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2. Construction Quality
2.1. Construction industry and
Sustainable development
Construction facilities occur as a result of
various fundamental motivations/needs:
- need for safety (shelter);
- need to provide adequate conditions for
various activities (production, business,
education, culture, ....);
- spiritual and aesthetic needs;
- protection of environment, etc.
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Construction industry change (and
sometimes) damage environment:

* The concept of sustainable
development Lester Brown 1984 and
U.N. Brundtland Commision 1987:
sustainable development is
development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own
needs .
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For humans, sustainability is the potential for
long-term maintenance of well being, which has
environmental, economic, and social dimensions

The definition reffers to the unitary approach of
following principles:

Present needs for developement;
Reducing negative human impact on the
environment and ecosystems;
Equity and poverty alleviation;
Preserve the capacity of future generations to
meet their needs


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In the context of equity principle construction
facilities should satisfy the following three
classes of requirements related to:

* Direct user (client);
* Indirect users (other stakeholders: statutory
authorities, rest of comunity);
* Environment and future generations.
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2.2. The Construction Performance Approach:
Requirements, Performances, Quality

The Performance Approach - is a new (1970) practice
which focuses on a construction asset in order to
prescribe desired results instead of the way and the
method to get things done.

It is concerned with what a construction facility (product)
is required to do, and not with prescribing how it is to be
constructed (as The Prescription approach does).

The Performance Approach applies to:
- different levels of aggregation of a built facility (whole
building, building elements, building products/materials);
- different life-stages of the project (design, construction,
occupancy, demolition).
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The Performance Approach main steps

Identifying and formulating the relevant User
Requirements
Transforming the User Requirements
identified into Performance Requirements
and quantitative performance criteria,
Using reliable design and evaluation tools to
assess whether proposed solutions meet the
stated criteria at a satisfactory level.
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User Requirements (Statement of Requirements)
need or expectation related to the intended product;
based on clients needs and specific activities;
document prepared by clients, or in the verbal
statements;
initially are vaguely defined, mainly as general
descriptions of the intended facility;
are converted/translated into Performance
Requirements (explicit or implicit) by Architect and
Engineer;
represent the Demand;
the Required performance should fulfill the
Demand;
An important part of a continuous process of
communication between clients (demand) and their
project team (supply).



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D
E
M
A
N
D
USER LANGUAGE
Related to needs
Related to own
activities (intended
use)


REQUIREMENTS
PERFORMANCE
LANGUAGE
What should have the built
facility to facilitate the
intended use
Based on technical
language and concepts
PERFORMANCE
REQUIREMENTS
S
U
P
L
Y
TECHNICAL
LANGUAGE
Related to technical
solutions
How can the
requirements be met
Specific to supply
chain participants
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
PERFORMANCE
LANGUAGE
Predicted and/or
measured properties of the
solutions offered
PERFORMANCE
SPECIFICATIONS

PERFORMANCE
of the BUILDING

Performance requirements - translate user
requirements in more precise quantitative measurable
and technical terms, usually for a specific purpose.

Performance indicators give details about the way
it can be measured the results against explicit
requirements, whether qualitative or quantitative.

Performance specifications can come from:
client;
construction codes and legislation.
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Target of Performance based approach: matching
of user requirements and performance
(specifications) of built assets.
Building performance evaluation is the process of
systematically comparing and matching the
performance in use of building assets with
explicitly documented or implicitly criteria for their
expected performance.
Performance in use assesment building
performance validation can be done by:
- measurement,
- calculation,
- expert witnesses.
The raport between Performance in use
and Requirements gives Quality.

REMEMBER:
Quality (according to ISO 9000) = degree to which a
set of inherent (permanent) charecteristics (of a
product/service) fulfils requirements.

