Construction

Quality management in the construction industry is now an absolute must and can no longer be reduced to quality assurance alone, but also includes environmental and occupational safety requirements, which have long been part of industry practice in a process-oriented integrated management system (IMS). Almost all large and medium-sized construction companies and, above all, companies in the construction industry are already working on the further development of their IMS by adding requirements from risk management (ISO 31000 or ÖNORM D 4901), compliance management (ISO 37301), anti-corruption management (ISO 37001) and information security management (ISO 27001).

In the construction industry, quality management as a process-oriented IMS has developed into one of the most successful strategies for remaining economically successful on the market despite constantly increasing requirements. More and more construction managers are recognizing their opportunity, but also their responsibility, to demand and ensure the quality capability of the companies they commission to handle construction projects. Executing companies, subcontractors, professionals as well as planning and architectural offices are increasingly required to demonstrate their systemic, organizational and overall entrepreneurial skills in addition to their creative performance. A qualityaustria certificate is one of the best ways to do this.

In order to be well prepared for future challenges such as a poor order situation with tight prices and falling revenues as well as increased legal requirements such as sustainability reporting, data protection, NIS2 etc., warranty claims, execution defects (often repeat defects) that have to be rectified retrospectively and procedural duplication coupled with bureaucratic effort must be minimized. Building damage statistics show that the average cost of defects amounts to approx. 6-8% of production costs and thus often eats up the entire profit in many companies. In the construction industry, quality means the sum of the performance of all those involved in the construction project. Since design, execution and use are usually separate areas of responsibility (construction managers, architects, planners, contractors, subcontractors, building material manufacturers, building material dealers, owners and users), integrated management systems help to identify and proactively control interfaces and to demonstrably ensure data and information quality (CO2 equivalence, energy consumption, supply chain, product data, etc.), especially with regard to the life cycle assessment required by the EU.

• Planning and execution errors are reduced
• Repeat errors (on other construction sites or by other employees) are prevented = lessons learned
• Fewer rectifications during the construction period thanks to quality assurance planning and checks
• Significant improvement in interface problems with clients, planners, subcontractors, suppliers, authorities, etc.
• Clear, defined filing rules and standardized (few) forms ensure that necessary data and information are available both at handover and years later in the event of a possible warranty as evidence.