Quality in Construction

Code:

M.EC033

Acronym:

QC

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Building Construction

Instance: 2024/2025 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Civil and Georesources Engineering
Course/CS Responsible:	Master in Civil Engineering

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
M.EC	40	Syllabus	1	-	6	45,5

Teaching language

Portuguese and english
Obs.: This academic year, the module will be totally delivered in English.

Objectives

JUSTIFICATION:

The concepts of quality management, originally developed in an environment of classic industrial production series, expanded to the field of construction industry. However, the production and operational context in which they must be understood and applied is completely different, so it makes sense to address the various techniques and strategies that can also lead to production systems with a high level of quality control but directed to the product characteristics not repetitive, which contributes to an array of professional and components in very large numbers and very distinct profiles.

 OBJECTIVES:

- To provide a wide comprehension of the specifics of the civil construction production environment; 
- To test the established student's knowledge in different and less common situations; 
- To demonstrate the importance of non-technical factors for the work of a Civil Engineer; 
- To present the framework and application of TQM and other Quality issues in the civil construction environment; 
- To define criteria for quality assessment depending on the position of the person involved; 
- To be critic upon one's own work; 
- To analyse and explore methodologies for increased efficiency in individual and collective work; 
- To develop just good common sense.

Learning outcomes and competences

SKILLS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Knowledge: To describe the main concepts of quality systems and standards and identify the fields where they can be applied in the specific areas of design, site control and production of construction works. To list the parameters involved in the diverse scopes of company activity.

Understanding: To interpret and manipulate the written and drawn elements which are part of construction design documents. Identify the characteristics of construction elements and associate them to parameters describing its performance in terms of functional and economic efficiency. To select operational and company information suitable to be used as KPIs Key Performance Indicators.

Application: To establish procedures for mapping the several conceptual and constructive options available in order to identify the most efficient according to the required perspectives. To calculate and organize statistical information aiming at the identification of good practices.

Analysis: To arrange the results of the application of evaluation methodologies in order to enable the choice of the best cost/efficiency solutions. To relate the results of several indicators so that tendencies and cross-influences can be identified.

Synthesis: To propose new solutions to improve construction quality and short/long term sustainability. To formulate proposals for changes in operational procedures or company strategy.

Evaluation: To scrutinize the methodologies and concepts presented and foresee the evolution they may follow.

Engineering design: To deal with real-life design elements and attempt to develop more efficient solutions in what concerns functionality/cost/benefit.

Engineering research: To identify the several technical and scientific sources available in the web (mainly through FEUP’s Library Portal) and its applicability in each national context.

Engineering practice: To know and contact with the information provided by actual companies and reflect on its meaning regarding the future sustainability of the construction business, both nationally and internationally.

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

General background at Bachelor level, followed by courses at MSc level spanning the various areas of Civil Engineering.

Program

1 INTRODUCTION - Presentation of the module and how it will develop. Motivation of students to assume the position of pre-professionals and not only of students still in training. Awareness of the open discussion that is intended to be established in the classroom. Buildings that impress us. Is a building different from other construction works?

2. THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY - Detailed description of the activity sequence needed to achieve a building end the functions performed by each actor in the production process. Specific stressing for the relationships between these activities, in order to obtain a complete and real image of the operating way for the industry. Statistical information about the industry, its companies and its impact in GDP and employment.

3. THE PERFORMANCE OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY - Productivity and performance analysis processes. The British KPIs. Global and project-based information. Benchmarking and the ideas that the mode of operation of other industries can bring. Performance indicators applicable in Portugal. International benchmarking platforms. The Danish Byggerating.

4. ASSESSMENT OF DESIGN QUALITY - Demonstration of the advantages of a logical analysis of the sequence of activities and design options. Understanding of the existence of a vast database of successes and failures and how to use it for the improvement of the final product. Use of the FEUP Method to establish an awareness of the diverse influence of the factors at play in the development of an expertise design. How to assess the expectations of the stakeholders.

5. LEAN CONSTRUCTION - The philosophy of Lean Production and its transposition to the construction industry. Notion of waste in production. Lean Construction techniques and areas of application in CI. Lean Strategies: Prefabrication, Offsite Construction, DFMA Design for Manufacture and Assembly, DfD Design for Disassembly. BAMB Buildings as Material Banks.

6. RISK ANALYSIS IN CONSTRUCTION - Risks in the development of any construction activity. The FMEA – Failure Modes and Effects Analysis methodology, applied to construction. Assessment of risk levels and development of contingency plans. Adaptation of project solutions to existing risk levels. Evaluation of the level of Severity according to the characteristics of a work. Fuzzy Logic in Risk Analysis.

7. DEFINITION OF QUALITY - Presentation of the Quality lexicon and explanation of its diverse frames. The ISO 9000:2000 and ISO 9001:2008 standards. The new ISO 9001:2015 standard. Explanation, in current words and with easy examples, of quality assurance procedures. Common questions and wrong ideas existing in current public opinion.

8. PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY - Conscience of the wide diversity of technical and cultural profiles existing in this environment. Importance of hierarqy and aspects to be looked after while dealing with the different levels of competence and action.

9. METHODS AND TOOLS FOR HIGHER WORK EFFICIENCY. THE ORGANIZATION OF WORK. PROFESSIONAL PATHS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING - Explore the tools included in current productivity software and use them to achieve greater efficiency at work. To guide students in defining their first professional investments. How to keep an activity well organized. How to prepare documentation adjusted to its technical purpose and to the recipient. To describe to the students the various professional areas and their contours – both technical and economic – in particular concerning new graduates. The effort for developing quality work and the constraints to be faced in that effort.

Scientific content – 40%
Technologic content – 60%

DEMONSTRATION OF THE SYLLABUS COHERENCE WITH THE CURRICULAR UNIT'S OBJECTIVES:
The concepts of quality management, originally developed in an environment of classic industrial production series, expanded to the field of construction industry. However, the production and operational context in which they must be understood and applied is completely different, so it makes sense to address the various techniques and strategies that can also lead to production systems with a high level of quality control but directed to the product characteristics not repetitive, which contributes to an array of professional and components in very large numbers and very distinct profiles.

Mandatory literature

Diversos/Diverse; Diversos/Diverse (All references will be made available in digital format and placed in the "Class Material" folder of the course's specidic Team in MS Teams.)

Complementary Bibliography

Diversos/Diverse; Diversos/Diverse (All references will be made available in digital format and placed in the "Class Material" folder of the course's specidic Team in MS Teams.)

Comments from the literature

All references will be made available in digital format and placed in the "Class Material" folder of the course's specidic Team in MS Teams.

Teaching methods and learning activities

- 1 Lecture of 2h + 1 TP class of 1,5h (3,5h total per week and per class).
- Introduction of the themes by stages, mixed with small courseworks to be developed during and between TP classes, with presentations in some cases.
- Individual Coursework with scope to be presented in the week of 01/04/2025. To be delivered until 30/05/2025.

Utilization of the MS Teams platform for information and reference compilation, description of courseworks and its submission.

- If the number of non-PT speaking students is low (under 10 students), these will have the course deliverred independently, with schedule to be defined and a selection of subjects in which the use of PT-written references will not be required.

DEMONSTRATION OF THE COHERENCE BETWEEN THE TEACHING METHODOLOGIES AND THE LEARNING OUTCOMES: To establish the mapping process and various conceptual constructive solutions in order to identify the most efficient from the desired point of view. Calculate and organize statistical information orientated to the identification of good practices. Rank the results from the application of assessment methodologies to enable the selection of the best cost/efficiency. To relate the results of several indicators to identify trends and mutual influences. Propose new solutions for enhancing the build quality and sustainability in the short and long term. Formulate proposals for changes in procedures or business strategies.

keywords

Technological sciences > Engineering > Civil engineering

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Exame	25,00
Trabalho escrito	75,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	45,50
Frequência das aulas	45,50
Trabalho de campo	25,00
Trabalho de investigação	25,00
Trabalho escrito	25,00
Total:	166,00

Eligibility for exams

Achieving final classification requires compliance with attendance at the course unit, according to the M.EC assessment rules. It is considered that students meet the attendance requirements if, having been regularly enrolled, the number of absences of 25% for each of the classes’ types is not exceeded. In the case of this course, 

Calculation formula of final grade

A. Distributed evaluation

1. Courseworks to be developed and presented in class, delivered through MS Teams = Groups of 2-3 students. 25%

2. Application courseworks = Individual courseworks to be submitted in MS Teams. 25%

3. Individual coursework = To be delivered in MS Teams until 30/05/2025. 25%

B. Final Exam

4. Exam = Time allowed 1h00, no access to references. 8 multiple choice questions and an open answer question. 25%

C. Final grade = (1.)*25%+(2.)*25%+(3.)*25%+(4.)*25%


NOTE: in what concerns the previous items, the lowest grades of 1 Class Courseworks (item 1) and 1 Application Coursework (item 2) wil be discarded (not delivered = 0).

Examinations or Special Assignments

Not applicable.

Internship work/project

Not applicable.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Not applicable for mobility students.

Classification improvement

Items (1.) and (2.) - no improvement possible, as they are developed during classes. Item (3.) - possibility of improving the coursework, to be delivered until the date of the resit examination. Item (4.) - improvement in resit examination

Observations

Prior knowledge: ideally all course units of the Building Construction scientific area of the course. Failure in the Project Management or Construction Management units of the course can lead to higher difficulty.

Knowledge of Excel or similar spreadsheet applications highly reccomended.