided as part of the Building Warrant application. These elements will be listed on Schedule 1 to the Certificate of Design.
The Certifier should advise Clients if items are subject to final design by a third-party and the need for the third-party designers to timeously provide their design information. The Certifier will review this information to see that the design complies with the performance specification. This should take place before the work commences on site to avoid any delays which might occur if the certifier considers the design to be non-compliant.
If the Certifier is satisfied that the design is compliant, he/she should complete an interim Form Q and this should be submitted to the Verifier before work commences on site.
A final Form Q will need to be submitted to the Verifier along with the Completion Certificate to confirm that designs for all of the items listed on Schedule 1 have been reviewed and that they are compliant. If Form Q is not provided the Verifier will not accept the Completion Certificate.
It is important that all stakeholders adopt a proactive approach to ensure that information is provided timeously to the Certifier to minimise delays from late issue of information or from unsatisfactory designs.
Further information can be found in the Procedural Handbook (see item 10) and in Procedural guidance on certification including information to be submitted with a Building Warrant Application (see item 9).
There are 8 possible audit outcomes.
In order of least to most severe these are:
- Audit within 5 years
- Audit within 4 years
- Audit within 3 years
- Audit within 2 years
- Audit within 1 year
- Active with mentoring
- Suspension with mentoring
- Termination
Active with mentoring - Your ability to generate certificates will remain active but the auditors and SER will request that you submit proposals as to how you will improve your procedures.
Suspended with mentoring - Your ability to generate certificates will be temporarily removed pending the submission of satisfactory proposals as to how you will improve your procedures.
Terminated - Your ability to generate certificates will be removed permanently.
A Certifier must not issue a certificate if the design is incomplete or if it has not been appropriately checked.
On many projects the design cannot be completed until specialist sub-contractors or suppliers are appointed to provide design information. In such cases a staged Building Warrant application can be made, whereby the application is made to the Verifier in a number of steps (stages) dependent on the availability of information.
If a staged application is to be made the applicant, after discussions with the Approved Certifier involved in the project, should agree with the Verifier which stages are appropriate. The Certifier will then need to provide a certificate to accompany each stage of the application.
Further information on the above can be found in BSD's Procedural Handbook.
The Approved Certifier will require sufficient information, such as reports, calculations, specifications, suitably detailed drawings, test certification, etc. to enable an assessment to be made as to whether or the structural design for the proposed building works complies with the relevant standards. The attached checklist summarises the information that may be required, depending on the size and complexity of the works.
The Scottish Government's Building Standards Division (BSD) has produced guidance on the structural information that should accompany an application for a Building Warrant when the design of the structure is being certified. See their publication Procedural guidance on certification including information to be submitted with a Building Warrant Application.
The items which are permitted to be listed on Schedule 1 to a certificate are determined by the Risk Group of the building and are given below.
RG1A and RG1B:
1. Piling
2. Vibro stone columns
3. Precast foundation systems
4. Precast concrete floor units
5. Precast concrete stairs
6. Timber roof trusses
7. Steelwork connections
8. Pedestrian barriers
9. Glazing
RG2A and RG2B:
1. Piling
2. Vibro stone columns
3. Precast concrete floors
4. Precast concrete stairs
5. Timber roof trusses
6. Steelwork connections
RG3: None
SER (Structural Engineers Registration Ltd) is a trading subsidiary of The Institution of Structural Engineers and was formed, with the support of The Institution of Civil Engineers, to provide and manage registration schemes for the certification of design of building structures.
An Approved Body is a firm whom a client engages to provide certification duties carried out by an Approved Certifier of Design. The firm is required to provide a suitable environment for its Approved Certifiers to carry out their duties and will carry appropriate levels of professional indemnity insurance.
The Scottish Government maintains a register of Approved Bodies at http://www.certificationregister.co.uk/.
An Approved Certifier of Design who is a member of the SER Scheme is a suitably experienced chartered engineer who is employed by an Approved Body and is able to certify the structural design of building works for the purposes of obtaining a building warrant.
The Scottish Government maintains a register of Approved Certifiers at http://www.certificationregister.co.uk/.
The Approved Certifier of Design does not have to be, but can be, the building designer.
The Scheme for Certification of Design (Building Structures) is a certification scheme approved by Scottish Ministers and provided by SER. An engineer who is a member of the Scheme as an Approved Certifier of Design (Building Structures) is able to certify that the structural design of buildings in Scotland complies with the relevant Building Standards and can provide a certificate of design which may be submitted with the application to a Verifier (local authority) for a Building Warrant. This can reduce the time taken to get a Building Warrant as the Verifier must accept the certificate as proof that the design is compliant.
An amendment to the Building Warrant is required before work starts on areas of construction that do not follow the design proposals in the original approved drawings and/or specifications.
If the change to the design affects the work that has been certified, then a new certificate will need to be provided with the application for the amendment to the Building Warrant.
It is therefore important the Certifier is kept informed about all changes to the design so that their effect can be assessed and unnecessary delays are avoided.
It should be noted that changes made during construction without an amendment to the Building Warrant could be subject to a building warrant enforcement notice.
Changes to the design that occur after the design certificate has been signed but before the Building Warrant is granted may also require a new certificate. There is guidance on the SER website about how to do this.
It is most likely that your application has not been approved because of insufficient building structures design and/or checking experience and reapplication once more experience has been gained is recommended. Feedback will be provided on request to allow you to better understand why your application was not approved.
If, however you are unsatisfied with the results, details of our appeals processes will be included with the email informing you that your application was not successful.
As with certificates, all of your previous audits have been migrated to the new system; you can download a copy in PDF format from each audit's page - which is accessible from the audit history page on you user home page.
It is a legal requirement that a Building Warrant is obtained from the local authority before that building work or conversion takes place. This is to ensure that the proposed work meets the standards. (i.e. The system is pre-emptive). It should be noted that carrying out work that requires a warrant before the warrant is granted is an offence.
There is no requirement to provide a certificate of design for the purposes of obtaining a Building Warrant. It is permissible to submit structural design calculations together with suitably detailed drawings with the application for building warrant. However, this will require the Verifier to check the design for compliance with the relevant standards and this will take time. Where the option of using an Approved Certifier to provide a certificate confirming that the structural design complies with the standards is used there is no need for compliance checking by the verifier as they are required to accept the certificate as evidence of compliance.
If you are having issues logging in, please contact SER and we will be able to confirm your email address for you.
Please note that we have no access to your password; as such if this requires changing you will be required to follow the forgotten password process.
The requirement for those signing design certificates for a Building Warrant to hold Chartered Engineer status was included in Regulations introduced in Scotland in 1992.
This Scheme has the same requirement.
This Scheme was introduced in response to the requirements of the Building (Scotland) Act 2003.
SER Approved Bodies are able to offer clients a faster route to obtaining a Building Warrant than by submitting calculations to the Local Authority.
SER Approved Certifiers are able to offer clients a faster route to obtaining a Building Warrant than by submitting calculations to the Local Authority.