What is CONQUAS?
The Construction Quality Assessment System (CONQUAS) is the national standard for evaluating the quality of construction workmanship in building projects.
The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has recently implemented a new rating system within the CONQUAS to aid homebuyers in assessing the performance of developers and builders. This rating system takes into account their track record in private residential projects over the past six years.
Under this updated CONQUAS banding system, developers, builders, and private residential projects are assigned ratings on a scale from Band 1, indicating a very low incidence of major defects, to Band 6, indicating a higher occurrence of major defects.
CONQUAS has gained widespread recognition and acceptance as a trusted benchmarking tool for quality, extending its reputation beyond Singapore. It is now a registered trademark in several countries, including Malaysia, China, Hong Kong SAR, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, and India.
Why is CONQUAS used?
CONQUAS was designed with three primary objectives in mind:
- Establishing a standardised assessment system to evaluate the quality of construction workmanship in building projects.
- Ensuring objectivity during the assessment process by comparing the constructed works against predetermined workmanship standards and specifications. This is achieved through a sampling approach that effectively represents the entire project.
- Enabling systematic and cost-effective assessment of construction workmanship quality within a reasonable timeframe.
How are CONQUAS bands determined?
The assessment process consists of three key components:
- Internal finishes: This component focuses on architectural finishes such as floors, internal walls, ceilings, doors, windows, and related components. It also considers basic Mechanical & Electrical (M&E) fittings.
- Installation methods verification and functional tests: This part concentrates on four specific trades: waterproofing works in bathrooms/toilets, stone/tiling installation works, timber floor installation, and window installation. The assessment involves verifying the installation methods and conducting functional tests.
- External finishes: This component evaluates the quality of roofs, external walls, and external works during the completion stage of the building.
The information provided was accurate at the time of publication. For the latest changes and updates, head over to the official websites.
