A Test Risk Management strategy should be adopted at the inception of a project and this strategy then implemented from start to finish of the design and construction process.
To date a number of project teams have adopted and applied this Test Risk Management strategy – with excellent and positive results.
The introduction of pre-completion testing of sound insulation performance for all residential buildings (not just attached domestic dwellings) and of performance standards in education, schools and other projects means that designers, inspecting agents and constructors need to take particular care to ensure that designs and the constructed work do comply with requirements and are capable of demonstrating compliance with the various standards when tested, at completion.
To minimise the risk of failure at testing a Test Risk Management Strategy should be adopted from project inception through to completion and testing – so that the risks and consequences of test failure are minimised.
This is especially important whenever projects involve non-standard forms of construction, variations (even minor ones) on Example Constructions or where work is to older buildings – including historic monuments and listed buildings.
The Test Risk Management Strategy used by CSP Acoustics was developed by former CSPA Lead Consultant, Nick Charlton Smith, and forms the basis of guidance issued by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland for control of sound insulation test risk in new residential developments.
For most clients and constructors the risk of pre-completion sound insulation test failure will be a matter of considerable concern given that release dates and cash flow could all be seriously jeopardised by failure. Clients, designers, and constructors will also be concerned that the costs and time to remedy any causes of test failure could be considerable – even if it were readily possible to identify, and subsequently rectify the causes of such failures.
On many projects pre-completion testing of acoustic performance is required to validate compliance with design standards (e.g. compliance with building standards BB93, BS8233 and BREEAM credit requirements).
Control of vibration within and into structures is increasingly a critical aspect of some manufacturing processes, and can be a critical concern in relation to the impacts of heavy industry, rail transport (especially tunneled rail routes) on residential developments and manufacturing.
To minimise the risks of project testing failures and to take sensible steps to avoid remedial costs and time over-runs.
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