Thesis (MEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / One of the causes for money to be wasted on construction sites is accidents. The reason is that an accident on site is an unplanned event typically relating to the loss of production or the loss of life. Many industry stakeholders and role players have focused on construction health and safety and to improve this area of concern; however, construction health and safety are not significantly improving. Construction still continues to contribute a large number of fatalities and injuries relative to other industry sectors. During the construction phase, poor construction health and safety performance is attributable to a lack of management commitment, inadequate supervision, and a lack of health and safety training and - systems. Health and safety systems do not only include excellent health and safety management on site, but rather an integrated approach on health and safety issues from the conceptual design phase by all stakeholders participating. This integrated approach includes the design done by the engineer. The inspiration behind this research is the question of whether South African Engineers design buildings safe for construction. The lack of knowledge by engineers with regard to construction processes, the lack of health and safety enforcement in the engineering offices and construction sites, and whether engineers adhere to safe design principles is the subject of investigation in this research. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the role of the design engineer in the safety of building projects. Specifically, it investigates to what extent the design engineer can contribute to site safety, and to what extent this is actually taking place. The Construction Regulations states the engineer can be appointed to act on behalf of a client and should share any information that might affect the health and safety of construction employees with the contractor. By means of a literature study, the investigation of case studies and the investigation of questionnaires to which a percentage of South African engineers responded, this research identified the information that should be shared by the design engineer with the contractor. The information can be shared by indicating hazardous activities or - locations on the actual drawings. Information can also be shared by specifying and reminding the contractor of certain health and safety hazards in the health and safety specifications of the building project. Although the Construction Regulations state that the safety hazards associated with most construction processes are the responsibility of the contractor, it will be beneficial for the safety of the employees if the engineer also consults the contractor on the hazards identified by him or her during the early design stages. Early collaboration between the engineer and contractor is also beneficial for the safety of construction employees. The result is an integrated approach towards safety hazard identification and mitigation. Having adequate knowledge with regard to construction processes allows the engineer to be aware of possible safety hazards. This will result in the correct information to be shared with the contractor and incorporated into the early design phases of the project to ensure a healthy and safe working environment. The study shows that a percentage of South African engineers have a lack of site experience, a lack of safety training, a lack of knowledge with regard to the content of the Construction Regulations, and a lack of knowledge with regard to construction processes. These shortcomings can be detrimental to site safety.

Abstract There have been complaints regarding the bad quality of the Finnish construction industry. Home buyers are also often dissatisfied with the level of quality of the housing unit they have bought. Finnish construction is regulated by the Land Use and Building Act and Decree together with supplementary construction regulations, norms and guidelines. This doctoral dissertation examines the quality mindset evident in Finnish construction regulations and its relationship to the defining characteristics of good construction quality. The selected methodological research approach is qualitative. Responding to the research question required that good construction quality be defined. This was approached by examining quality as a phenomenon and, with the help of a literature review, building an overview of the central characteristics of good quality. Based on this, central characteristics of good construction quality could be defined. The actual subject under research were Finnish construction regulations and their central goals regarding the quality of construction. The research question could be responded by comparing the quality point of view of the construction regulations with the central characteristics defining good quality. In order to verify the results, a questionnaire study directed at construction professionals was conducted. The study showed that the quality point of view of the construction regulations differed from the good quality objectives discovered through the theoretical examination. The construction regulations approach the quality question from the point of view of public interest requirements. The quality mindset therein is narrow, being based on regulations and the observation and supervision thereof. The actual quality work has been left for the parties of the construction project. One important novelty value of this study is that it recognises customer-orientedness as a central factor of quality activities