Construction Quality (according to Law 10/1995) =
represents the total set of performance in use
characteristics of a built facility in order to fulfill the
direct and indirect user requirements, through the
entire life cycle of that facility.
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EXAMPLE of requirement translation

User requirement Performance requirements

Have meetings with max. - Required space: 3 mp/person;
25 people sitting round - Space shape: L/l 1,5/1;
table - Ventilation: min. 30 mc fresh air
per person and per hour;
- Air temperature: t = 19 22 C;
- Noise (due to ext.): max 35 dB;
- Lighting level: min 500 lux.
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Romanian STANDARD about User requirements
STAS 12400/1-1985, Table 2, Anex A define the fallowing requirements:
Mechanical resistance and stability;
Safety in case of fire;
Safety in use;
Leak protection;
Hygrothermal requirements;
Air quality;
Acoustic requirements;
Visual/Aesthetic requirements;
Tactile requirements;
Accessibility;
Hygiene;
Space functionality and adaptability;
Durability;
Value for many (cost effectiveness).



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Romanian CODE NC 001-1999 regarding
explication of User requirements

Performance requirements - translate user requirements
in more precise quantitative measurable and technical
terms, by the use of a lot/set of Performance Criteria.

User Requirement Performance Requirement = Quality
Requirement

Quality Requirement = qualitative expresion of the building
characteristics (whole building or building
subsystems/elements) to be achieved in order to meet the
user requirements, taking into account a speciffic (for that
particular buiding and location) set of influencing
agents/factors.



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ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

- Law 10/1995 regardind construction quality
identifies 6 Essential Requirements for
construction activity.

- COUNCIL DIRECTIVE of 21 December 1988
on the approximation of laws, regulations
and administrative provisions of the Member
States relating to construction products
(89/106/EEC) THE SAME 6 Essential
Requirements.

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The products must be suitable for
construction works which (as a whole and in
their separate parts) are fit for their intended
use, account being taken of economy, and in
this connection satisfy the following essential
requirements where the works are subject to
regulations containing such requirements.
Such requirements must, subject to normal
maintenance, be satisfied for an economically
reasonable working life (Table 1).
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ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENT
1995 - 2007 2007- present
A
Resistance and stability
Mechanical resistance and
stability
B
Safety in use Safety in case of fire
C
Safety in case of fire
Hygiene, health and the
environment
D
Hygiene and health of man
(workers, occupants or
neighbours) and
environment protection and
rehabilitation
Safety in use
E
Heat retention, Waterproof
insulation and Energy economy
Protection against noise
F
Protection against noise
Energy economy and heat
retention
Table 1. ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS
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A. Mechanical resistance and stability

The construction works must be designed and built in
such a way that the loadings that are liable to act on
them during their constructions and use will not lead
to any of the following:
(a) collapse of the whole or part of the work;
(b) major deformation to an inadmissible degree;
(c) damage to other parts of the construction works or
to fittings or installed equipment as a result of major
deformation of the load- bearing construction;
(d) damage by an event to an extent disproportionate to
the original cause.

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B. Safety in case of fire

The construction works must be designed and built in such
a way that in the event of an outbreak of fire:
(a) the load-bearing capacity of the construction can
be assumed for a specific period of time;
(b) the generation and spread of fire and smoke
within the construction works are limited;
(c) the spread of fire to neighboring construction
works is limited;
(d) occupants can leave the construction works or
be rescued by other means;
(e) the safety of rescue teams is taken into
consideration.
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C. Hygiene, health and the environment

The construction works must be designed and built in such a way that they will,
throughout their life cycle, not be a threat to the hygiene or health and safety of
workers, occupants or neighbors, nor have an exceedingly high impact, over
their entire life cycle, on the environment quality or on the climate during their
construction, use and demolition, in particular as a result of any of the following:
(a) the giving-off of toxic gas;
(b) the emissions of dangerous substances, volatile organic compounds,
greenhouse gases or dangerous particles into indoor or outdoor air;
(c) the emission of dangerous radiation;
(d) the release of dangerous substances into ground water, marine waters,
surface waters or soil;
(e) the release of dangerous substances into drinking water or substances
which have an otherwise negative impact on drinking water;
(f) faulty discharge of waste water, emission of flue gases or faulty disposal
of solid or liquid waste;
(g) dampness in parts of the construction works or on surfaces within the
construction works.
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D. Safety (and accessibility) in use

The construction works must be designed and built
in such a way that they do not present
unacceptable risks of accidents or damage in
service or in operation such as slipping, falling,
collision, burns, electrocution, injury from
explosion and burglaries.

