An essential stick behind the door

Quality control of facades and roofs

The final quality of facades and roofs stands or falls with the quality of execution. Careful quality control is therefore essential. During the realization of the new Dutch headquarters of DPG Media, this responsibility lies with Seconed.

"On behalf of BESIX Nederland, we check whether the facades and roofs are built according to the design drawings, advisory reports and the Building Code," says Mathieu van Osta, Senior Project Engineer Facade & Roofing at Seconed. "My colleague and I are on site 2 or 3 times a week to check the execution quality of the building envelope. Here, we first coordinate with the superintendents and work planners to see if there are any peculiarities, schedule changes or problems. We then make an inspection tour, looking at structural safety, fall-through safety, wind and water tightness, positioning and any damage, among other things. All findings are photographed and recorded, including accompanying text, in an app, which also enables quality monitoring. A status marker keeps track of the status of each finding. This means that delivery cannot take place until all statuses are green. This assures both main contractor and client of the highest delivery quality."

Seconed is an expert, independent and objective partner for the inspection and testing of construction projects. "We like to be involved as early as the design phase to check the final design and execution documents for facades and roofs against the standards," says Van Osta. "We are also happy to take on the execution inspections, acting as a third-line inspector after the subcontractor and general contractor. Moreover, we can provide a more proactive role in commissioning assignments, where we ensure that the desired quality is demonstrably achieved on the basis of a pre-established plan. Thus, we offer a solution for every quality and safety question."