Housing in Southern Africa October-November 2016

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on the ground that qualified (with a qualifying score) to be placed on an IBT database. It needs to be high- lighted that it was not the intention of the tool to ascertain the exact reason for the deficiencies for this phase. With the investigation of the differ- ent tool types one third of the hous- ing associations use condition rating to record the technical status of the building components. But condition assessments vary for the hierarchal classification of building compo- nents, classified defects and the use of condition parameters. Several condition assessment methods lead to variable condition rating results, while examining the same defects. Of interest is a condition assess- ment tool standardised by the Dutch Government Building Agency in 2002, which most building inspectors will ʻA defect can be either patent or latent. Patent defects can be clearly recognised during inspection, the construction be able to apply in the case of in- novative building technologies. The aim was an objective assessment of the technical quality to provide property managers with unambigu- ous reliable information about the technical status based on assessed defects. This standard tool was aimed at property owners, tenants, consul- tants, contractors and inspectors of control bodies. Application of the standard can include the following: Visualisation; Maintenance planning; Prioritising of maintenance budgets; Control of physical conditions; and Communication about the actual assessed physical condition and de- sirable condition. Condition assessments should be performed visually by trained inspec- tors using some small equipment and measuring tools. An inspector will pass through the following condition parameters: importance of defects, intensity of defects and extent of de- fect. The extent of the intensity of a defect combinedwith the importance of the defect lead to a condition rat- ing, probably with a defect score. The main components of the study’s assessment tool covered the sub-structure, superstructure, roof, services and finishes concerned with health, safety and the environment. period of the project’s defects liability period.’

requirements and their implementa- tion; the low levels of skill, training, and investment throughout much of the industry and its workforce; and the difficulty of protecting in- novations and appropriating their financial returns. Government aims to use IBTs to construct 60% of new social infra- structure projects by 2017. One of the NHBRC projects is to develop a dynamic IBT database. This database will assist provincial departments in selecting better quality IBTs from a performance perspective. This method does not disregard the need for other procurement interventions such as choosing more suitable IBTs for specific climatic zones (not part of this study). However, amethod is fol- lowed to evaluate IBT homes already built to determine a score on general performance using a South African Condition Assessment Tool (SACAT). As part of descriptive statistics the study describes the results of how ‘as-built’ IBT homes performand then compared with the expected results of theoretical analysis. A method of determining how ‘as- built’ IBT homes are performing is to assess the extent of defects using a tool that inspectors can use. Defects are defined as being deficiencies in design, material, construction or subsurface. A defect can be either patent or latent. Patent defects can be clearly recognised during inspec- tion, the construction period of the project’s defects liability period. Latent defects appear over time, usually once the building has been occupied. Building defects can be a result of design errors by profession- als, a manufacturing flaw, defective materials, improper use of instal- lation of materials, not conforming to the design by the contractor, or a combination. Methodology and data collection A condition assessment tool for small and large scale housing projects was developed to objectively assess the technical quality of the housing prod- uct. This was achieved through visual inspection at the post-construction phase of a housing project. The scor- ing was according to critical defects (symptoms) identified comprising of the defect importance, intensity and extent. This assessment will allow for choosing from those IBT systems

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