CIDB secretariat staff and speakers at the media workshop yesterday. — Photos by Mohd Rais Sanusi
KUCHING: Property developers might be slow to adopt the Quality Assessment System in Construction (QLASSIC) because they fear not meeting the standard.
Initiated by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia, QLASSIC addresses the major challenge of bridging the wide gap between property prices and workmanship quality.
“We are working on making it a requirement for all property developers through strategic planning,” said CIDB general manager Noraini Bahri.
While it is true that some developers will start with a low score, it will help them identify what they need to improve next time, she added.
Noraini was speaking to journalists at a half-day media workshop on ‘Ensuring Workmanship Quality in the Construction Industry’ at Kuching Hilton.
The workshop consisted of introducing the concept of the QLASSIC Assessment System, which was introduced in 2007 and is still ‘a journey’ in convincing more developers to get on board, said CIDB senior manager Sazali Che Amat.
“In the first seven to eight years, we assessed around 900 projects using this system. In 2014, we did 264 projects,” he said, adding that this was very minimal compared to the number of developers.
Kang (right) demonstrating the use of a tool to determine the quality of the floor.
Quality Assessment System in Construction (QLASSIC) is a system or method to measure and evaluate the workmanship quality of a building construction based on Construction Industry Standards (CIS 7:2006).
QLASSIC enables the quality of workmanship between construction projects to be objectively compared through a scoring system.
Master Builders Association Malaysia Technical Committee Chairman Dato Ir K Laxana Naidu pointed out that the demand for quality has to begin with property buyers.
“As end-users, we need to start pressuring developers and demanding for quality.”
Often enough, buyers of low cost or affordable housing are only glad to get a roof over their heads; accepting that low cost meant low quality, Laxana said.
In his introduction to QLASSIC, Laxana said it sets the construction industry standard of workmanship, providing a quality benchmark to gauge industry performance.
It benefits the public by ensuring quality, value for money, higher quality of workmanship and higher satisfaction.
On the industry side, it satisfies quality demands from end-users, helps them deliver high quality buildings, improves marketability, encourages price-quality procurement, and earns the public’s trust.
Joshua Kang of Canaan Building Inspection Sdn Bhd briefed the local media on how assessments are carried out and later demonstrated how the tools of the trade are used to determine quality of construction.
Ali Abdullah, secretary of the Tribunal for Housing Purchasers’ Claims, talked about the top grouses from Sarawakian house buyers.
The participants also heard from companies that use QLASSIC. Ecosteel Sdn Bhd managing director and founder Mei Chee Chiang talked about going through the assessments and how it pushed his standards to the next level.
Hock Peng Organization regional marketing manager Jimmy Jong and senior project manager Michael Tiong talked about how QLASSIC served as an eye-opener when they came onboard in 2013.
Projects that underwent QLASSIC assessment since 2007 include those by DBKL, Sime Darby Property, Sunway Construction Sdn Bhd, Putrajaya Holdings, Naza TTDO, I&P Group, Metro Kajang, Dynasty View Sdn Bhd, Worldwide Holdings Berhad, MK Land Holding Berhad.