THE EXTERNAL FRAMEWORK OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

The Boligministeriet Bygningsreglement Building Permit General Conditions Other Ministries The Working Environment Act and Regulations Contractors Building Materials and Components The acts and regulations for the construction industry are mainly submitted by the Boligministeriet but other ministries cover the more specific aspects of the industry. The Boligministeriet The Boligministeriet is obviously centrally placed in relation to the industry. The general political aim of the ministry is to secure well equip-ped and adequate housing. The policy is also seen as an integrated instrument in the political monitoring and control of the general level of economic activity in the society in respect to employment, inflation, fixing of wage rates and the like. The Boligministeriet covers the following main aspects of the construction industry: building procurement estates management for certain types of public buildings facilities management quality of the construction works quality assurance and liability Byggeskadefonden general development of the construction industry tender rules tender procedures tender procedures in accordance to European Union regulation pricing and duration of contracts seasonal fluctuations acts for regulating the activities of architects and engineers With the rapid increase in the output of new industrialised homes after the second world war, the market has gradually come nearer to a point of saturation and a reduced importance of new building activities. This lower level of activity has tended to reduce the allocation of funding for research and development activities in new building. On the other hand, the simultaneous shift towards more renovation activities has brought along R & D programmes on the efficiency of the renovation process, just as the general focus on environmental matters has led to substantial savings on consumption of electricity, heating and water in existing buildings. Another important development is recently represented by the decentralisation of the monitoring and controls concerning the activities in the social housing sector. Now the local authorities are involved to a much larger extent than earlier. Inevitably the ministry has been heavily engaged in the harmonisation process towards European market integration. Harmonisation has involved areas like tender procedures, public procurement, technical standards on design as well as on building materials. From setting the pace solely in the technological development of the construction industry the ministry now plays this role in co-operation with departments of other ministries. As indicated above such ministries are now partly covering for instance energy consumption and other central environmental areas related to the construction of buildings. Among policy makers it is considered a development issue to solve the productivity stagnation in new building. At the same time it is an agreed strategy to improve the efficiency of the renovation process by applying industrialised production concepts. Bygningsreglement A central tool in the ministry's action in relation to the industry is Byggeloven (The Building Act) and the attached Bygningsreglement (Building Regulation). The Bygningsreglement is in force nation-wide, thus enabling companies in the industry to work across the country. This is an important aspect in the perspective of developing new building concepts as well as creating one large market for components with maximum competition. The Bygningsreglement applies to all building activities in Denmark except for works on smaller buildings (consisting of only one dwelling or semi-detached house). For this type of work there is a separate set of regulations, which permits the owner to do non-critical types of works without having to go through a lengthy process of getting approval from the authorities. The overall aim of the Bygningsreglement is to ensure buildings of a certain standard in respect to fire resistance, general health and safety aspects and, of course, the basic quality of the buildings. The aim is also to avoid waste of energy and materials thus promoting environmentally friendly ways of constructing. Thirdly the Bygningsreglement deals with the interaction of new buildings towards the existing, surrounding buildings. To a very large extend the Bygningsreglement is based on functional demands rather than specified details for the actual construction. This leaves a great amount of freedom of method for designers as well as for contractors to fulfil the functional demands specified in the Bygningsreglement. This gives room and initiative for continuous development in building technology. The latest revisions of the Bygningsreglement were issued during spring 1995 stating the most recent level of performance for modern buildings. As earlier indicated the trend is focusing on energy consumption with a specified reduction of 25% compared to the previous standards. Another item of particular interest is the indoor climate of buildings, making the exposure to hazardous evaporation from building materials as low as possible. Attention is paid to chemical compounds like formaldehyde and to fibres from asbestos and mineralwool. The Bygningsreglement is almost entirely based on functional demands as opposed to detailed technical requirements. This leaves a large degree of freedom in the design chosen by the architects and the consulting engineers and to some degree also a freedom for the contractors' selection of materials and methods. Building Permit Prior to commencing construction works the client is under an obligation to notify the local authorities by submitting a written application, which describes the purpose of the building, the structural design, the site location etc. On this basis a building permit can be obtained. The local authorities have full responsibility for assuring that the requirements of the Bygningsreglement are met. It is the client's responsibility, however, to fulfil all legal requirements. If construction work has not commenced within one year from the issue of