guiding all thinking and practical work. Finnish construction regulations do not fulfil this requirement. The traditonal construction project execution model is thus no longer sufficient. Novel thinking is needed. Novel thinking begets novel activity. If this study can lead to the understanding and assimilating of novel thinking, it will also inevitably lead to changes in practices and, thus, to practical work of higher quality. What is essential is to understand that adhering to traditional operational models guided by rules and regulations does no longer suffice in today’s operational supervision and customer relationships. Working in the customer’s best interest is thus a significant challenge to all construction activities and to those working in this field. / Tiivistelmä Suomalaisen rakennustuotannon laatua on sanottu huonoksi. Asuntojen ostajat ovat myös usein tyytymättömiä hankkimansa asunnon laatutasoon. Suomalaista rakennustoimintaa ohjaavat maankäyttö- ja rakennuslaki asetuksineen yhdessä lainsäädäntöä täydentävien rakentamismääräysten, normien ja ohjeistuksien kanssa. Tässä väitöskirjassa tutkittiin Suomen rakentamismääräysten laatuajattelua ja sen suhdetta rakentamisen hyvän laadun tunnusmerkistöön. Tutkimuksen metodinen lähestymistapa on kvalitatiivinen. Asetettuun tutkimuskysymykseen vastaaminen edellytti rakentamisen hyvän laadun määrittämistä. Tätä lähestyttiin tarkastelemalla laatua ilmiönä ja rakentamalla kirjallisuustutkimuksen avulla kuva keskeisistä hyvän laadun ominaisuuksista. Tämän perusteella voitiin määrittää rakentamisen hyvän laadun keskeisiä ominaisuuksia. Varsinaisen tutkimuskohteen muodostivat Suomen rakentamismääräykset ja niiden keskeiset rakentamisen laatua koskevat tavoitteet. Vastaus tutkimuskysymykseen saatiin vertaamalla rakentamismääräysten laatunäkökulmaa keskeisiin rakentamisen hyvää laatua kuvaaviin ominaisuuksiin. Tutkimustulosten verifioimiseksi suoritettiin rakennusalan ammattilaisille suunnattu kyselytutkimus. Tutkimus osoitti, että rakentamismääräysten laatunäkökulma poikkesi teoriatarkastelun perusteella esille nousseista rakentamisen hyvän laadun tavoitteista. Rakentamismääräykset tarkastelevat laatukysymystä yleisen edun vaatimusten näkökulmasta. Niiden laatuajattelu on kapeaa perustuen määräyksiin ja niiden noudattamisen tarkastamiseen ja valvontaan. Varsinainen laatutyö on jätetty rakennushankkeen osapuolten tehtäväksi. Yksi tutkimuksen merkittävä uutuusarvo on asiakassuuntautuneisuuden tunnistaminen laadukkaan toiminnan keskeiseksi, kaikkea ajattelua ja toimintaa ohjaavaksi tekijäksi. Suomen rakentamismääräykset eivät täytä tätä vaatimusta. Perinteinen ajattelumalli rakennusprojektin toteutuksesta ei siten enää riitä. Tarvitaan uudenlaista ajattelua. Uudenlainen ajattelu synnyttää uudenlaista toimintaa. Mikäli tämä tutkimus voi johtaa uudenlaisen ajattelun ymmärtämiseen ja sisäistämiseen, se väistämättä johtaa myös menettelytapojen muuttumiseen ja sitä kautta laadukkaampaan toimintaan. Oleellista on sen ymmärtäminen, että pitäytyminen perinteisissä toimintamalleissa, joita ohjaavat säädökset ja määräykset, ei tämän päivän toiminnanohjauksessa ja asiakassuhteissa enää riitä. Asiakkaan parhaaksi toimiminen on siten merkittävä haaste kaikelle rakennustoiminnalle ja sen parissa työskenteleville.

National studies suggest that eighty percent of existing code professionals are expected to retire within the next fifteen years. As part of this research, it was determined that approximately half of all licensed building inspectors in the State of Utah will reach retirement age within the next ten years. As building inspectors make up a large part of the Code Professional Industry this demographic was selected as the focus of this research. The purpose of this research project was to assess the urgent need for new entrants into the Code Professional Industry in Utah. As part of this research, trends within the local industry over a 20 year period were evaluated. A statewide survey of over 300 licensed building inspectors was conducted to investigate the demographics of the industry, and gain first-hand insight from individual code professionals. This research was successful in quantifying the size of the Code Professional Industry in Utah, and numbering the populations of certified professionals in each individual code discipline. In addition, projected losses were established within each code discipline, discovering many disciplines in which over 50% of current professionals would be lost within a ten year period. In addition projections were made contrasting the number of code professionals leaving the industry versus the small anticipated number of individuals entering the industry. This research conclusively predicts a steady and dramatic decline in the number of licensed code professionals, unless the industry actively works toward addressing the issue. The group of aging code professionals possess a level of knowledge and experience not easily replaced. This study was based on an extensive statewide survey of licensed building inspectors in Utah, and collected opinions, concerns and insights directly from the Code Professional Industry. The findings of this study provide a unique look at this specialized industry within a single state. The lessons learned likely apply to populations of code professionals in other locations. This study concluded that a combination of phased retirement, modified work duties and mentoring programs would be of great benefit to the Code Professional Industry, by allowing the transfer of knowledge between the outgoing generation and the future generation of code professionals.

