Qualification, signature, liability

Why the signature matters

A design becomes usable when a qualified designer signs it and states their name and chamber number. That is the form responsibility takes — not administration. Designer qualifications.

Separately by discipline

Each discipline’s part is signed by a designer qualified in that discipline: the structural part with a structural qualification, the architectural with an architect’s.

In general design we pull the disciplines together, but we do not take over their professional liability — each discipline’s designer carries it for their own work. What we undertake is consistency and coordination. Boundaries of responsibility.

What you can check

The chamber’s register is public. A designer’s qualification can be checked before you sign a contract with them — ours as much as anyone’s.

Professional indemnity

The professional practice decree also provides for designers’ liability insurance. The insurance does not relieve the designer of liability; it is there to handle the financial consequences. Designer liability and professional indemnity.

What to ask any designer

1. Do they hold the qualification for that field.
2. Do they have valid insurance.
3. What do they undertake in writing — particularly the content of the design stages and the boundaries between disciplines.

Ask us those three as well.

The point

A signature is not a stamp but an acceptance of liability. If you cannot be told who will sign your design, you do not yet know what you are buying.