Building

The building process is extraordinarily complex. The Quality Control process introduces the supervision of all stages of the building process with the purpose of guaranteeing that the constructed building complies with the Safety, Habitability and Functional basic requirements established by the Promoter for his project as well as the Building Order Law (LOE).

SGS has available specialized human resources and Control Procedures that allows to cover the specific necessities in each project, controlling all the project and work developing details, supporting Technical Assistance to the Promoter and assuring the compliance of the basic Quality requirements and established standards.

The supervision affects the Project, Construction and Service life phases of the building.

The Quality Control services in Building are offered by SGS from its entire network around the Spanish country, in 8 Regional Units in which it is possible to perform all kinds of services described.

Technical Control for Insurance Policies
Since 2000 it is obligatory in all housing promotion to contract a Damage Policy which covers the housing user during 10 years from foundation and structure defects. The insurance companies require the performance of SGS as independent company to review the project and the works as well us the necessary experience and technical capacity. SGS carries out the control and execution work projects reporting to the Insurance Company about the risk existing in the work, at time that the Quality is controlled and the risk of damages are reduced.

In addition to the compulsory insurance cover (stability), SGS performs Technical Control for the other policies indicated in the LOE in relation with the habitability.

Quality Control and Technical Assistance
SGS provides Quality Control and Technical Assistance in all kind of buildings, even when the Insurance Policy is not compulsory, adjusting to the customer real necessities, with a specialized team in the different Control areas.

SGS performs a systematic Control that has applied and particularized in several office buildings, hospitals and health centres, teaching and administrative institutions, commercial centres, etc...

The activities are developed during the whole process affecting all the technical factors, such as the Project, Execution, Materials and Systems and the Useful life and Maintenance of all units relating with the Foundation, Structure, Installations and Finishings and Masonry.

Additionally, SGS performs operative tests on finishing units, such as facades or roofs and specially installation services proof, checking its accurate operation, as well as the equipment reception, its compliance with the applicable regulations and with the project.

Pathology Studies
SGS has a high experience in performing pathology reports, analyzing all kind of damages to the buildings, realizing the testing or proofs necessary for accurate analysis, establishment of the origin of damages and providing the recommendations for repairing the damages.

In this field, the structure appraising studies are important. In this kind of work, SGS establishes the structural safety conditions of a building to rehabilitate, a buildingwhich use is going to be changed or that has damages which importance is unknown.

The pathology studies field includes the masonry units: humidity in curtain walls, cellar inundations, surveying or cracking of pavement, layout of partitions cracking, detachment of tiled. In all the cases a solution technical and economically adequate passes through a specialized diagnostic.

Finally, the pathologies of installations are attempted by SGS specialists with capacity for determining the origin of the bad operating of an installation and proposing solutions technically viable that allow an economic optimization of the affected installation.

Acoustic
SGS verifies that the building complies with the habitability conditions in relation with the protection of the people against the noise.

This control is realized in three phases:

• During the project, the solution adopted in the walls, in the inside separator members and in the ensemble that close the inside space are verified, as they must satisfy the insulation conditions indicated in the applicable standards or any other established in the project.
• During the execution of the constructive system of external and internal walls, of carpentry elements employed, of constructive details, of building installations, SGS verifies the adequate execution to obtain the values of acoustic insulation and the level of required impact noise.
• Through acoustic measures, on the finished work: SGS has equipment and software for carry out different standard testing of insulation. Testing realized by qualified technicians that allows the last checking for assuring that the insulation level and the inside noise level are according with the project and the applicable standards.

Additionally, SGS performs studies of Acoustic Environmental Impact, that allow, through simulation, to obtain a prediction of the values of the acoustic levels around the place to study.

This analysis allows knowing the values of the noise emissions to the outside, as well as the establishment of the minimum global insulation in a building (in the study area) which guarantees that the inside noise levels will be according to the standards requirements.

Energetic Efficiency
SGS realizes an energetic audit verifying the implementation of the control and economy system of energy in the buildings, checking that the projected building observes the principles of energetic efficiency and environmental considerations, verifying that the energetic consumption are adjusted to the applicable regulation.

This project analysis is materialized by:

• The revision of building casing (walls, roofs), which characteristics must be the sufficient to limit adequately the energy demand necessary for achieving the thermal comfort, in relation with the weather, building use, etc..
• The project review of the thermal installations, that allow the user to achieve thermal comfort with an energetic consumption in accordance with the applicable regulation.
• The project review of the other installations (electric-lighting, ventilation) because of the relevance that can to have into the global energetic efficiency of the building.
• The project review of the exigency of energetic contribution by the renewable energies in the building global consume.

During the execution of the work, SGS verifies the reception of the equipment and materials, their quality, documentation, characteristics and dimensioning. The sequences and operations of the mounting of all the energetic installations are controlled, according to the planes, standards and regulations.

Finally, a supervision of partial proofs on specific equipment is realized and once the installation is finished and has been adjusted and equilibrated, SGS carries out another supervision of the final proofs to the joint of the installation.

Project Management Service
With its own personnel in all the activities, SGS gives to the Owner or Promoter technical resources that allow them to achieve the objectives of budget, planning and quality, developing technics of Project Management and being supported on its specialized technical Departments.

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Facility Management Service
During the building useful life SGS can manage the Administration and Maintenance of the buildings when the owner decides externalizing some services, due to problems emerged or by a determined policy of management and maintenance.

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