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.
