ENSURING THE QUALITY OF CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS BY ALLAN MAYNARD - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

ENSURING THE QUALITY OF CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS BY ALLAN MAYNARD – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Outline • About CCIL • Quality Management • QC and QA in construction • Importance of certification • CCIL certification programs • Summary

CCIL  Federally incorporated / non-profit  Representing independent, tax-paying professional laboratory firms  Ensure standards of excellence and high business ethics

Main Divisions / Members  Geotechnical / Construction Materials  Environmental / Life Sciences  Conformity assessment  Over 300 lab locations  Non-voting associate members - suppliers / other associations

What We Do  Advocacy - high standards of laboratory services - certification requirements - fair and practical regulations - benefits of private sector laboratories  Certification programs  Involvement in certification standards  Technical leadership  Communication  Other business services to members

MORE ON CCIL • www.ccil.com

Quality Management • Definition – varied • Mainly – Quality planning, control (QC), assurance (QA) and improvement • Overall quality of service or product • AND – the means to achieve it • Also called TQM

QM IS CRITICAL • Longevity of the asset – this is key • Safety • Cost effective delivery • Part of a quality culture – for all aspects of a municipality’s operations • To avoid unwanted headlines

UNWANTED HEADLINES • Contractors reinforce newly built highway retaining wall – Vancouver Sun

Collapsed retaining wall snarls Kelowna traffic” – CBC News

Experts inspect collapsed Montreal tunnel” – CBC News

Road deteriorates early

UNWANTED HEADLINES • CBC series “The Big Fix” • ******* “Claims regarding faulty concrete foundations” – presented in Cape Town – this year

TROIS RIVIERES CASE • Over 600 claims – concrete deterioration (2004 to 2007) • 80 to 250K per claim to repair (over 100M) • Cause – improper aggregate ( reacted with the concrete)

QC AND QA IN CONSTRUCTION • QC - process control – responsibility of contractor (or the contractor’s supplier) • QA - independent audit function required by the owner (eg – a municipality)

CONTRACT LANGUAGE • MUST – detail the specifications • MUST – identify roles and responsibilities • QA – independent consulting engineering firm – P Eng oversight • Testing – number of tests // and certified & (for QA) independent

WHY INDEPENDENT • No vested interest in the project • Not affiliated with the product, the contractor, owner, government, etc • THUS – fully arms length

IMPORTANCE OF CERTIFICATION • Uniformity of methods • Up to date with standards • Demonstrated proficiency • Qualified staff • Equipment to specification • QA and QC of testing

Importance - continued • Increases confidence • Decreases disputes on job site

WHAT IS CERTIFICATION Defined as – “The procedure by which an authoritative body gives formal recognition that an organization or a person is competent to carry out specific tests” Globally – based on ISO Most testing – certification or accreditation is required – food, env, products, etc

WHAT IS INVOLVED • Laboratory audits (inspections) • Technician evaluation (tests, inspections) • Proficiency testing • Follow-up • Forums for continuous improvement

WHAT IS EVALUATED? • Personnel • Equipment – calibration, maintenance • Methods • Lab QA & QC • Record keeping and reporting • Quality manual • Management oversight

CCIL PROGRAMS • Asphalt lab and technician certification • Aggregate lab and technician certification • Concrete lab and technician certification • Labs include private sector, contractor owned and government owned

Certification Program Asphalt and Aggregate  Certification standards developed by CCIL  Methods based on ASTM  Laboratory Inspections/Audits (once per 2 years)  Quality Manual & internal audit process  Technician certification  Proficiency testing and follow-up (annual)

Concrete Lab Certification  CCIL acquired from CSA  250 labs throughout Canada  To the CSA283 standard  Technician certification  Laboratory audits – once per year

Certification Program – admistration committees CPACs  BC, AB, Ont - establishing, reviewing and revising, as necessary, the technical criteria for the core elements of the program (asphalt and aggregate)  For concrete – national CPAC  Participation in Program Advisory Committee by all stakeholders i.e. testing labs, contractor firms, provincial and municipal authorities , etc

NUMBERS OF LABS - CANADA • Asphalt labs – 170 • Aggregate labs – 270 • Concrete labs – 250 • DETAILS – www.ccil.ca

NUMBER OF LABS IN BC • Asphalt labs – 25 • Aggregate labs – 28 • Concrete labs – 43 • IMPORTANT - see web site to get details concerning what the lab is certified for

REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION • BC – MOT - for referee labs (roads) • Concrete – all work should be by a certified lab (CCIL to CSA standard) • Municipalities – growing interest – CCIL is on MMCD web site • BUT – profile needs to be enhanced

CCIL POSITION • All contracts – especially for QA should specify certified labs • A definite requirement for all other lab work – public health, environment, products, food, etc – • So – why NOT for construction projects

Benefits of Program  Uniformity in test procedures and performance – and we can show data  Improvement in laboratory test standards and quality control  Increased confidence in test results  Reduced potential for disputes  Encourages technician training and certification

Questions ?