Overview
The quality management tools in constructing bridges do not always produce the expected results and failures sometimes occure, they are even repeated again. These tools and measures were identified for example in SIA 2007. Contrary to this publication effort the failure rate seems to be still high.
The presented project is looking for a way how to decrease the failure rate during construction of bridges. Using interviews and inquiries with competent persons involved in the construction processes substantial causes shall be determined. Afterwards adequate measures can be identified, which are qualified to eliminate the reasons of these failures.
The experience shows that defective outputs are performed during construction of bridges despite the project-related quality management tools. On the one hand the research work will point out why such failures occure. On the other hand conclusions will be derived and measures based on it will be presented to eliminate the reasons of these failures.
The following steps are planned:
1. Interviews:
- Literature analyses
- Creation of the questionnaire
- Inerviews with competent professionals
- Test runs with the preliminary questionnaire
2. A questionnnaire survey
3. Evaluation of the questionnaire
The project has the following phases:
Phase 1 Development of a draft of the questionnaire in contact with two or three experts
Phase 2 Evaluation of the questionnaire and test run using case studies
Phase 3 Revision of the draft based on the results of the test run
Phase 4 Survey of a large number of professionals, which the parties above represented
Phase 5 Evaluating the questionnaire; Concrete results, drawing of conclusions
Phase 6 Writing of a Report
Funding
Results
The main result of the project was a final publication. It concludes:
It is believed that the causes of partial failures can be attributed to certain weaknesses in the application of the project quality management (PQM). Knowing the vulnerabilities allows to take all necessary steps to eliminate these as far as possible. These include
- Publication of the results and the proposed measures
- Implementation of the measures in the Q manuals of stakeholders (builders, project designers, entrepreneurs)
- Training of the parties
Publications:
Beusch, Erwin; Massnahmen zur Durchsetzung der Qualitätsanforderungen bei Kunstbauten (Bau, Erhaltung). Serie: Eidgenössisches Departement für Umwelt, Verkehr, Energie und Kommunikation, Bundesamt für Strassen; 600. VSS, Zürich, 2006