The foreign design company intended to obtain the right to perform the functions of a general designer in Belarus and develop sections of design documentation for construction facilities classified as Class 1 in terms of complexity — the most complex facilities under the applicable classification.
To pass the certification procedure, the company was required to demonstrate compliance with the qualification requirements, establish the necessary staffing structure, ensure that its specialists obtained qualification certificates and provide evidence of its project delivery experience.
The project involved the following key workstreams:
REVERA’s lawyers assessed the prospects of obtaining the certificate and developed a step-by-step plan for bringing the company into compliance with the qualification requirements.
As part of the project, REVERA assisted more than 15 of the client’s specialists in obtaining qualification certificates. The team reviewed the documents confirming their education and professional experience.
REVERA also arranged the specialists’ preparation by obtaining access to training materials and practice tests. Following the preparation process, the specialists were registered for the examination. All specialists were admitted to the certification procedure, successfully passed it and obtained qualification certificates.
To identify and recruit the additional specialists required, REVERA engaged licensed recruitment agencies on behalf of the client.
The team advised the client on the applicable qualification requirements and the approaches adopted by the regulator, assisted in resolving matters relating to the certification of specialists and the verification of the company’s experience, and prepared and submitted the complete set of documents required for the foreign company’s certification.
Throughout the procedure, REVERA liaised with the Republican Unitary Enterprise BELSTROYTSENTR, conducted correspondence, took account of the current requirements, prepared responses to requests for additional documents and information, and resolved issues arising during the review of the application.
To obtain the certificate, the company was required to meet the highest qualification requirements applicable to a Category I general designer.
A separate challenge involved verifying the company’s experience gained outside Belarus. For this experience to be recognised, it was necessary to compare the foreign classifications of construction facility complexity with the Belarusian classification.
The establishment of the required staffing structure, the transfer of certified specialists to the staff of the company’s branch and their formal employment at the branch as their principal place of work also required additional consideration.
Further information about REVERA’s expertise in this area, the qualification requirements applicable to foreign companies and the certification procedure is available in our article on the website.
To demonstrate the company’s experience, the regulator requested executed contracts, commissioning acceptance certificates and documents confirming the complexity class of each facility under the approved design documentation. However, it may be difficult for a foreign general designer to provide commissioning acceptance certificates, as general designers do not normally sign such documents and obtaining them from clients is not always possible.
As a result of REVERA’s support, the client obtained a certificate of compliance authorising it to perform the functions of a general designer and develop sections of design documentation for construction facilities classified as Class 1 in terms of complexity.
In preparation for the certification procedure, the required team of certified specialists was established, the company’s project delivery experience was successfully demonstrated and the necessary documents were properly prepared. As a result, the client achieved its objective of obtaining the construction-related authorisations required to implement its project in the Republic of Belarus.
