Construction is a process in which hundreds or even thousands of the specialists are involved. The architects, designers, builders of the various specializations, suppliers of the materials - everyone in this chain plays a very important role, but there are specialists who have a special place in this structure. This is a technical supervision. The entire construction of the building passes under its strict control.
The task of the technical supervision is to be the eyes of the developer at the facility, to monitor a compliance with the design solutions, the quality and volume of the works on the construction site.
The head of the technical supervision service of the SAGA Development - Dmitry Loboychenko spoke about the functions and skills that a construction control specialist should have, and also shared an insider's idea of how it is to be a technical supervision specialist at the facilities that are becoming the new landmarks of Ukraine.
About the key functions that are performed by the technical supervision specialist at construction
Two divisions are responsible for the construction control: of the author's supervision, which is carried out by an architect or design institution, and of the technical supervision, which is carried out by the customer service - the developer of the facility.
If the task of the architect is to identify the deviations from the approved project, then the duties of the technical supervision engineer are somewhat broader. It monitors the volume and quality of all works on the construction site, monitors a compliance with the building codes and regulations, checks the documents certifying the quality of the structures, building materials and equipment with which the contractor works.
At what stage of the construction does the work of the technical supervision specialist begins
The technical supervision is carried out from the first day of the works at the construction site, after obtaining a permit or registering a declaration on the start of the construction, and ends at the stage of the signing the act on the commissioning of the facility. This rule is regulated by the 903rd Resolution of the Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine: ”On designer and technical supervision during the construction of an architectural facility”.
During the entire construction period, the supervision specialists are at the facility and monitor a compliance with the design solutions and state standards, check the quality and scope of the works.
There can be no online supervision or supervision that goes to the construction site at the request of the customer. The control service works in a team with the builders - it must see the process of creating a facility and only after that evaluate the results of the works performed.
“It doesn't matter how smoothly and with high quality the plaster is applied to the walls in the building. If the walls have not been primed beforehand, the plaster will deteriorate after the first frost”, explains Dmitry Loboychenko.
Evidence that the contractor has fulfilled his obligations to the developer is a Certificate of Completion. It is signed by the technical supervision specialist after a thorough check of the works on the construction site. This is a very crucial moment, since it is on the basis of these documents that the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate will make a decision on putting the building into operation.
The State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate commission cannot assess the quality of the hidden works - how the floor slab is poured, whether there are errors in the vertical elements of the building - this is the task of the technical supervision service. Therefore, while the contractor is working at the facility, next to him is the construction control of the developer.
Education and skills of the technical supervision specialists
Higher specialized education in the direction of the industrial and civil construction is a must for the technical supervision specialist. He / she must understand the construction processes and materials, to know the regulatory framework, to be able to read the design drawings, to maintain documentation.
The second requirement concerns the professional qualifications. To work in the customer's service, the specialist must pass a certification and receive a certificate from the Guild of the Technical Supervision Engineers, an organization that, since 2015, has the authority from the Ministry of the Regional Development of Ukraine to monitor the professional activities of the technical supervision, to improve the qualifications of its employees, to issue or deprive them of a certificate.
What are the criteria by which SAGA chooses the construction control specialists?
All requirements for the candidates can be reduced to one thing - to the professionalism. Given the level of the responsibility of the technical supervision, his / her specialist must be a professional in his / her field - to know the rights and obligations prescribed in the Resolutions of the Cabinet of the Ministers and the charter of the Guild of the Technical Supervision Engineers, to comply with the norms and standards, but not to limit their professional competencies only to the regulatory framework.
For SAGA is important an experience in the successful implementation of the projects. The company also values the ability to work in a team and adequately perceive the comments / remarks. The technical supervision specialist should be empathic in communicating with the future residents of the apartment, but categorical when it comes to the quality and safety of the construction.
How the innovative solutions in the construction affect the work of the technical supervision
Every material, equipment or construction technology that appears on the market undergoes a mandatory certification. For the technical supervision, this is a guarantee of a quality, manufacturability and environmental friendliness. The contractor cannot start the works on the construction site without the appropriate documents.
But technical supervision cannot only appeal to the certificates. It needs to keep its finger on the pulse of the latest technologies, study them and understand the peculiarities of the working with them.
“The SAGA Development technical supervision specialists constantly are deepening their knowledge of the production of the materials. For this we visit the factories that are our suppliers, we see the processes, communicate with the specialists of the companies. Such curiosity helps us to understand the subtleties of the construction from individual materials and to be more forward-thinking in our work, says Dmitry Loboychenko. - Among the projects of the SAGA Development there are many buildings with the unique architectural solutions: the media sculpture CHICAGO Central House, the facade with an anodized aluminum at the RESIDENT Concept House or the dynamic facade of the WASHINGTON Concept House. Of course, working with the technologies or materials that no one has yet worked with is a task with an asterisk for the technical supervision, but this is the only way we can move forward and develop the construction industry”.
