BSRIA BG6 building services design responsibility management goes digital

BG6 was first published in 2006, with the primary aim of clarifying the roles and duties of those involved in the design phases of construction projects. The latest update, the first since the fifth edition in 2018, not only aligns with the RIBA Plan of Work 2020 (including “clearer treatment of Stage 3 spatial coordination, and Stage 4 technical design”), but has also been developed into a digital platform.

BSRIA noted that its previous approach to BG6 “created challenges around version control, local copies and fragmented comments”. The new platform is designed to be used by anyone in the supply chain and provides “centrally maintained guidance, a single shared project record, controlled permissions, collaborative review, point-in-time versions, and an audit trail of changes”.

The updated best practice section includes a new section on the Building Safety Act, and there are specific activities to support compliance.

BSRIA recommends that anyone using the previous pdf or Excel versions should upgrade to the new platform. No separate pdf version will be available. BSRIA said: “This interactive format provides ease of navigation, allows guidance to be quickly linked to activities and deliverables, and enables updates to ensure BG6 delivers for a changing industry. On the BG6 platform, users can generate project-specific pdf exports containing selected activities, deliverables, allocations and relevant commentary for appointments, contracts, tenders and project records.”

The likes of Aecom, Foster + Partners, Dalkia, Hoare Lea, Kier, Laing O’Rourke, NG Bailey, NHS England, Skanska, T Clarke, Tilbury Douglas, Vinci Building and WSP were involved in the BG6 update, either as authors, members of the steering group or reviewers.

John Taylor, product manager at BG6, said: “The industry has long recognised the cost of poor coordination, yet responsibility gaps continue to create problems across projects. Too often, assumptions about who’s doing what are only challenged when something goes wrong, by which point the consequences can be significant.