As we enter into another year with great optimism and enthusiasm, we thought we could share a few ideas with you on how quality can be achieved within your 2017 construction projects.
1) Plan ahead and reduce risk
When agreeing quality standards for your project it is vital to create a quality plan from the very start. Ask yourself questions such as:
•Who will be responsible for looking after the risk?
•Will this be an in-house role?
•Should I use an Independent Inspector?
•Should this be for Building, Civils or for specialised Mechanical and Electrical installations?
•How often should they visit and who do they report to in order to maximise their effect?
2) Who are your ‘eyes and ears’ on site identifying defects?
When defective work is not identified or detected early on it can cause costly remediation work, delays and disruption further down the line. Quality Assessors, Construction Inspectors, NEC Supervisors, Expert Witnesses and Clerk of Works are all industry trained to spot these errors and to act as your ‘eyes and ears’ on site and to improve quality. Given time during the design and construction process, they can be proactive and help prevent defects from occurring.
3) Carry out technical reviews to highlight potential risks
Checking all the critical stages of construction is vital to ensure that the project specifications are being met. Whether you are responsible for your own project quality, or using the services of experience time-served Clerk of Works, having regular technical reviews will help highlight potential risks that could compromise the quality of the project during construction.
4) Improve communication
We all know that ‘it’s good to talk’ and good communication can go a long way to help improve your construction project. Site teams can be few or many, nevertheless when a team is motivated and feels involved they generally pull together in the same direction and this has a positive impact on quality. A good Quality Assessors/Clerk of Work can help contribute to the improvement of communication on site and ensure that quality remains high on the site team’s agenda.
5) Prevention is the best policy
Not many of us would use a computer without having anti-virus software running in the background detecting computer viruses. A Clerk of Works working on your project does the same – by making regular visits to your project he/she will ensure that any issues are picked up before they become a major and costly problem to you.
We are a leading Clerk of Works provider and have been providing site inspection services for the past 25 years for both public and private sectors clients across the UK and oversees. With offices in Yorkshire and London, we welcome the opportunity to talk to you about ways in which we can improve the quality control aspects of your projects. Please speak to a member of the team on 01226 743959 or visit our website www.hickton.co.uk.
