The Construction Innovation Hub’s recently launched Construction Product Quality Planning (CPQP) framework offers a toolbox of resources to help manufacturers produce new construction products and components in line with best practice quality standards, ensure legal compliance and improve the efficiency of their operations, explains quality assurance team lead Dr Krish Palmar
The Construction Playbook and Transforming Infrastructure Performance Roadmap to 2030 have both set out a vision for a manufacturing-led construction sector. New products and platforms are needed to achieve this and drive progress against value, quality and net zero targets.
Construction Product Quality Planning (CPQP) is part of a suite of tools that the Hub has developed to meet these ambitions. Specifically, it aims to ensure innovative new products meet and exceed existing quality standards in traditional construction projects.
While many manufacturers will have their own bespoke quality assurance practices, CPQP brings together learning from multiple industries, including automotive and aviation, to create a best practice approach for compliance within construction without sacrificing speed or cost.
The framework is aligned with the new BS99001 standard and will help manufacturers comply with the Building Safety Act when presenting a Building Safety Case to regulators. It means that manufacturers using CPQP can be confident that they are working in line with the latest guidance and regulations within construction.
We are pleased to have the support of Dame Judith Hackitt, who said at the launch event: “I am delighted to see this very positive response to the new regulatory requirements for quality assurance. Learning good practice from manufacturing sectors is a smart way to accelerate the pace of change in construction.”
What resources are available for businesses?
Through CPQP we have set out a Quality Framework that should be followed during the creation of new construction products. It covers five phases, ranging from product definition to product launch.
A set of free guideline documents is available, including an overarching CPQP Guide, Construction Product Approval Process (CPAP) Handbook. Nine supporting guidelines are also available that help complete crucial aspects of the quality assurance process. This includes guides to undertaking Design and a Process Failure Mode & Effect Analysis (DFMEA and PFMEA) and how to create a Risk Control Plan, to name but a few.
Our aim is to ensure that quality is built into the manufacturing process and final product from the start and that any new products meet performance requirements from day one and throughout their lifecycle. This helps businesses move away from defect detection and toward a culture of defect prevention.
Digital transformation: Digital Quality Assurance Tool (DQAT)
Robust quality assurance processes play an essential part in delivering accurate and trusted product information and data to support the creation of golden threads for buildings in a structured way. A range of digital assurance tools are under development to support digital transformation and the government’s information mandate.
For example, at the Hub we have been developing a Digital Quality Assurance Tool (DQAT) to support CPQP. Currently, in beta form, DQAT is a user-friendly online tool that monitors, tracks and measures progress against the CPQP process for a specific product. It allows businesses to:
Generate records for inclusion within building safety cases and the golden thread for high-risk buildings, as required through the Building Safety Act.
Identify the development stage the product is at. Ensuring all activities and deliverables are carried out before proceeding to the next phase, while identifying bottle¬necks or risks in the product development cycle.
Link the activity/deliverable with the responsible person, offering a digital communication platform between the client representative, the approval coordi¬nator and product design teams.
Putting CPQP into practice
The CPQP framework provides practical tools for the quality assurance of product platforms developed using the guiding rules set out in the Hub’s Product Platform Rulebook. In September, the first edition of the Rulebook will be released and CPQP documents and processes signposted.
During the development of CPQP, we also worked with modular housing manufacturers Project Etopia and ilke Homes to develop and trial different aspects of the framework.
ilke Homes is the first modular housing provider in the UK to develop and manufacture a mainstream zero-carbon home, with the capacity to deliver 2,000 homes per year and six units per day. Etopia invents all-in-one solutions for a more sustainable, efficient and resilient approach to net zero carbon buildings.
To access all the CPQP resources please click here.
Dr Krish Palmar
Quality assurance team lead
Construction Innovation Hub
https://constructioninnovationhub.org.uk/construction-product-quality-planning
