DRAFT GUIDELINE - DUE DILIGENCE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

You feel strong when you work in a strong team rather than working alone.

hashtag#duediligence hashtag#construction hashtag#constructionindustry hashtag#riskmanagement hashtag#auditor hashtag#qaqc hashtag#safety

I once collaborated with a team of professional consultants, including a Professional Engineer, a Chartered Auditor, a Legal Practitioner, Risk Management Consultant and I was put in charge of systems and methodologies including QA/QC/SHE elements.

This draft guideline (customized to the construction industry), which I devised, has proven instrumental in assisting numerous auditors tasked with conducting due diligence on large-scale construction projects, as mandated by regulatory authorities. To maintain confidentiality, specifics such as project names, authorities involved, team members' identities, and exact dates are withheld.

I hope this will serve you well, make amendments if you wish.

THE AFTERMATH OF POOR WORKMANSHIP IN CONSTRUCTION - Nik Zafri

No names, location and project will be cited. This is just merely information-sharing. Some of the contents have been altered on purpose to avoid legal complications. I am not a professional engineer but my experience has served me well.

Was hired to do a 3rd party quality inspection prior to CCC somewhere in Malaysia (no names, location and project will be cited) I would like to emphasize and make a professional disclaimer that the following case is an isolated case. It does not in any way at all represents the quality of workmanship in construction, building and civil engineering works in Malaysia.

I was a bit nostalgic when asked to do some "QC work" which I have not had much opportunity over the years to really "go down to the field" (too busy doing consulting advising work)

The owner and the authorities somehow "doubted" the inspection results being submitted by the "consultant" that they have hired.

Well, they are right!

a) I looked at the soil conditions in the surroundings and spotted the first problem. It is a bit complicated to have a strong foundation when it comes to housing projects on or even in the vicinity of hilly areas. (I sometimes wonder, how site investigation was conducted on the first place, how the soil test was done during that time - not to mention environmental impact assessment)

The previous consultant inspection did discover some problems of floor slabs, foundations that are cracked etc. But the root cause was inaccurate. It simply said "poor workmanship".

As suspected, I noticed some ground subsidence (settling) problems which by nature may have caused movement of the structure.

Compaction of the subsurface was not sufficient hence potentially creating further problems on the drainage during rainy season.

After a quick investigation, found out that there have been some minor landslides reports in the neighbourhood area which nobody took into account.

b) There have been signs of attempts to recast and hacked out but again, the concrete may not be properly recompacted by proper force of vibration/ ramming. "new" honeycombs are still spotted.

The concrete was not impermeable and densed due to improper compaction.

c) Materials used was definitely superficial. To quote one example, I noticed the windows from inside and outside - lack of sheet metal drip edge above the window header, the flashing is deteriorating, rough framing etc.

Thus, I did my own 'wet run' (spraying the water from inside and outside) - wow...everything started to leak here and there even through the sills. The previous inspection did not take into account the water spray test.

d) There were problems of segregation (mixed ingredients separated) everywhere. My best guess is the mixing was not measured properly against high coarse aggregate. The mix dropping may also have been done without proper chutes (perhaps dropping them through too great a height in placing)

e) Construction joints - poor compaction. There were stains/moistures on the concrete face. This may have been caused due to a layer of concrete laid before pouring is continued and the old concrete was not washed properly.

Ok enough with that, there are a lot more. Let's talk about management during construction

i) This is a clear sign of poor project management

ii) There will also be a problem when you hire foreign workers - communication problem - not to mention language barrier may cause bigger problems

iii) The subcontractors may have been given very complicated jobs and the main contractor may also not been properly supervising

Well, the conclusion made by the project owners/stakeholders and the authorities were not good at all. I don't want to know what happened next.

I chucked when they asked me :

"Nik, are you a professional engineer?"

I replied "not a chance 'in hell' but you can thank my previous employers managing mega projects and my humble years of audit and inspection experience, that's where I learned the trade.

After all, you are the expert (Ir), you should be signing it..not me..aa..aaa."

