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Construction
SITES
Specifications
QCS 2014 promises to deliver the quality that Qatar wants
The new edition of QCS includes improved definitions and updates of contractors’ responsibilities
T
he fifth edition of Qatar Construction Specifications (QCS 2014) has been launched at a conference at the Qatar National Convention Center. Minister of Environment HE Ahmed bin Amer Al Humaidi said in a speech at the conference’s opening ceremony that the State of Qatar was endeavoring to lay down the criteria that ensured and realized high quality in all sectors in the state after specifications had become a basic requirement. He noted that Qatar Construction Specifications 2014 would be binding to everyone, stressing that these specifications had become a pressing necessity for society to maintain peoples’ health, safety and property. QCS 2014 is the first step towards issuing the Qatar International Specifications for construction 2017. At a panel discussion during the launch event, Khaled Al Emadi from Ashghal urged engineers, architects and technicians to submit their feedback through the QCS website, adding that all comments and concerns would be addressed by a QCS committee and might be included in the 2016 edition of the specifications. Gareth Thomas, who is part of
the subcommittee of QCS, provided an overview on the issue of quality in the specifications. He started his presentation with examples of construction failures that sparked a wave of laughs in the hall. Thomas pointed out that, trivial as these construction failures might seem, they did not only cost money but a substantial loss of lives as well. He added that quality was about health and wellbeing of people and not just about doing the job right. Thomas stressed that QCS set the minimum requirements for quality. However, new technology could not be used without compliance with QCS or demonstration that its quality was higher than QCS. He explained that QCS was based on ISO 9001 since it was the most commonly-used model in the construction sector in the country. “Around 99% of construction companies in Qatar have ISO 9001. So we didn’t want to change the way they work. There are various standards and we have to use something that is achievable”. He pointed out that the new edition of QCS included some improved definitions and updates of contractors’ responsibilities.
He concluded his presentation saying that if utilized properly, QCS 2014 would deliver the quality that Qatar wanted. In another presentation by Ossman al Hussein from Ashghal, the topic of how QCS 2014 addressed certification was discussed. “Projects need to be safe and correct to perform well. To ensure this, we need to check material quality and system competency. The tool to do that is certification,” he said. Al Hussein explored various levels of certification, starting with the self declaration which is used in cases when noncompliance consequences are minor. Then there are the affiliated certification and third party certification. The latter is the one commonly used in construction projects. It is required when human safety or property protection is at stake and when serious impact is expected. Responding to a question about the testing labs approved by Ashghal for certain certification, Al Hussein said there was a list of 18 private labs issued every month by Ashghal. Choice of labs is based on ISO 1702:5 certification. He advised attendees to use the list, but also monitor the performance of the labs. Among updates in QCS 2014
highlighted by speakers was the new definition for concrete exposure conditions. Moreover, for the first time QCS started to mention design, while in the past editions it only focused on execution of work. Al Hussein provided various examples of QCS 2014 certification-related clauses as follows: Section 1: Part 7, General Elements of work that may affect the safety of persons or property shall be checked and certified by an approved safety inspector. Section 1: Part 21, Final inspection and handover procedures The contractor shall complete the following to the satisfaction of the engineer before requesting the pre-handover inspection: a) Submit final manufacturer certification, guarantees, warranties and similar documents. b) Submit occupancy permits, operating certificates, final inspections and test certificates and similar releases enabling full and restricted use of the works. Section2: Part 2, Submittals a) A detailed description of procedures for reviewing shop drawings, samples, certificates and other submittals necessary for compliance
with the project documentation. Readymix Readymix concrete for use in government projects may only be carried out in batching plants that have an approval certificate issued by the Central Materials Laboratory. When this certificate is under renewal process by the readymix concrete manufacturer, other certificate such as NRMCA shall be considered by the Engineer as an approval of the facility. Section 6: Part 3, Earthworks Nuclear density gauge testing should only be carried out by personnel who have approved user certification issued by the Ministry of Environment. Section 6: part 4, Unbound materials The contractor shall submit a test certificate that proves that the raw materials that are purchased/used comply with specifications. Section 6: Part 5, Asphalt works Based on the engineer request, the contractor shall submit the pertinent certifications of material, equipment, plants, personnel and processes in relation to the project. Certificates must be issued by a competent authority approved by the engineer.
Delivery of materials produced from commercial manufacturing processes shall be accompanied by the manufacturer’s certification and test report showing that the materials comply with the designated requirements. Section 9, part 1, General Test certificates, manufacturer’s test certificates, third party test certificates and quality control test certificates shall be submitted as required in the general and particular project specification. Certificates shall be originals or certified copies. Test certificates. Certificates and documents of equipment tests shall be provided (e.g. pressure vessels, lifting equipment, etc.). Performance test certificates and characteristic details shall be provided. After the general session, attendees broke up for various technical workshops that discussed QCS in more detail. The first workshop was titled “National technical concrete industry”. The second covered asphalt production, quality control and performance evaluation. While the last workshop of the day covered issues related to drainage. The second day of the conference, which was held in October, focused on concrete, roads durability and green construction.