Ministry of Environment and Urbanization Continues Audits of Building Inspection Firms

Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation issued 2,302 Construction Supervision Permits, 489 Laboratory Permits and 25,987 inspector certificates to architects and engineers by the end of August 2014 in accordance with activities conducted under Law No. 4708. Of the organisations in question, 1,838 construction supervision organisations and 350 laboratory organisations continue to operate actively, and as of today approximately 305,000 construction projects equivalent to 505 million m² are being supervised. Construction Supervision Organisations conducting supervision activities within the scope of Law No. 4708, inspector architects and engineers, control personnel and assistant control personnel are subject to sanctions under Article 8 titled "Suspension of supervision activities and cancellation of permit certificate" of the same law, pursuant to Article 10 of the law. In cases where they fail to fulfil the duties specified in said law, temporary suspension of operations penalties of up to one (1) year are imposed, and permit cancellation procedures are applied to organisations that receive temporary suspension of operations penalties three times. Within this scope, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation issued 1,506 administrative procedures for temporary suspension of operations of up to one (1) year against construction supervision organisations that failed to fulfil their duties and responsibilities for various reasons from January 2011 until the end of August 2014, and permit certificates of 150 organisations were cancelled. Furthermore, within the scope of the authority granted to the Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation to supervise the activities of construction supervision organisations, a total of 18,658 site inspections were conducted from 2002 until the end of August 2014.

New procedure for concrete supervision

The Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation announced on 1 October 2014 a new procedure in market surveillance and supervision of ready-mixed concrete. The announcement was as follows: "Our Ministry is the sole competent authority in market surveillance and supervision (MSS) of products under the Building Materials Regulation. Concrete, being one of the most important components of the load-bearing system in reinforced concrete buildings, must comply with standards as a matter of great importance. Although there are changes on an annual basis, ready-mixed concrete inspections constitute an average of 35% of all MSS conducted by our Ministry for all building materials. Circular No. 2014/22 has been issued in order to enable the supervision activities carried out by our Ministry on ready-mixed concrete products to be conducted in accordance with developments in the sector and current conditions. According to the procedure clarified in the said circular, stricter and more regular supervision of ready-mixed concrete produced by all ready-mixed concrete plants throughout the country is ensured, while inspections will be conducted on a different construction site basis. In this way, the practice of sampling from concrete plants according to the previous circular dated 16/11/2012 and numbered 1619 has been terminated, and ready-mixed concrete companies will be inspected on the basis of their weekly production. Within this scope, a series of inspections have been conducted by technical personnel of our Ministry (General Directorate of Professional Services) and Ankara Provincial Directorate of Environment and Urbanisation on ready-mixed concrete products offered to the market in Ankara province, which was selected as the pilot region for the implementation of the said new circular. Samples taken during inspections will be tested in the laboratory of our General Directorate. With the application conducted in Ankara province, it is aimed to prevent the use of non-compliant products in buildings and to ensure safe construction. In case of non-compliance or unsafe conditions, in addition to administrative monetary penalties, a series of sanctions including prohibition of the product's market supply may be applied."

Regulation on external facade work scaffolding

The Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation is introducing regulations on external facade scaffolding. Where work scaffolding height exceeds 13.50 metres, the entire scaffold must be made of prefabricated steel or aluminium alloy components. The Ministry issued a "Notice on External Facade Work Scaffolding Consisting of Wood, Steel and Aluminium Alloy Prefabricated Components" in order to reduce the risks workers in the construction sector are exposed to during work. With the notice issued by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation, static calculations and detailed drawings of external facade work scaffolding to be used in building construction are required to be prepared by the project author and submitted to the administration together with other static projects at the building permit stage. In this way, all stages of external facade work scaffolding including installation and dismantling can be monitored and supervised by the contractor, site manager, the Authority authorised to issue permits, construction supervision organisations and occupational health and safety specialists. Where the contractor requires and declares that it will use systems holding TSE certificates, when the calculations and detailed drawings prepared by the manufacturing company are accepted as static projects, the use of TSE-certified steel or aluminium alloy work scaffolding is encouraged. Where work scaffolding height exceeds 13.50 metres, the entire scaffold must be made of prefabricated steel or aluminium alloy components. Measures will be taken particularly during work carried out on facades facing roads in order to prevent damage to people using the area as a result of tools, equipment and building materials falling. Facades facing roads will be covered with sheets, tarpaulins or curtains. With the notice it issued, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation seeks to prevent accidents resulting from external facade work scaffolding and will ensure the creation of a safe working environment in external facade work scaffolding.