They nodded and thanked me.

Shoddy construction workmanship/method are the reasons leading to failure of buildings and structural integrity. The root causes? Inadequate QC at site and negligence.

ASEAN CONTROL WORLD EXPO/TRANS4M - KL CONVENTION CENTRE - 23-24/05/2022 - MY BRIEF OBSERVATIONS - NIK ZAFRI

ASEAN Control World Expo/Trans4M 2022 #controlworldexpo with Managing Principal of Noma SWO Consult - KL Convention Centre, KLCC

It was great. The exhibitors have range of sophisticated state of the art technology, devices, robotics, software and apps, IOT and Artificial Intelligence. The QA/QC-based multi-faceted analysis presented were really good with detailed explanation and justifications.

What I see lacking are :

a) is the link towards applicable codes of practice especially when you speak about Standard Deviation or displaying measurement tables - without the applicable codes of practice/standards, people may be wondering where do you based your argument to determine that "this is ok" or "this is not ok" or "within tolerance" or "not within tolerance

b) The analysis; although thorough; unfortunately the "deficiencies" are not linked to some form of two most important elements, Risk Analysis (for proactive Risk Identification and Assessment) and Root Cause Analysis (RCA) to prevent similar problems to reoccur or at least reduced in the future. RCA will determine the competency of the person correcting the arising problems whether such person require additional training etc.

c) The analysis; despite multi-faceted; is not focused on "by cost-analysis" - which is extremely important in my 20+ years experience in QA/QC profession.

d) Some apps, system and devices are good in detecting vibration and noise - proven useful for construction industry such as "piling" - which is quite limited unless they are used for preventive slope stability analysis or soil movement or perhaps can be a value-added tool during Site Investigation/Reconnaissance.

The other problem is that the datum (like Lidar) should also make way for conversion/input into the modern Architectural Building Information Model to simulate or project the image via Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality.

e) On Personal Observations : I've also noticed the visitors are a little low, whether they have a low interest towards the "tech-nerdy" exhibition or the time is not right or perhaps the cost/pricing of sophisticated systems are "too high" to procure during post-lockdown recovery period. Whatever the case maybe, the organizers should promote this event a little more bigger in the future - considering the displays are significantly important to the future of industries.

BASED ON ISO 45001:2018, ISO 9001:2015 AND ISO 14001:2015

PENGURUSAN KUALITI MENYELURUH - Nota Skrap (Nik Zafri)

1) Kepimpinan

·         Keperluan mengukur/menyemak semula prestasi keseluruhan operasi

·         TQM menjadi sebahagian daripada proses perniagaan

·         Keperluan sumber – kakitangan, mesin, komputer dll

·         Peningkatan Berterusan dengan sokongan pengurusan tertinggi

·         Undang-Undang, Peraturan, Piawaian dipatuhi

·         Kepuasan Pelanggan

·         Kuasa, Peranan dan Tanggungjawab Kakitangan

2) Penyesuaian Kakitangan/Pekerja (Orientasi)

·         Orientasi/Pengenalan/Penyesuaian Kakitangan/Pekerja

·         Pembangunan :

o  Kerjaya, Pengurusan, Peribadi, Penyeliaan

·         Latihan/Induksi/Kursus/Pendidikan

Kaitan secara generik kepada elemen 6

3) Dasar dan Strategi

i) Dasar

·         Memastikan hubungan perniagaan yang baik antara pelanggan dan organisasi, memastikan kejayaan jangkapanjang, memahami keperluan organisasi dan pelanggan

·         Komited untuk mencapai sasaran kualiti, kos dan perancangan/penjadualan,

·         Melakukan satu bentuk penyelidikan yang bersistem serta berbentuk pencegahan dengan penggunaan penilaian risiko dan lain-lain kaedah,

·         Menjana peningkatan berterusan dan inovasi berdasarkan proses perniagaan yang cekap, ukuran yang jelas, amalan terbaik dan tinjuan pelanggan

·         Membangunkan kemahiran, kreativiti, penguasaan dan akauntabiliti ke atas kakitangan/pekerja menerusi program yang melibatkan pihak pengurusan

ii) Strategi

·         Ukuran pencapaian dasar menerusi kaedah Scorecard, KRA atau Objektif Jabatan/Bahagian

·         Sumber untuk pencapaian sasaran

·         Input adalah dari pengajaran (lessons learned) dari aktiviti lalu seperti hasil analisa SWOT, Aduan/Pengendalian Pelanggan, Laporan Audit, Pemeriksaan, Analisa/Data, Penilaian Risiko, Post-Mortem dsb.

