Circular No. 12/2005/TT-BXD guiding certain contents on Construction Project Quality Management and Qualification Conditions for Organizations and Individuals in Construction Activities

CIRCULAR

for use certain contents on Construction Quality Management

and Qualification Conditions for Organizations and Individuals in Construction Activities

Pursuant to Decree No. 36/2003/NĐ-CP dated April 4, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Construction;

Pursuant to Decree No. 16/2005/NĐ-CP dated February 7, 2005 of the Government on project management for construction investment projects (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 16/2005/NĐ-CP);

Pursuant to Decree No. 209/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 16, 2004 of the Government on construction quality management (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 209/2004/NĐ-CP);

The Ministry of Construction guides the implementation of certain contents on construction quality management and qualification conditions for organizations and individuals in construction activities as follows:

I. On State Management Responsibilities for Construction Quality as stipulated in Article 37 of Decree No. 209/2004/NĐ-CP

1. Ministry of Construction

The Ministry of Construction uniformly manages state responsibilities for construction quality throughout the country and has the responsibility to:

1.1. Issue regulatory legal documents on quality management in surveying, design, construction, acceptance, handover, warranty, and maintenance of construction works;

1.2. Guide localities, Ministries, sectors, and organizations and individuals in implementing regulatory legal documents on construction quality management;

1.3. Inspect and urge localities to fulfill state management responsibilities for construction quality. Inspect construction quality management of Ministries, sectors, organizations, and individuals according to legal provisions. Recommend measures to address violations related to construction quality;

1.4. Annually report to the Prime Minister on the situation of construction quality management

throughout the country.

The National Construction Quality Supervision Agency assists the Minister of Construction in fulfilling these responsibilities.

2. Ministries with specialized construction management

Ministries with specialized construction management include the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Transport have the responsibility to:

2.1. Issue guidance documents for organizations and individuals to implement regulatory legal documents on construction quality management for specialized construction works under their jurisdiction nationwide;

2.2. Periodically and randomly inspect compliance with regulations on construction quality management for specialized construction works and recommend measures to address violations related to specialized construction quality;

2.3. Report semi-annually and annually on the quality of specialized construction works to the Ministry of Construction.

3. Provincial People's Committees

Provincial People's Committees are responsible for state management of construction quality within their administrative boundaries. The Department of Construction assists the Provincial People's Committee in uniformly managing construction quality within their territory. Departments with specialized construction management are responsible for managing the quality of specialized construction works.

The Department of Construction and Departments with specialized construction management have the following responsibilities:

3.1. The Department of Construction:

a) Submit to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee for issuance of guidance documents to implement regulatory legal documents on construction quality management within their territory;

b) Guide district-level People's Committees, organizations, and individuals involved in construction activities to implement regulatory legal documents on construction quality management;

c) Periodically and randomly inspect compliance with regulations on construction quality management for construction works within their territory. Inspection results must be recorded in a record form according to Appendix 2 of this Circular;

d) Coordinate with Departments with specialized construction management when inspecting specialized construction works within their territory;

đ) Guide investors, owners, or managers on procedures to handle incidents related to construction works within their territory; report to the Ministry of Construction on the resolution of incidents by investors, owners, or managers;

e) Report periodically and randomly to the Provincial People's Committee on compliance with regulations on construction quality management and the quality situation of construction works within their territory;

g) Assist the Provincial People's Committee in compiling and reporting to the Ministry of Construction on the quality situation of construction works within their territory semi-annually and annually.

3.2. For Departments with specialized construction management including the Department of Industry, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Department of Transport (or the Department of Transportation and Public Works), they have the responsibility to:

a) Perform the tasks specified in Points a, c, and e of Clause 3.1 of this Section for specialized construction works within their territory;

b) Coordinate with the Department of Construction to perform the tasks specified in Points c and đ of Clause 3.1 of this Section for specialized construction works within their territory;

c) Report semi-annually and annually on the quality situation of specialized construction works within their territory to the Department of Construction.

II. On Responsibilities of Investors in Construction Quality Management

Investors are responsible for comprehensive management of construction quality and the effectiveness of their construction investment projects as stipulated in Chapters III, IV, and V of Decree No. 209/2004/NĐ-CP.

1. Survey Construction Quality Management as stipulated in Chapter III of Decree No. 209/2004/NĐ-CP

1.1. Investors approve survey construction tasks, technical survey construction plans, and supplementary survey construction tasks established in accordance with Articles 6, 7, and 9 of Decree No. 209/2004/NĐ-CP. Before approval, if necessary, investors may hire organizations or individuals with appropriate qualifications to review survey construction tasks and technical survey construction plans.

1.2. Investors assign personnel with appropriate expertise to supervise survey construction work as stipulated in Article 11 of Decree No. 209/2004/NĐ-CP. In cases where there is no personnel with appropriate expertise, they may hire personnel with appropriate expertise to conduct supervision.

1.3. The project investor shall organize the acceptance of the construction site investigation report in accordance with Article 12 of Decree No. 209/2004/ND-CP and invite experts and specialized organizations to participate when necessary.

2. Quality management of design is regulated in Chapter IV of Decree No. 209/2004/ND-CP.

2.1. The project investor is responsible for establishing or hiring consultants to establish the design task for the construction projects mentioned in point a, Clause 2, Article 7 of Decree No. 16/2005/ND-CP and at point a, Clause 1 of Articles 13 and 14 of Decree No. 209/2004/ND-CP. The design task must clearly state the requirements and conditions for the contractor to implement the design. At each stage of the design process, the design task may be supplemented appropriately based on actual conditions to ensure the effectiveness of the investment construction project.

