N°184. 1988. Quality Assurance for Building - Synthesis Report.

Quality Assurance (Q.A.) is a rather recent topic. It was first developed in industrial production. However, it has also been recognized that in construction works Q.A. is a major element of reliability. In particular, only Q.A. makes it possible to assess statistical distributions with reasonable precision (main parameters and extreme values). For this reason, Q.A. is one of the main subjects of interest for Commission I.

The progress made during the last ten years in the application of Q.A. to construction activities has shown that methods, terminology (which is not yet fully standardized), and even some concepts used in industrial production require adaptation in this context.

Q.A. cannot be completely codified. In particular, its component related to human behaviour is inherently highly subjective. Moreover, the degree to which Q.A. can be applied in practice depends not only on the size and complexity of individual projects, but also on the professional organisation and qualification levels in different countries; improvements in this respect are desirable.

At international level, Q.A. in construction has been studied on several occasions outside the CEB framework; the IABSE symposia in Rigi (1983) and Tokyo (1986) may be particularly mentioned in this respect. The FIP has also developed applications of Q.A. for the production of prestressing steels. Within the JCSS, however, discussions have remained limited; for this reason, the new Volume 1, although recognizing Q.A. as a fundamental concept, has not contributed significantly to applications.

Within the CEB, in addition to a detailed application by Commission VII for the production of reinforcing steels, Bulletin 157 (1983) prepared by TG I/1 and Bulletin 171 presenting the conclusions of Special Session IVB held in Rotterdam (1985) should be mentioned. Professor A. G. Meseguer has been the main author and one of the principal contributors to these bulletins.

These bulletins were mainly conceptual. The present Bulletin represents a step towards operational application and practical quality management, and although not fully developed in this sense, may be considered as a guide.

It has been prepared by TG I/3, chaired by Professor A. G. Meseguer, and is intended to be presented and discussed during the next CEB Plenary Session in Dubrovnik. A previous draft (not yet complete) was discussed by Commission I during its 14th meeting in Treviso. For practical reasons (time schedule and number of available copies), the latest version was examined only by some members of the Commission acting individually.