BSRIA moves BG6 design responsibility framework online and cuts Stage 4 to two phases

BSRIA has launched its BG6 Design Framework for Building Services as an online collaboration platform, replacing the spreadsheet-based responsibility matrices that project teams have traditionally used to allocate building services design activities.

The platform launched on 6 November 2026, according to an article in CIBSE Journal written by John Taylor, who the journal describes as BG6 product manager at BSRIA. It lets project teams define the tasks to be done, assign them to the right parties and agree the deliverables.

The technical content and activity schedules behind BG6 have also been reviewed and expanded in consultation with more than 50 representatives from across construction, the article said.

What has changed

The most significant structural change is at RIBA Stage 4 Technical Design. The previous edition of BG6 divided Stage 4 into three distinct phases. Following industry consultation, the new edition simplifies this to two: 4(1) Generic and 4(2) Specific, the latter covering the selection of specific plant items.

BG6 now also aligns with the 2020 update to the RIBA Plan of Work, in which Stage 3 changed from Developed Design to Spatial Coordination. The Royal Institute of British Architects says the guidance in its Plan of Work 2020 is based on nearly seven years of feedback gathered from the construction industry.

Under the revised Stage 3 text, designers following BG6 must make appropriate allowances for systems not yet designed, including contractor-designed portion packages, supports and fixings, and space for maintenance, operation and replacement.

Why the format matters

The article said responsibility matrices are usually created in spreadsheets and exchanged between clients, consultants and contractors, and that a spreadsheet becomes a static tool in a digital world. A large hospital, laboratory or commercial scheme, it said, can involve dozens of organisations and hundreds of design interfaces.

The online platform keeps an auditable log of who made assignments, who was assigned to which activity and role, any changes made and any comments added.

The article also set out the platform's current limits. It does not yet notify users of changes to allocation, although all changes are visible, most recent first, when users log in. Links to a common data environment can be added, but at present these are weblinks rather than an API connection.

Building safety context

BSRIA positions the platform as support for the golden thread of information required under the Building Safety Act 2022. According to the Building Safety Regulator, during design and construction the duty to ensure arrangements are in place to keep and manage golden thread information rests with the client or someone acting on their behalf.

The CIBSE Journal article said BG6 can support those requirements by providing a structured approach to allocating and documenting design responsibilities, so that decisions can be understood as a project progresses rather than reconstructed afterwards.

What happens next

BSRIA will demonstrate the new BG6 platform at London Build 2026 on 25 and 26 November, at 12:30 each day, on stand C180. The event organiser says London Build 2026 is free to attend and takes place at Excel London, opening on Wednesday 25 November from 9:30am to 5:30pm.