Construction risk can generally be categorized as听搁别飞辞谤办/顿别蹿别肠迟,听Safety, Loss or Unforeseeable. As it should, safety is commonly addressed on construction sites with robust safety programs, oversight and regulations due to the threat to life.听
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It has been suggested that safety programs cost 2.5% of project costs when construction site injuries account for听6%-9% of the total project cost.
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Here we will discuss the quality assurance as it relates to听rework/defects听-听financial risk equal to safety.
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The听American Society of Quality (ASQ)听defines quality management as:听The application of a quality management system in managing a process to achieve maximum customer satisfaction at the听lowest overall cost听to the organization while continuing to improve the process.
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quality management听involves establishing a culture of听
鈥渄oing it right the first time鈥�
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Rework - reduces workflow:
- Incomplete听drawings
- Poorly defined听scope of work
- Mismanagement of听change orders
- Poorly written听contracts
- Unknown听site conditions
- Issues with听subcontractors听and听suppliers
- Poor听project management
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A study conducted by Navigant Construction Forum placed the听total cost of rework, including both the direct and indirect factors combined, at听9% of the total project cost听- this is equal to construction site injuries. Quality assurance programs should be as robust as safety programs to address the risk.
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The听Construction Specification Institute (CSI)听defines quality assurance during design as:听The procedures for guarding against defects and elements of the design for conformance with requirements.
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The CSI suggests that the goal of every design team听should be to prepare 鈥渃lear, concise, correct, and complete鈥� documents.
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Reasons teams fail to attain their goals:
- Lack of support for听Team Culture
- Lack of proper听Team Usage
- Lack of听Planning
- Lack of听Resources
- Lack of听Clarity
- Lack of听Mutual Accountability
- Lack of听Effective听or听Shared Leadership
- Lack of focus on听Creativity听and听Excellence
- Lack of听Training
Research recommendations:
- Design firms are advised to听integrate construction knowledge听& contractor鈥檚 experience in the design process as an approach to improve building performance
- Changing organizational culture听& getting senior management support are essential for successful implementation of constructability concept in design firms
- Barriers to constructability need to be identified & strategies for overcoming have to be听planned, implemented & evaluated
- Design firms are encouraged to鈥�facilitate the integration听of鈥onstructability concept in the design process
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SOURCE: A.A.E Othman - Improving Building Performance Through Integrating Constructability in the Organization, Technology and Management in Construction - An International Journal - 3(2)2011
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A quality assurance program should be implemented to听minimize the risk of rework听by aiding design teams in attaining their goals. Those overseeing the quality assurance program should orchestrate collaboration, share lessons learned, review standards, perform constructability reviews, undertake mock-ups, and be the champion of a non-traditional design process.
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A non-traditional design process is more appropriate considering the complexity of today鈥檚 buildings. It is important to bring construction expertise into the design process and allow the design expertise to inform the construction process.听Gone is a Design-Bid-Build approach. The construction team should be informed of the client鈥檚 goal and expectations while understanding the design intent. They will ultimately build better - armed with that information.
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Macleamy's curve. Effort spent over a project's life cycle from (The Construction Users Roundatable, 2004). The peak for effectiveness is shifted towards the earlier design stage (shown in curve 4) in IDP compared to the conventional practice (shown in curve 3).
Having brought construction superintendents to the design development review, as part of a quality assurance program I oversaw, I can assure you it is productive and appropriate!听
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At minimum, that process eliminated the need to submit requests for information (RFIs). This assured more accurate bids, reduced schedule delays, and saved the design team the cost of responding.
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SOURCE: Impact & Control of RFIs on Construction Projects, Navigant Construction Forum
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One study shows that an average of听887 RFIs per construction project听were submitted in [the] Americas听(Hughes et al., 2013). That equates to, on average,听$957,960 for review and response听by the design team. Let鈥檚 assume the construction team is spending nearly the same听identifying and preparing听the RFI. There is a significant financial incentive to commit to a robust quality assurance program. We will not discuss the impact the average 9.7-day response to RFIs has on the schedule, but we can all agree听time is money.听
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RFIs minimize rework during construction, but post-construction rework is another risk to consider. What pops up during warranty or perhaps worse yet post-occupancy. Construction defects are the basis of lawsuits that are an even bigger risk.听
Common construction defects:
- Fa莽ade Leaks - often lead to mold issues
- Windows Leaks - usually related to faulty installation
- Wood Flooring Issues - usually leads to sound transmission听& warpage
- Fire-Stopping Deficiencies - can contribute to loss of life
- Ventilation / Exhaust Issues - can contribute to occupant discomfort & often lead to mold issues
- Plumbing Leaks
- Inferior Substitutions
- Inadequate Warranties
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The cost of听construction defects听was more complicated to define here with studies suggesting听4%听of the total budget while others said听15%-40%. When construction defects do come up in conversation no one is happy about them! A thorough quality assurance plan can do nothing but reduce construction defects - avoiding litigation and post-construction rework.听
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Let鈥檚 consider the impact of rework and defects on an example project. A 100-unit senior housing community would likely have a $18M construction budget. Statistically there is a听$2,300,000-$8,800,000 total risk听and unfortunately, many commercial general liability policies do not provide coverage for construction defects. Both the language of the policy and the laws of the state are important in interpreting coverage. Quality assurance is intended to address this.
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Robust project specific quality assurance plan can:
- Adopt a commonly accepted quality management standard like ISO 9001
- Bring construction knowledge deep into the design process
- Devise standard documentation and processes that are likely to live on a management platform such as听Procore听or听PlanGrid听assuring all partners have full access
- Institute reviews such as peer, coordination, accessibility, building code, and constructability听
- Include an extensive building envelope review meeting including all trade partners and the associate technical reps for the envelope materials
- Include mock-ups, first installation reviews, and testing
- Review applicable codes, regulations, ordinances, and standards
- Establish regular pre-construction, progress, and coordination meetings
- Inform cost estimates and schedules
- Define the request for information, observation and punch list processes
- Support a scheduling process like that of the Lean Construction Institute (LCI)听
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Currently we are seeing larger/more sophisticated builders bring quality assurance in-house under the oversight of technically oriented professionals, often architects, with a strong background in construction. There are advantages to that approach with their ability to understand the design intent and convey that to the construction team as well as their ability to act as an in-house consultant on detailing and code issues. Multi discipline experience tends to be a benefit to an effective manager of a quality assurance program by understanding an issue from its various sides. Quality assurance often appears as a bullet point in job descriptions for project/construction managers, but it is complex problem that deserves greater attention. All that being said, there are also options to hire quality assurance consultants, like听Quality Built,听affording smaller builders a similar level of risk management.
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Finally, a thorough quality assurance program reduces the number of RFIs, the risk of rework, and the risk of defects inherent in the construction. That program should be undertaken throughout the life of the project with the intent of it becoming standard operating procedure for all team members from architect to operator. All this equates to savings, in both time and money, as well as a on-time product with less frustration for all parties - owner, architect, engineer, builder, supplier, trade partner, operator, and user.
