Magnús Rannver Rafnsson, building inspector in and vice-chairman of the Association of Building Inspectors, is warning strongly against proposals by the Housing and Construction Authority (HMS) to transfer building inspections to private inspection firms and effectively abolish or neutralize the role of local building inspectors.
Conflict of interest?
He argues that failing to maintain a clear distinction between design and inspection responsibilities is a serious flaw, as such separation is standard practice internationally.
“These proposals seem to be a new way for the country’s largest consulting firms — which are also responsible for around 70% of construction defects — to enrich themselves at the expense of the public,” Rafnsson says, emphasizing that the discussion wrongly focuses on inspection shortcomings instead of design and advisory errors.
Municipal oversight already weakened
According to Rafnsson, recent legislative changes already weakened municipal oversight by transferring some inspection duties from building inspectors to project managers — a system that “did not work at all.”
If the new HMS proposals move forward, he warns, municipalities will be left powerless in the face of “the dominance of large Reykjavík-based companies,” while inspection fees and project costs will balloon, ultimately funded by taxpayers.
He also criticizes the limited involvement of municipal inspectors in HMS’s preparatory work, claiming that proposals were presented as nearly finalized and questioning why universities were not included.
“Universities should be the cradle of professional practice, but their absence — along with the sidelining of municipalities — suggests that those who bear the greatest responsibility for the current situation are still steering the process,” Rafnsson concludes.
Source: Mbl.is
