QLASSIC is a quality assessment system used in the Malaysian construction industry to evaluate workmanship and finishes based on approved standards, with the goals of improving overall quality, providing benchmarks, and evaluating contractor performance. It involves sampling construction elements and awarding points based on compliance with standards to calculate an overall quality score. The system is implemented by trained assessors and divides projects into categories to determine sampling sizes and weightings for structural works, architectural works, mechanical and electrical works, and external works.

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Q
uality Assessment System In
Construction (QLASSIC) is an
independent method to
measure and evaluate the quality of
workmanship and finishes of
construction works based on approved
standards.QLASSIC enables the quality
of workmanship between construction
projects to be objectively compared
through a sampling and statistical
approach.
Objectives of QLASSIC
1. To elevate the level of quality in the
construction industry.
2. To have a standard quality
assessmentsystemasabenchmark
for quality of construction works.
3. To assist contractors to achieve
defect-free when carrying out
construction work.
4. To be used as a criteria to evaluate
the performance of contractors
based on quality of workmanship.
5. To be used for data compilation for
statisticalanalysisinestimatingthe
level of quality and productivity of
the construction industry.
Scope of QLASSIC
QLASSIC sets out the standards for
various construction elements in
building work and other infrastructure
work. The quality assessment on the
workmanship and finishes of the
construction work is based on these
standards and points are awarded if the
workmanship and finishes comply with
the standards. These points are then
summed up to give a total quality score
called the QLASSIC Score (%) for a
project.
The assessment is conducted at the
construction site through inspection
and field testing.The score will be done
on construction works that are
inspectedforthefirsttime.Construction
works that are rectified and corrected
after the assessment will not be re-
scored.The objective of this practice is
to encourage contractors to “do things
right the first time and every time”.
QLASSIC Assessors
Assessors must attend the QLASSIC
trainingcoursebeforebeingcertifiedto
implementtheactualassessmentatthe
construction sites. The QLASSIC
assessors are continuously updated to
ensure consistency and effective
implementation of the assessment.
Assessment Approach and
Sampling Process
As it is impractical to assess all elements
in a construction project, QLASSIC
assessment uses a sampling process to
carry out the assessment.Before
carrying out the assessment, the
assessor will determine the samples
(elements or locations) that need to be
assessed. The samples must be
distributed as uniformly as possible
throughout the project and various
construction stages. The samples are
selectedfromdrawingsandplansofthe
Quality Assessment System In Construction
Assessment on Evenness of Surface (L) and Hollowness for Internal Walls (R)
Editor’sNote: Thewrite-uponQLASSICiscontributedbyCIDB.
QLASSIC

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relevant construction project. All
locations in the construction project
must be made available for the
assessment.
(a) Structural Works
The assessment is carried out
throughout the various construction
stages. The numbers of samples are
determined based on the gross floor
area (GFA) of the building with a
minimum and maximum number of
samples.
(b) Architectural works
The assessment is carried out upon
completion of the building project and
before handing over of the project.The
samples are determined based on the
gross floor area (GFA) of the building
with a minimum and maximum
number of samples.
(c) Mechanical and Electrical
(M & E) works
The samples are determined based on
thegrossfloorarea(GFA)ofthebuilding
with a minimum and maximum
number of samples.
For completed projects the assessment
is carried out upon completion of the
building project and before handing
over of the project. For projects in-
progress the assessment is carried out
throughout the various construction
stages.
(d)External works
The assessment is carried out upon
completion of the building and before
handing over of the project. The
numbers of samples are determined
basedon(10mlengthsection/location)
with a minimum number of samples.
ConstructionIndustryStandard
(CIS) on
Quality Assessment System for
Building Construction Work
The Construction Industry Standard is
divided into four main components:
AssessmentonStraightnessofEdgeorAngle(InternalWall)(L)andAngle(DoorFrame)(R)
AssessmentonFallsInWetAreas(L)andHollownessforFloor(R)

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(a) Structural works
The structural integrity of the building
is of paramount importance as the
cost of failure and repairs are very
significant. The assessment of
structural works comprises:
i) Site inspection of formwork, steel
reinforcement, prefabricated or
pre-cast elements, etc during
construction.
ii) Laboratory testing of
compressive strength of concrete
and tensile strength of steel
reinforcement.
iii) Non-destructive testing of the
uniformity and the cover of
hardened concrete.
(b) Architectural works
Architectural works deal mainly with
the finishes.This is the part where the
quality and standards of
workmanship are most visible.
Architectural works are works such as
floors, internal walls, ceiling, door and
window, fixtures and fittings, external
wall,roofs,driveway,porch and apron.
(c) Mechanical and Electrical
(M & E) works
The quality of M & E works is
important in view of its increasingly
high cost proportion and its impact
on the performance of a building.
Generally the assessment covers
electrical works, air-conditioning and
mechanical ventilation works (ACMV),
fire protection works, sanitary and
plumbing works, lifts, escalator and
other basic M & E fittings.
(d) External works
External works cover the general
external work elements in building
construction such as the link-ways/
shelters, drains, road works, car parks,
footpaths,turfings,playgrounds,gates
and fences, swimming pools,
hardscapes and electrical substation.
In the Construction Industry
Standard, the weightage for
structural, architectural, M & E and
external works are allocated in
accordance to four categories of
buildings.See Table 1.
The weightage system,which is aimed
at making the QLASSIC score
objective in representing the quality
of a building, is a compromise
between the cost proportions of the
four components in the various
buildings and their aesthetic
considerations.
The QLASSIC score of a building is the
sum of points awarded to the four
components in each category of a
building.
Each category of a building comprise
as follow:
i) Category A (Landed Housing) –
Detached, Semi-Detached,
Terrace and Cluster House.
ii) Category B (Stratified Housing) –
Flat, Apartment, Condominium,
Service Apartment and Town
House.
iii) Category C (Public Building) –
Office Building,Schools and other
related facilities/ buildings built
intended for public use.
iv) Category D (Special Public
Building) – Hospitals and Airports
only.
For further details,kindly contact:
Mr Hari Sundar
Assistant Manager,
ConstructionTechnology
Development Division,
Construction Industry
Development Board Malaysia,
CIDB Head Office,
8th Floor,Grand Seasons Avenue
No.72,Jalan Pahang
53000 Kuala Lumpur
Website:http//www.cidb.gov.my
Tel:03-2617 0358
Fax:03-4045 1808
E-mail:hari@cidb.gov
Components CategoryA CategoryB CategoryC CategoryD
(Landed (Stratified (Public (Special
housing) housing) building) public
building)
Structuralworks 25% 30% 30% 30%
Architecturalworks 60% 50% 45% 35%
M&Eworks 5% 10% 15% 25%
Externalworks 10% 10% 10% 10%
QLASSICscore 100% 100% 100% 100%
Table1. Categoriesofbuildings
MBJ