7 Dec 2020
Engineering New Zealand and ACE New Zealand have been receiving queries recently about whether you should be ticking ‘All’ or ‘Part only’ on producer statements, in particular for clause B1 (Structural Stability). Here, we discuss the difference between the two and when you should use each.
Engineering New Zealand, ACE NZ and NZIA worked together to author the 2013 producer statements. However, architects no longer use them, and so Engineering New Zealand and ACE NZ are working on updating them. As part of this update we are considering removing the ‘All or Part only’ boxes to reduce confusion about what you have designed, and what you are taking responsibility for. You can get more information about the potential changes to producer statements from this webinar recording.
Ticking 'All'
By ticking ‘All’ for B1, you are potentially accepting liability for all structural elements of the building, including proprietary systems from precast panels to suspended ceilings, to the flex that holds the lighting systems in place.
Typically, an engineer will not design every aspect of a structure and therefore should not accept responsibility for them.
An exception may be where the whole project consists of a single, engineered structure such as a retaining wall.
Ticking 'Part only'
You should list the parts of the structure for which you are responsible. If there are too many to list on the standard Producer Statement form, then you could include a note such as ‘see schedule x’. You are not expected to list all the items for which you aren’t responsible.
The BCA or a checking engineer should be able to see what you have designed clearly. You can easily do this in your drawings and calculations by having bracing plans, beam layout plans and foundation plans at the start of each section of your calculations.
The ‘All or Part only’ boxes are a hang-over from when Producer Statements were also used by architects. You would rarely tick ‘All’ other than when the entire project is a single structure such as a retaining wall. You should not list all aspects of design for which you are not responsible.
You should clearly show which parts of a structure you have designed on drawings and each section of your calculations.
The same principles will apply to other Building Code Clauses.
If you have any questions, get in touch with Martin Pratchett at Engineering New Zealand or ACE New Zealand.