In particular, construction works must be designed
and built taking into consideration accessibility and
use for disabled persons.

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E. Protection against noise

The construction works must be designed
and built in such a way that noise perceived
by the occupants or people nearby is kept to
a level that will not threaten their health and
will allow them to sleep, rest and work in
satisfactory conditions.
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F. Energy economy and heat retention

The construction works and their heating,
cooling, lighting and ventilation installations
must be designed and built in such a way that
the amount of energy they require in use shall
be low, when account is taken of the occupants
and of the climatic conditions of the location.

Construction works must also be energy-
efficient, using as little energy as possible
during their construction and dismantling.
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2.3. CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY CHARACTERISTICS

Working place (site) is temporary,
continously changing;
Product (built facility) is unique, immobile
Processes are mobile;
Production process mainly outdoor;
Production process continuously
changing. Variety of construction
technology, and structure of industry;
Requires other industries to support it;
Complex and expensive;

Lond lastind life-cycle;
Many people/organizations involved in
promotion, construct and use;
High incidence of risk and uncertainty in
demand pattern and technical conditions;
The product is usually commisioned and
not bought; Complex and expensive;
Demand is fluctuant, depending largelly
by government;
Requires large and various ammount of
materials, equipment and workforce
(seldom highly qualified), etc.


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2.4. Construction Quality System

Participants to Construction Industry - form a
heterogeneous set of persons and / or organizations
among which are created, by law and various ad hoc
relationships, multiple and diverse connections and
conditions. The quality of construction is the result of this
heterogeneous set of factors, namely: :
Client;
Consultant/Designer;
Contractor;
Suppliers;
Other consultants and service supliers: expert
witnesses, design verifiers, technical advisors,
laboratories etc.;
Local and central authorities;
State Inspectorate in Construction, etc.
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All these direct and indirect participants
create ad-hoc a complex system, whose
final result is the development of
anthropogenic environment.

Law 10/1995 defines the Construction
Quality System as a set of organizational
structures, resposibilities, and instruments
which are involved in obtaining quality of
the built asset throughout its entire lyfe -
cycle (promotion, design, construction, use
and demolition).

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Construction Quality System (CQS)

a) Codes and regulations;
b) Materials, Products, Components;
c) Technical approvals (agremente tehnice) for new
products and technologies;
d) Design verification (quality control), Quality control of
the works and Expert witnesses of the designs, works
and built facilities;
e) Quality management ;
f) Laboratory approval and testing;
g) Construction metrology;
h) Commissioning (handing-over);
i) In use construction behavior and interventions;
j) Demolition and disposal;
k) State control of construction quality.
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Construction Quality System (CQS) may be seen
as a Cybernetic open systen
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System = a set of interacting or interdependent
components and rules forming an integrated whole (ex :
organizational structures, laws, responsibilities,
construction codes etc with various conexions in
between).
Input = customer and community needs and
requirements;
System behavior = it contains processes that transform
inputs into outputs (material, money, energy or data);
Output = design, built facility.

Cybernetic System = are capable of receiving, storing
and processing information so as to use it for self
control, using feed-back.

Open Cybernetic System = exchanges matter and
energy with its surroundings/environment (competitors,
suppliers, local/central authorities, banks, etc).
Usually, environment induces restrictions
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Comments about system behavior

Each person and/or organization within the
system has speciffic interests, which can be
even opposite.
Inside organizations importance approach
regarding various objectives can outline a
speciffic objective affecting another (ex.
Quantity/Profit more important than quality, Time
reduction more important than quality
improvement, etc);
Partizan attitude within the departments affecting
the company global objectives.
The more components of the system, the higher
incidence of failers occurs.