Quality assurance for flats
Most apartment buildings are made of RCC frames. The
properties of the completed structures should be consistent with the user
requirements and assumptions made during planning and design. This could be
achieved only by proper quality assurance measures.
Quality assurance in construction activity relates to proper
design, use of adequate quality materials and components supplied by various
vendors, proper execution of work by the contractor during construction and
finally proper care during the use of structure including timely and periodic
maintenance and repair by the user or owner.
Hence, for quality structure every one starting from the
planner, architect, designer, contractor, supplier of materials and the owner
becomes responsible and contributes. Then only the final structure will have
satisfactory strength, serviceability and long-term durability ensuring
advantageous lower life cycle cost.
Quality assurance involves both technical and organisational
aspects. The apartment project should have an explicit Quality Assurance Plan.
This plan should identify key elements necessary to provide fitness of structure
and the methods by which it is provided and quantitatively measured. This will
give all the stakeholders, the confidence that the realised project will work as
per norms in service, thus fulfilling the user needs. This will involve quality
checks (audit) of both inputs and outputs.
Quality
audit
Inputs are in the form of materials, machinery and manpower.
Workmanship in all stages of batching, mixing, transportation, placing,
compaction and curing should be explicitly checked and recorded.
The quality of the final product will be satisfactory only if
approved plants and machinery, and equipments for the process are used. All
these should form part of the Quality Assurance Plan.
To ensure that the inputs comply with design an inspection procedure should be
set up covering materials, records, workmanship and construction. Tests should
be made on reinforcements and constituent materials of concrete in accordance
with Bureau of Indian Standards.
There should be clear instructions on inspection standards.
The elements should be checked against the design detail with due allowance for
dimensional tolerance.
The output is in the form of concrete and elements of the
structure in place. To ensure proper performance each step in construction
should be inspected before the next step is taken. . This should be followed as
the work proceeds.
Care should be taken to see that elements critical to
workmanship, structural performance, durability and appearance are identified
for special inspection.
The system to verify the quality should include the
individual parts of the structure especially the identified critical ones. .
A.R. SANTHAKUMAR
The author is Emeritus Professor, Department of Civil
Engineering, IIT, Madras, and former Dean, Anna University.
Courtesy: Property Plus, The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/pp/2007/04/21/stories/2007042100650200.htm