Kaitan secara generik dengan elemen 9

4) Usahasama dan Sumber

·         Usahasama dengan stakeholders – pelanggan, masyarakat, pembekal, pihak berkuasa dll.

·         Strategi yang dirancang untuk mengekal atau meningkatkan tahap hubungan termasuk program Tanggungjawab Sosial Korporat (CSR) dll.

·         Manual, Pelan, Prosedur, Arahan, Senarai Periksa, Rekod, kakitangan, mesin, komputer dll

Kaitan secara generik dengan elemen 8

5) Proses

·         Melakar Core Business Process (CBP) organisasi secara keseluruhan, tanggungjawab ke atas proses dan dokumen yang berkaitan dengan proses

·         Memastikan TQM adalah sebahagian daripada CBP

·         Manual, Pelan, Prosedur, Arahan, Senarai Periksa, Rekod, kakitangan, mesin, komputer dll

·         Audit/Pemeriksaan/Penilaian Risiko

6) Kepuasan Pekerja/Kakitangan

·         Penguasaan/Rasa Pemilikan Kakitangan/Pekerja

·         Bekerja secara berpasukan

·         Imbuhan Pekerja

·         Kepimpinan yang dihormati/ditaati

·         Latihan dan Pembangunan

·         Penilaian Prestasi

·         Tinjuan Kepuasan Pekerja

·         Tunjukajar dan Kaunseling

·         Sumber yang mencukupi

7) Kepuasan Pelanggan

·         Tindakan Pembetulan terhadap ketidakpatuhan terhadap kehendak/spesifikasi pelanggan

·         Klasifikasi Pelanggan samada kategori lama dan baru, pesanan berulang

·         Pengendalian aduan pelanggan

·         Tinjauan Kepuasan Pelanggan

·         Peningkatan Berterusan

8) Penerimaan Masyarakat dan Pengguna

·         Aspek Keselamatan/Kesihatan Pekerjaan dan Pengurusan Alam Sekitar

·         Bagaimana impak OSH dan EMS ke atas masyarakat

·         Tanggungjawab Sosial Korporat dan lain-lain program bersama masyarakat

9) Hasil Prestasi Kunci

i) Kewangan

·         Hasil (Revenue), Perbelanjaan, Pendapatan Bersih, Aliran Tunai, Nilai Aset

ii) Pelanggan

·         Kepuasan Pelanggan, Perulangan Pesanan dan Program Mengekalkan Pelanggan, Syer Pasaran, Kekuatan Jenama

iii) Proses Dalaman

·         Inventori, Pesanan, Peruntukan Sumber, Pengurusan/Kitaran Masa, Kualiti

iv) Perkembangan Pembelajaran (Learning Growth)

·         Kepuasan Kakitangan, Turnover terkawal, Kemahiran Kakitangan, Pendidikan Kakitangan

THE NEW ISO 9001:2015 - NIK ZAFRI

WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE NEW ISO 9001:2015 (PART 1)

Disclaimer : Most of the contents here are not the 'actual/literal' text of the actual new ISO 9001:2015. It's the personal interpretation of the author.

0.1 – QMS as a strategic decision, a robust Quality Management Systems (QMS) – to help organization to improve its overall performance and forms an integral component of sustainable development. Design and implementation of QMS is influenced by the context of organization and   (including) the changes.

