What is quality assurance in construction?

Now it is still the case that the municipality reviews building plans in advance. They oversee execution according to the permit they have issued. All parties in the construction industry ensure themselves that their piece complies with quality management and regulations. That will change soon.

What will change with the new law?

Currently, it is difficult to trace back in retrospect who was responsible for creating a problem. For example, who is responsible if tiles fall off the facade after five years. The contractor, the tile supplier, or the tiler from the construction company?

The new law, which will take effect in early 2023, should change that. From then on, everything will be documented and independently assessed and stored under the watchful eye of a quality assurance company. That will require change management on your part.

We are already working automatically according to the new Wkb Act thanks to Scienta.

Walter Veneman – coordinator at The Cromvoirt KAM

What does the new Building Quality Assurance Act mean for you?

The Wkb Act (or Building Quality Assurence Act) affects everyone who does anything with construction. From consumer to supplier and from contractor to municipality. The law is thus part of the Environmental Act. Are you a supplier of metal structures? If so, you're soon going to be in greater demand for certificates that show where your metal structures come from. Are you going to renovate something in your existing building that involves a risk? Then you'll have to deal with a quality assurance officer. Read more about the different stakeholders who are affected by the Wkb Act

As a contractor, you become liable for your work. So you ask your supplier for the correct papers of products and ensure the correct installation of those products. The quality assurance officer supervises the construction process in this regard. Every process for every stakeholder changes with it.

That quality assurance stakeholder must be trained. Contractors must know how to properly maintain documentation to meet proper quality, and every supplier must be able to produce certificates of products. That's why this law has had some delays before. Not everyone finds this easy.

The review, control and assurance of quality is changing and will soon be done only by independent inspectors: the quality assurance officer. As an organization that deals with construction, you must always have the right information ready to supply for the file if necessary. That file will be crucial upon completion and as an organization in the construction sector, however small your role may be, you have to go along with this.