Construction Industry Trends
February 2004
When Standards Can Make a Difference
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No matter what role you play in the construction industry, your working life is affected, at least in part, by industry standards. Code and standards affecting the construction industry are both diverse and extensive, and include everything from federal regulations such as those defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to codes, recommended practices, and specifications produced by industry consortiums and manufacturers. While it may seem overwhelming to keep track of all these standards, let alone understand them, being able to effectively use them can play an important role in succeeding in the construction industry, especially as competitive pressures and the cost of doing business both continue to increase.
In the world of construction, building codes are paramount. They provide regulations that establish a minimum standard for ensuring quality and safety, and include provisions governing the methods and materials that are used in the building process. Standards, on the other hand, tend to be far more specific. Where a building code, for example, may require that boilers used in the heating systems of newly constructed schools meet certain requirements, it will reference a specific standard. In many cases, the referenced standard would most likely be the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, which is developed and maintained by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
Standards are often developed by industry organizations such as ASME. By producing standards, these organizations hope to create industry-recognized acceptable practices and procedures that take into account both safety and quality issues as well as industry concerns. These standards are developed over time, incorporating lessons learned and the knowledge of hundreds or even thousands of industry experts. In many cases, these standards become so recognized by members of the industry that they become referenced in local or national building codes as either recommendations or requirements.
Engineers and architects also reference standards as they design buildings. For example, an engineering firm will create a plan that calls for the welding of the structural steel in the building to be performed in accordance with the specifications created by the American Welding Society (AWS) in D1.1/D1.1M: 2004 Structural Welding Code—Steel. This plan, including this blanket provision, is then sent to fabricators and general contractors to provide them with enough information to make a bid on the work. Should they win the job, they will also be able to follow the specification as they work on the structure. By referencing specific standards in this manner, engineers engage in a type of shorthand that allows them to ensure that industry-vetted procedures and materials are being used in their buildings, without having to spell out in detail what these should look like.
Hidden Costs
But, as Daniel T. Piper, CSI, AIA points out in the article “The Risks of Not Knowing Standards” in The Construction Specifier, too often standards are applied arbitrarily and blindly to projects. Without a thorough understanding of the standards they are referencing, project designers run the risk of unwittingly incorporating inconsistencies into their projects. The results can be expensive, both in terms of money and time spent on correcting mistakes. In the competitive construction industry, such errors are increasingly unacceptable and increasingly costly.
Costs are mounting in another area as well — insurance. Construction companies of all sorts are facing skyrocketing premiums and dropped coverage. There are several reasons for this, but many have to do with the fact that the insurance industry is finding construction companies increasingly expensive to cover.
For this reason, in 2003 the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Research Center formed a roundtable between members of the insurance and home building industries. In its report on the roundtable, the NAHB Research Center concluded that the development of and adherence to quality assurance programs would help to reassure insurers of the viability of once again extending affordable insurance to homebuilders and trade contractors.
It stands to reason that standards will play an important part in any quality assurance program; after all, they are at the heart of the construction industry. It is not the standards that are creating the problems that scare off insurers, such as project overruns, safety issues, and contentious and expensive litigation. Rather, it is the lack of knowledge and understanding of these standards in the first place that is causing many of these issues. More time spent on training and learning standards can go a long way toward reducing costs and improving the relationship between the construction and insurance industries.