Definition

a. Strategic– Identification of long term/overall aims and interest and means to achieve them (taking into account coping up with fundamental changes – susceptible to the surroundings (what is happening around you) – law, competition, regulations, standards, trends, new technology, innovation, Research and Development etc.)

b. Robust– a process, system able to withstand or overcome adverse conditions (defects, non-conformance, corrective action request)

c. Improve overall performance – integral component of sustainable development– no system is perfect, it should be improved and become part and parcel of company's culture to achieving excellence.

d. Designed and Implemented by the sort of industry-specific – service/product provided by the company (to achieve such purpose – goals and objectives) – customization/tailor-made (1)

The rest of the content in 0.1 also talks about culture (already covered), external factors – socio-economic conditions under which it operates) – when we talk about socio-economic conditions – it talks about how the process - impacts the general public, public perception, surroundings  – possibly employment opportunity and most important – the organization must realize its financial capacity –not to do something way beyond their ability. Do something that suits the organization ONLY  (2)

Also touched on QMS can differ from one organization to another(See (1) - customization)

0.2 – not much have been changed except more emphasis is given in point no. 2 – ISO 9001 – improved internal communication, better understanding and control of process – reduction in defects and waste 

(the only way to do all these is to adopt principle of “no walls, no politics, no overlapping of duties, no pinpointing, no blaming culture” - so 100 points go to"Improved Internal Communication"  - everything starts here....

and also point no. 4 of 0.2 – ISO 9004 which touches on configuration management; apart from other elements – quality plan, project QM, measurement process/equipment, documentation, (and again - ) financial/economic benefits of the system (See (2), Statistics etc.

Definition

Configuration Management - system engineering process for establishing and maintaining consistency of a product's (or services) performance, functional and physical attributes with its requirements, design and operational information throughout its life.

0.3– comprehensive process-approach explained in better details. What's interesting are the words “understood” and “understanding” are being used. It means that the system HAS to be understood – on company-wide basis.

There is no point making a system only to be understood by a certain 'exclusive top management level'.

How to make everyone understand?

Mind you, I'm not talking about the typical (word by word) memorizing the policy or objectives – remember UNDERSTAND is totally different than MEMORIZE....

- a laymen understanding – is to understand QMS in their OWN work! (refer Job Description and Responsibilities/Authorities) – if these are not clear, DON'T HOPE everyone to understand – you will receive typical provoking comments from them just like when the previous system was implemented - “This is not my job?” “Having ISO is like having NOTHING – no impact – nothing for me” - hence - they don't feel the system!

0.4 including Figure 1 and 2 talk about 'Plan-Do-Check-Act” in much more simple understanding but implementable.

0.5 Something new – Risk-Based Thinking (in fact it's partial risk management) – which I agree 100%.

Definition

Simply look back at your Management Review Meeting, Data Analysis and Continual Improvement Plan (if you have any - if you don't, then 'BIG TROUBLE') – now PROACTIVELY start identifying, assess and prioritize the risks (the effect of "uncertainty") – how do you that? 

Yes, look back at frequent problems in your data? 

And prioritize - put them according to order, mark them with RED, YELLOW or GREEN and discuss the solution further. You can also integrate ITP, HIRARC, SHASSIC, CONQUAS or whatever specific assessment/inspection system you have (if you have one - if you don't, then go for the normal inspection that you do - incoming, in-process and outgoing) etc. into it. 

No overlapping please...let all the system be harmonized and co-exist.

Now, should you have a full (projected) Risk Management Plan before starting the operation? (Preliminary, Design, Interim and Final) – if you have the time – the answer is YES!

Project Management - Critical Path Method - justify the RED ones by thinking outside the box (outside the software) - there must be alternative ways of justifying it. Yes, I have the great CPM and the 'technical S Curve'  but why is there still delay?

Just match it with your MRM Data...you'll be on the right track.

0.6– compatibility with other management systems – explained in greater details.

VERDICT?

Yes, the new ISO 9001:2015 is attempting to cover and solve ALL kinds of management and technical problems (sound kind of ambitious - don't you think?) – however, lots of cross-referencing need to be made. Act smart for a while...please

(wait for Part 2)