29 / 62
9
Measures Act is checking for an Agré-
ment Certificate or rational design as-
sessment. The Agrément Certificate is
generally accepted as the best known
way of ensuring relevant attributes
have been complied with due to its
broad assessment.
Certification implies that attri-
butes of performance (in terms of the
National Building Regulation), habit-
ability and the Quality Management
System have been assessed.
The performance parameters in-
clude fitness for purpose of materials,
behaviour in fire, structural perfor-
mance, water penetration and rising
damp, thermal performance and en-
ergy usage, condensation, acoustics
durability and quality management.
In this study the results of the inspec-
tions of IBT as-built houses and com-
pared to the theoretical expectations
of the Agrément certification.
The Department of Human Settle-
ments is still sceptical on the imple-
mentation of IBT houses as they have
to date not been well-accepted by
relevant beneficiaries.
The issues raised by Human Set-
tlement’s department are due to
structural problems, possible high
construction costs, poor accessibility
to the supplier, lack of proper main-
tenance plans, and lack of inspection
skills.
Besides these factors, it needs
to be highlighted that innovation
is slower in housing than in other
industries. Two measures commonly
used to support this argument are
the industry’s small investments in
research and development and the
long adoption/diffusion times for new
technologies.
Other challenges to innovation
frequently cited by the industry
include the industry’s complex and
fragmented structure; its highly
competitive and risky nature; the dif-
ficulty in accessing and sharing infor-
mation; local variation in regulatory
IBT
s
Continued
▶▶▶
ʻHuman Settlements aims
to encourage the use of
innovative building systems
produced locally to contain
costs.’