20 years ago — November 1998:
• The building industry applauded the Government’s intention to reduce health and safety levies on employers to better reflect the cost of OSH services.
Employers paid a Health and Safety in Employment (HSE) levy of six cents per $100 of payroll as part of ACC premiums, bringing in more than $26 million, of which only $21 million went to the Department of Labour’s OSH service.
“The balance had been going into the consolidated fund,” according to BCITO OSH manager Ian Shepherd. “That’s a disgraceful misuse of funds collected for a specific purpose,” he said.
“It is admirable that the levy is being reduced, therefore reducing the amount going into the public trough, but it still means there’s $1.5 million left over, which should be returned to industry to fund health and safety initiatives,” Mr Shepherd said.
15 years ago — November 2003:
• A Building Industry Performance Group (BIP Group) had been established at the Building Industry Authority (BIA) to manage and strengthen the BIA’s relationship with territorial authorities (TAs) and building certifiers, and to monitor, report and improve the performance outcomes of the building regulatory system.
BIP Group manager Murray Sim said TAs should consider the BIP group their main point of contact with the BIA, just as the BIP Group was now the BIA’s key point of entry into issues at TA and building certifier level.
10 years ago — November 2008:
• Standards New Zealand (SNZ) sought feedback from stakeholders regarding parts of NZS 3604:1999 — the key Standard for building timber-framed houses in New Zealand — that needed to be brought up to date.
SNZ was starting a project to revise the Standard, and was calling for nominations to the technical committee that was to revise NZS 3604.
The key objectives of the revision were to reflect industry needs, changes in materials and industry practice since the last revision was published, and changes in other related Standards such as those setting requirements for earthquake, wind, snow and other loadings that buildings should be designed to, and to consider the merits of a “whole building” design approach, as opposed to the “single member” basis of design.
5 years ago — November 2013:
• Chelydra Percy was appointed as chief executive officer of the BRANZ Group.
Ms Percy was previously with Callaghan Innovation where she was future products and innovation general manager.
“The BRANZ Board is excited to be working with Chelydra to continue the growth of the organisation,” BRANZ chair Dr Helen Anderson said.
