In May 2005, the firm was established to certify the design of building structures in Scotland.

SER operates to safeguard building safety by ensuring:

• Competent Chartered Engineers sign-off on building designs in accordance with Scottish Building Regulations;
• The competence of Certifiers’ through annual Continuous Professional Development (CPD);
• TThe auditing of Certifier’s work and their performance. 

Since its formation 20 years ago, SER has worked successfully to maintain high standards, so that the Scottish building control system’s procedures are followed. A similar system also operates in Jersey, with both being overseen by a Registration Board.

Norman Train, chair of the SER Board, said of the 20-year anniversary: “The SER Scheme is an important one for building safety. The whole process brings together experts from engineering design and local government to ensure buildings are compliant with the Regulations.”

The Scottish Registration Board’s members are experienced Chartered Engineers, with the necessary knowledge of the certification process and the Scottish building control system. They are responsible for assessing applications for membership of the scheme and auditing members’ certification activities.

The system in Scotland is designed so that the proposed building work meets the building regulations. A Building Warrant is needed before building work can start, which means that the building design needs to be largely complete before a warrant can be approved.

The scheme checks:

• The loadings on the building
• How stability of the building is achieved
• How the requirements for disproportionate collapse are being met
• The design of critical elements and their connections or fixings
• The specification of the materials, components, testing

Norman Train concluded: “SER looks ahead to a future with structural safety, compliance and competency continuing to be at the heart of Scotland’s building process.”