Workshop 3 Update
Building a smarter better building control service through collaboration and data
At our third Digital Building Control workshop we were delighted to welcome our new R&D team Unboxed, alongside colleagues from partner councils.
Thank you also to the City of London for hosting the session, and arranging a history site visit to Pudding Lane and the place where it all started for Building Control!
Why Digital Building Control Matters
The workshop reinforced the strategic importance of digital building control, particularly its alignment with:
- Building Safety Regulator priorities
- Grenfell Inquiry recommendations on access to building information
Beyond efficiency, the ambition is long-term: better data quality, improved emergency resilience and foundations for possible future innovation such as digital twins. However, you can’t do any of this without good-quality, structured data first.
Using Data to Drive Improvement
“Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.” W. Edwards Deming
To understand where time and effort are currently spent, we’ll be introducing timesheets for a small group of officers. These will capture high-level task categories, time spent, and supporting context.
The goal is simple: create a baseline, identify pain points, and generate evidence that shows where digital improvements can make the biggest difference - whilst keeping the process proportionate for those involved.
Measuring Better Digital Services
We also explored how to measure improvements to building control websites in practical ways, including:
- Fewer clicks to reach key information
- Identifying common user pinch points
- Reductions in inbound calls and complaints
Focusing on clear, comparable metrics will help demonstrate value to senior stakeholders and demonstrate to the wider community the benefits of our work.
Building Relationships and Collaboration
Experience shows that digital change only works when supported across the organisation. Strong relationships with IT, procurement, and legal teams are essential to adoption.
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There was also strong agreement on the need to work closely with industry partners. Registered Building Control Approvers (RBCAs) will play a key role, alongside engagement with NHBC.
Vision update
We spent some time this session updating the vision for our Alpha. This was a lively discussion — with post its to capture what we thought.
We’ll share more on that to come in a future post!
Reducing Friction in Building Control Submissions
Common challenges were shared around document quality, including unstructured submissions, unclear versioning and inconsistent naming. These issues create unnecessary workload for officers.
Improving submission standards and document handling represents a significant opportunity to reduce friction and free up officer time as the project progresses.
What Happens Next
User research now moves to the forefront, including:
- Detailed journey mapping and personas
- Interviews with officers, builders, homeowners, agents, and RBCAs
- Validating assumptions ahead of early prototyping
Next steps:
- Share timesheet guidance
- Begin user research
- Continue fortnightly Show & Tell sessions
- Hold the next workshop in January, focused on journeys and early design ideas
We’ll continue sharing updates as the work develops.
Invitation to Participate
You can help. We are inviting all Local Authority Building Control officers involved in Full Plan applications to participate in user research. If you are interested, please contact digitalbuildingcontrol@lambeth.gov.uk for an appointment. The session will last 45 minutes and will focus on your approach to full plans, challenges encountered, and suggestions for improvement.
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Project page: Digital Building Control | Lambeth Council