the permit, it is automatically cancelled. When construction works are finished the building cannot be taken into use before inspection and approval by the public authorities has been completed. For minor works like small extensions to single-family houses or individual renovation of flats it is considered sufficient to notify the local authorities in advance. The authorities must react against the plans within a certain time limit if they intend to stop the project. General Conditions An important tool in the regulation of the activities in the industry the legal conditions are agreed among the parties as being general to all construction activity in Denmark. They are articulated in Almindelige betingelser for arbejder og leveran-cer i bygge- og anlægsvirksomhed - AB 92 (General Conditions for Works and Supplies for Building and Civil Engineering Works). These conditions represent a substantial part of all contracts for construction works regulating the relations between the parties (client, contractor and suppliers). AB 92 includes items like: insurance and provision of security the works payments time extension and delay transfer of works defects and 5 years inspection cancellation of work disputes/arbitration The AB 92 is complemented by Almindelige Bestemmelser for teknisk Rådgivning og bistand- - ABR 89 (General Conditions for Consulting Services), which regulate the relation between client and designer/consultant. Furthermore the Ministry of Building and Housing has recently issued a specially adapted set of general conditions, Almindelige Betingelser for Totalentreprise ABT 93, which covers the special type of contractual relations in design and build contracts, where design is an integrated part of the works to be supplied. Most trade organisations and associations have issued standard amendments to the general conditions taking into account the more detailed and specific aspects of their respective roles in the construction process. Other Ministries In addition to the Boligministeriet other ministries cover specific aspects of relevance to the construction industry: Erhvervsministeriet (Ministry of Business and Industry) covers the business or commercially orientated aspects of the industry, the business development of the industry and the technological service infrastructure. Environment) specifies guidelines for the consumption of Energy within the construction process as well as in the buildings. It also handles the environmental impact of construction activities and it is in this connection occupied with recycling activities and the introduction of environmentally friendly technology. Undervisningsministeriet (Ministry of Education) handles qualification matters related to the technical educations in the construction industry as well as matters on basic research conducted within the framework of the teaching institutions. For historic reasons this ministry runs a special department, Byggedirektoratet (The Building Directorate), acting as the client/consultant on a considerable number of large public building projects. This function dates back to the 1960s and 1970s when the ministry erected many schools and other educational institu-tions thus achieving great experience as client. Arbejdsministeriet (Ministry of Labour) handles questions specific to the labour market, educational matters directly linked to the labour market and health and safety aspects. ù Kulturministeriet (Ministry of Culture) deals with the education and training of architects. Socialministeriet (Ministry of Social Affairs) has developed special housing concepts for elderly and disabled persons. Recently the ministry has furthermore introduced turn-key low-cost housing projects designed for foreign markets. The Working Environment Act and Regulations In an international perspective Denmark has been pioneering strategies for health and safety improvements in construction. As a general rule such improvements are obtained from combined efforts of authorities, employers and employees and their respective organisations. Arbejdsmiljøloven (The Danish Working Environment Act) is a framework containing only a few detailed regulations. Within this overall framework, detailed rules are formulated by way of administrative regulations, issued by the Ministry of Labour or Arbejdstilsynet (The Working Environment Service - WES). The Danish rules are regularly amen-ded to comply with the various regulations and directives adopted by the EC. The Danish Working Environment Act has the following preamble: "The provisions of this Act shall have effect with a view to creating: a safe and healthy working environment at all times adapted to the technical and social developments of society; a basis which enables the enterprises to resolve questions regarding health and safety under guidance and control by the social partners and the Danish WES" Most of the regulations deal with technical matters. As a fundamental principle in all regulations the parties are obliged always to choose the best methods of procurement, materials, machinery etc. in order to minimise the risk to health and safety. From a managerial point of view rules of special interest are those concerning the organisational set-up and the planning. Some of these rules are explained below. For every building project exceeding a certain size or duration a detailed security plan - Sikkerhedsplan - must be made in order to ensure that the works can be undertaken in proper manner and in conformity with the legislation. The plan also secures the appropriate co-ordination of the safety work among the contractors. Some of the basic elements of the plan are: the organisation of the building site a scheme showing the general lay-out of the site a time schedule information on the establish-ment of safety precautions and welfare facilities the identification of any high risk working areas and the necessary precautions In general, the plan must contain information on all operations affecting health or safety by specifying the duration, place and the person or company responsible for each operation in question. Formally, the client has certain responsibilities