Building Regulatory Compliance - Waterford

The professional will be equipped with the knowledge, skills, and competence to holistically evaluate regulatory compliance techniques in terms of traditional command and control regulation. They will gain the discretion to use other strategies for regulating a problem and the skill to select a regulatory strategy to provide a regulatory outcome in different contexts.



The programme has been developed in cooperation with the National Building Control and Market Surveillance Office, which supports Building Control Authorities on the implementation of the regulations and promoting a culture of compliance with the regulations.



Accordingly, the programme does not only focus on the regulations and consequences of not adhering to them, but on how the regulations and standards affect a positive, healthy, and safe environment where peoples’ best interests are at heart.



Regulatory professionalism encompasses, integrity, consistency and transparency which requires substantial training focusing not only on technical but also on mainstream regulatory compliance, inspection, and enforcement skills to help ensure consistency and fairness.



Mairead Phelan, Head of the National Building Control and Market Surveillance Office (NBC&MSO), says that: “Building Regulatory Compliance is not just about is not just about Laws, it is about regulators and practitioners who operate in the space between these laws as enacted and protecting citizens and society from a range of risks, threats, or harms. This MSc is a must for regulators and practitioners in that it provides practical instruction on regulatory models, practices, policy formulation, the risk-based regulator using national, European, and international and case-studies”.



Aim

The primary aim of the programme is to produce high calibre individuals, distinct in their knowledge, skills and know how associated with Building Control and Regulatory Compliance.



Objectives

The objectives of the programmes are to:



- Develop a culture of integrity and compliance with Building Regulations.

- Provide a specialised knowledge of Building Control & Building Regulations and the Building Control Management System

- Provide detailed knowledge and skill to use dynamic thermal simulation software in the analysis of energy consumption of buildings by modification of the building envelope to ensure compliance with regulations.

- Provide specialised knowledge of the investigation and diagnosis of defects in buildings and their remedies particularly defects in relation to Building Control and Regulatory Compliance.

- Develop skills to make incisive decisions through an explicit and systematic understanding of the ethical, political, social, cultural, economic, technological, environmental, legal, and organisational factors in relation to Construction, Building Control and Regulatory Compliance.

Semester 1



Building Regulatory Enforcement

Building Control Legislation, Regulation Policy, and Practice

Economics & the Construction Sector

Construction Project Management

Energy Modelling for nZEB Design

Professional Development and Effectiveness



Semester 2



Building Regulatory Compliance

Building Control Management System

ICT for Construction

Energy Modelling for HVAC Systems & Controls

Lean Enterprise Thinking & Practice

Building Energy Performance & Analysis

Applicants for the should hold a NFQ Level 8 Honours degree with a minimum of Honours 2.2 in a cognate discipline.



Cognate discipline areas of study include: civil engineering, construction studies, construction management, architecture, architectural technology, building services, building surveying, quantity surveying, energy engineering, energy management, building physics, physical and chemical sciences, health and safety, fire management, fire systems, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, manufacturing engineering, process engineering, electronic engineering, systems engineering.

or

have a non-cognate NQF Level 8 degree with a minimum of Honours 2.2 together with a minimum of 5 years relevant industrial experience in a cognate area.



Entry to the programme may also be allowed via the Institute’s Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process on an individual case-by-case basis. This RPL process includes the matching of the candidate’s prior learning (education and experiential) with the equivalent Level 8 programme outcomes.



Eligible applicants must at least meet the minimum English language requirements for the Institute as detailed in the Quality Manual.

1 year full-time.



Full-time over one year



The full-time programme is of interest to recent graduates as well as others who are returning to higher education in order to improve their skills and employment prospects. The full-time version of the MScBRC involves approximately 12 hours of class contact per week in each of the first 2 semesters (S1: September to December and S2: January to May).



These classes are typically held on Thursday, Fridays and some Saturdays. The third semester (S3: May to September) is used to complete the Research Dissertation/Thesis.

NEXT INTAKE September 2024

Graduates of this programme will have the opportunity to advance their careers in the area of building control and product regulation. This is particularly relevant to architects, architectural technologists, engineers, planners, building control officers, surveyors where the implications of building control have the biggest impact.



The programme offers and opportunity for students without a formal building control qualifications and experience to gain employment in several areas of the construction industry where promoting a culture of compliance with the building and construction products regulations is important. These include:



Designers

Quality Assurance and Control Managers

BCAR Managers

Assigned Certifiers

Building Control Officers

Health and Safety Specialists

Sustainability Officers.