Construction alarmism helps nobody

Earlier this week Radio New Zealand ran a story that questioned the quality of the concrete work found in hundreds of major buildings around Aotearoa.

The story is headlined “Widespread defective or missing concrete or reinforcing steel revealed”.

It stems from the results of imaging scans undertaken by a Wellington company. The scans penetrate up to two metres inside concrete columns, beams, walls and floors.

I don’t believe the information contained in this story gives a balanced representation of the situation, and some of the wording can best be described as alarmist.

My most pressing concern comes from this line:

“Critical structural parts were defective or missing in 1100 of the 1200 buildings they had scanned since 2016”.

Here are my thoughts.

Scanners being called in shows that Engineers are doing their job

In most cases where concrete scanning is required for new construction, it would be because there is a ‘potential concern’ or a ‘need to know’ about the integrity of the work. For example, a scanner may be called in by an Engineer or a contractor where there is insufficient documentation.

In the event a scan is requested, it can help determine whether there is an issue with the construction, or not. If an irregularity is found, it can then be resolved. These findings support the need for robust and risk-appropriate construction monitoring.

Are they critical structural parts?

The story has suggested that the scan has found deficiencies in ‘critical structural parts.’ I don’t believe the company representatives are qualified to determine whether their scan results are related to ‘critical structural parts’. The results should be interpreted by an Engineer who would make an informed judgement as to whether there is an issue impacting the design.

For example, if a scan revealed that the concrete in part of a building is thinner than specified, an Engineer could make appropriate calculations and determine whether that will have an impact on the design. If the calculations show that the difference in thickness will have an effect, then remedial work may be required.

1100 out of 1200, sounds scary!

1100 of the 1200 buildings scanned had issues! That sounds like a scarily high proportion. That sounds like most buildings.

But is this a surprise? A scanner would be called in because a potential issue has already been identified and there’s a need to quantify it and determine if remedial work is required.

It also makes no mention of the fact that if there were significant issues identified, these would need to be resolved before the building’s PS4 was signed off.

We do have some construction challenges

Don’t get me wrong; I certainly agree that there are some challenges and quality issues in the concrete construction sector.

These challenges are in large part driven by a labour shortage, and a lack of skilled and experienced workers. This can, in turn, mean Engineers have to undertake higher levels of construction monitoring, and there are occasions when remedial work is required.

This situation is also not helped by a lack of investment in the industry and the failure of many construction firms.

In recent months the Government has established the Construction Sector Accord, which is a serious attempt to transform the sector to address these very issues. I remain hopeful about the Accord and the impact it will have, as we do need to address this.

In closing:

Are there some challenges with quality in the concrete construction sector? Certainly!

But, using alarmist language to scare the public and create a frenzy isn’t going to solve that.

If you take a balanced look at the facts, it suggests to me that:

• Engineers are doing their jobs well,
• There’s a need to ensure the robust and risk-appropriate construction monitoring is in place, and
• We all need to get in behind the Construction Sector Accord and address the root cause of construction quality issues.

I welcome your thoughts, Paul

All opinions expressed on LinkedIn are my own and should not be considered the position of ACENZ.