in respect to the safety work. However in accordance with the rules in the specific regulations, the normal procedure is that the client transfers all the above mentioned legal duties concerning health and safety to either the consultant or the main contractor. Prior to start-up of work on site it is compulsory to report the forthcoming construction activity to the WES and to make sure that the above mentioned written plan for health and safety concerning the actual construction site has been prepared. The designer is responsible for ensuring that the work on site can be carried out in a safe and healthy manner. Some of the factors, and their consequences for the working conditions on site, which the designer has to consider are: selection of design in view of constructability (architect and consultant engineer) sequence of construction procurement methods selection of materials and equipment It is also the responsibility of the designer to provide a plan explaining how the work can be carried out in a safe manner providing the necessary time in the different stages of the construction process. During the period of work on site matters of health and safety are dealt with by the safety organisation. Apart from the client the safety organisation includes - for each contractor - one member elected by the employees and one member representing the employer. It is the responsibility of the client to ensure regular meetings (at least once a month) in the safe-ty organisation. During these meetings the health and safety plan should be updated. The contractor is responsible for the health and safety of his own employees. This responsibility includes instruction of the employees, controlling that instructions as well as the general provisions of the working environment act are met, co-operation with other contractors on matters of health and safety etc. Furthermore, the contractor is responsible for the delegation and co-ordination of safety work between all sub-contractors he may employ as a part of his works package. Contractors In this perspective it has proven vital that all different trades have been active in establishing relevant codes of practice for carrying out construction works. These codes of practice have been included as an important integral part of the Kvalitetssikringsreformen initiated by the Boligministeriet in the mid 1980s. In the case of aspects related to the tenants' immediate health and safety when utilising the building there is a demand for a formalisation of these codes of practice by imposing the need for authorisations of companies within certain trades (e.g. companies fitting electrical installations or companies doing plumbing works). Lack of conformance to the code of practice or regulation leads to loss of authorisation thus excluding the company from future works. Building Materials and Components When the architect specifies materials for a project the general procedure is to make a reference to the relevant system of certification thus ensuring an adequate quality without determining a specific material or producer. In theory this leads to the strongest competition giving the lowest prices on a specified level of quality. All major categories of materials are in some way or another covered by a controlling arrangement. These controls are often conducted by the Technological Institutes, which are internationally recognised and independent of producers' interests. Within the European Union several systems of internationally ratified certification has emerged. These systems cover not only the material but also the quality control schemes associated with the production. The latter circumstance in fact provides producers with an immediate and easy access to foreign export markets without having to do time- and money consuming new certifications for a new product under consideration for a particular market. An example of this is the certification of prefabricated concrete units giving producers all across the member states in the European Union access to an entire unified European market. The emergence of certification schemes is often the result of a reflection upon manifest building defects. With the strong repetition of details in industrialised building projects repairs have often been extremely costly. A classic example of this is represented by the industrialised production of windows and exterior doors now being manufactured according to the specification of Dansk Vindues Kontrol - DVK (Danish Window Control). This specification sets a minimum standard for all basic materials in the window (wood, glass, coating material, glue, hinges etc.) The manufacturers have established their own control organisation managed by the independent Technological Institute. Furthermore the producers of precast concrete elements and ready mix concrete manufacture their products according to a basic recipe, Basisbetonbeskrivelsen (Basic Concrete Specification for Building Structures)-, established by the Boligministeriet. This should be seen as a response to defects caused by numerous cases of poor quality not only in works done on site but also in the quality of precast concrete panels or ready-mix concrete deliveries. From this it appears that one type of control covering all relevant aspects is related to each type of material. For the architect and engineer this principle is easy and reliable since he has only to refer to one kind of certification. Recently, however, a system for indoor climate certification of building materials in general has been introduced. This reflects the increased focusing on overall environmental matters. In an international perspective, the concept of certification of materials has pro-ven very important. Danish building material firms for instance have achieved high competitiveness since foreign producers, having easy access to the Danish market, apply constant pressure onto the domestic producers. And this ability to compete and perform to internationally accepted standards has proven it easier for the best firms to market their products in foreign countries, giving the building materials industry as such a quite strong position.