EU har ställt höga krav på energianvändning i byggnader genom ett nytt direktiv där respektive medlemsland har fått i uppdrag att ta fram gränsvärden för energianvändning i just sitt land. I Sverige har Boverket fått detta ansvar. I och med det skärpta krav som har föreslagits finns en orolighet i byggbranschen att det kommer att bli svårt att uppfylla det. Tillverkare av småhushar ofta en standardiserad konstruktion som de nu kan behöva ändra på. Syftet med detta examensarbete blev därför att undersöka om en småhustillverkare behöver förändra sin standardkonstruktion, och i så fall vilka förändringar som kan göras, för att uppnå det nya kravet för energianvändning. Genom att studera nuvarande energikrav och Boverkets förslag på nytt krav samt teorier inom byggnadskonstruktion har den teoretiska grunden för examensarbetet lagts. En litteraturstudie har dessutom gjorts över tidigare studier inom området, där framför allt förbättringsåtgärder för att få energisnålare hus har varit till stor hjälp för detta arbete. Studien av en småhustillverkare har genomförts genom att energianvändningen av ett småhus i standardutförande har tagits fram i simuleringsprogrammet IDA ICE. Studerat hus är en trävilla med bergvärme och FTX-ventilation beläget i klimatzon 1. Efter simuleringen har åtta förbättringar i husets konstruktion gjorts med nya simuleringar för att identifiera vilka av dessa förbättringar som är lämpliga att utföra. De mest lämpade förbättringarna har slutligen kombinerats ihop för att uppnå det nya energikravet. Studien visar att nuvarande konstruktion inte uppfyller kommande krav. Utifrån de avgränsningar som har gjorts rekommenderas att följande tre åtgärder vidtas; installation av en värmepump med COP 4 istället för 3, fönster och dörrar med U-värde 0,8 W/(m2*K) istället för 1,2 W/(m2*K) samt ytterväggar med U-värde 0,1 W/(m2*K) istället för 0,137 W/(m2*K). Dessa rekommendationer utgår från att det föreslagna kravet även gäller för klimatzon 1. / The EU has demanded lower energy consumption in buildings through a new directive where each member state has been assigned the task of developing new energy consumption targets for their respective country. In Sweden, Boverket has been assigned this responsibility. There is a concern in the Swedish construction industry that it will be difficult to meet these new requirements. Manufacturers of small houses usually have a standardized design that they now may need to adjust. The purpose of this thesis was therefore to investigate whether a single-family house manufacturer needs to change its standard construction, and if so, what changes could be made to achieve the new requirements for energy usage. By studying current energy requirements and Boverket's proposal for future requirements as well as theories in architectural engineering, the theoretical basis for the thesis has been laid out. A literature study has also been performed of previous studies in the field. Particularly studies of home improvements to get energy-efficient houses have been of great help for this work. A single-family house has been constructed and simulated in the IDA ICE simulation program. The house was made out of wood with a ground source heat pump and FTX ventilation located in climate zone 1. Eight improvements in the house design have been studied with new simulations to identify which of these improvements are appropriate to implement. The most suitable improvements have finally been combined to meet the new energy requirements. The study shows that the current house construction design does not meet future requirements. Based on the delimitations that have been made for this thesis, it is recommended that the following three measures are to be taken; A heat pump with a COP of 4 instead of 3, windows and doors with a U-value of 0.8 W/(m2*K) instead of 1,2 W/(m2*K) and outer walls with a U-value of 0.1 W/(m2*K) instead of 0,137 W/(m2*K). These recommendations are based on the assumption that the proposed new requirements are also applicable for climate zone 1.

In the construction sector today, there is a lot of discussion about material reuse tominimize the negative environmental impact. By reuse of precast concreteelements, significant amounts of CO2 emissions can be prevented. In order toreuse a concrete element for structural purposes in a building, the element need tobe assessed to ensure it can withstand the required loads. This report is based on a comparison of different building codes, it describes andcompares three selected building codes and their associated concrete standardsfrom different eras. The purpose of the report is to compare the results obtainedwhen designing predetermined concrete elements and components. The findingswill indicate whether it is possible to reuse concrete elements that were designedaccording to previous standards. The calculations will demonstrate bothsimilarities and, more importantly, differences in the design approaches of thebuilding codes and how they have evolved. An investigation concludes that by employing a chain of checks, it is possible todetermine if an existing component is reusable considering its load capacity. The differences in reinforcement content vary within approximately 0-25% infavor of the previous code, i.e. the older code requires more reinforcement.