2.2. The design task approved by the project investor serves as the basis for the design contractor to carry out the work. Before approval, the project investor invites experts to provide comments on the design task if deemed necessary. After approving the design task, the project investor must report to the investment decision-maker.

For construction projects that require architectural design competitions, the project investor is responsible for establishing the design task for the investment decision-maker to approve according to points b and c, Clause 1, Section II of Circular No. 05/2005/TT-BXD dated April 12, 2005, issued by the Minister of Construction guiding architectural design competitions for construction projects.

2.3. Based on the specific conditions of the investment construction project, the level of the project, and the form of contract when the project investor signs a contract with one or more organizations or individuals to perform the design, the project investor is responsible for controlling and coordinating the entire design or may entrust the general design contractor to ensure synchronization, consistency, and timely handling of any issues to ensure the effectiveness of the project.

2.4. The project investor shall independently organize the review and approval of technical design, construction drawing design, budget estimate, and total budget estimate for construction projects required to prepare a project according to Article 16 of Decree No. 16/2005/ND-CP. The decision to approve technical design, construction drawing design, budget estimate, and total budget estimate shall be prepared according to the model in Appendix 1A, Appendix 1B, and Appendix 1C of this Circular.

In cases where the project investor does not have the capacity to review, they are permitted to hire organizations or individuals with sufficient capacity to review the design and budget estimate for the entire or part of the contents specified in Clause 2 and Clause 3 of Article 16 of Decree No. 16/2005/ND-CP as a basis for review and approval. The consulting organization reviewing the design must have the capacity to design the type and level of the construction project being reviewed. The person in charge of reviewing the design must have the capacity equivalent to the person in charge of designing the construction project requested to be reviewed by the project investor.

2.5. The project investor must establish the legal status of the design product before putting it into construction through confirmation by signature and stamp of approval from the project investor according to the model in Appendix 1D on the design drawings.

invest according to Model Appendix 1D into the design drawing.

3. Quality management of construction works is regulated in Chapter V of Decree No. 209/2004/ND-CP.

3.1. The project investor establishes a Project Management Board or hires a consulting organization to manage the project according to the decision of the investment decision-maker as stipulated in Article 35 of Decree No. 16/2005/ND-CP. The Project Management Board must have the corresponding capacity to the consulting organization managing the project as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 56 of Decree No. 16/2005/ND-CP.

The responsibilities and authorities of the project investor, the Project Management Board, and the consulting organization managing the project are regulated in Articles 36 and 37 of Decree No. 16/2005/ND-CP.

For small-scale repair or new construction projects with an investment capital under one billion dong, the project investor may not establish a Project Management Board but must obtain approval from the investment decision-maker. The project investor must appoint a project manager and hire consulting organizations for design and construction supervision to assist in implementation.

3.2. The project investor shall independently organize the supervision of construction quality according to Article 21 of Decree No. 209/2004/ND-CP when having the capacity to supervise construction quality as stipulated in Article 62 of Decree No. 16/2005/ND-CP.

In cases where the project investor does not have the capacity to supervise construction quality as stipulated, the project investor shall entrust the consulting organization managing the project to carry out the construction supervision task when having the capacity as stipulated in Article 62 of Decree No. 16/2005/ND-CP.

If the consulting organization managing the project does not have the capacity to supervise construction quality, the project investor must hire a construction supervision consultant.

The project investor must regularly inspect and urge the construction supervision work carried out by the Project Management Board, the consulting organization managing the project, and the construction supervision contractor.

3.3. The project investor is responsible for preparing reports according to the model in Appendix 4 of this Circular every six months or annually regarding the quality situation of the project and submitting them to the Department of Construction.

3.4. The project investor requires the construction contractor to establish a construction work logbook.

The construction work logbook is the original documentation about the construction of the project (or a component of the project) for internal communication within the construction contractor; for communication between the project investor, the construction contractor, and the design contractor of the construction project. The construction work logbook is numbered and stamped by the construction contractor.

The contractor shall record construction work logs for the construction project according to point d, Clause 1, Article 19 of Decree 209/2004/NĐ-CP, which includes: a list of technical staff from the contractor participating in the construction project (positions and tasks of each individual); daily progress of construction activities, construction status of each type of work, detailed account of the entire implementation process; brief description of construction methods; actual condition of materials and components used; deviations from the construction drawings, clearly stating the reasons and accompanied by corrective measures; handover contents from the previous shift to the subsequent shift; comments from the on-site quality management team regarding the construction quality.

3.5. The investor and the supervising contractor shall record construction work logs for the investor's construction supervision and design author supervision according to point d, Clause 1, Article 21 of Decree 209/2004/NĐ-CP, including: a list and duties, authorities of the supervisors; results of on-site construction supervision and inspection; opinions on handling and requests for the contractor to rectify defects in construction quality; changes in design during the construction process.

3.6. The investor requires the contractor to internally inspect construction works, parts of the construction project, construction phases, items of the construction project, and the entire construction project before the contractor issues a request for the investor's inspection with direct participants as follows:

- Team leader;

- Direct construction technical supervisor;

- Foreman of the direct construction workers' team;

- Representative of the contractor responsible for the next construction phase (if applicable);

- Representative of the Quality Management Team assisting the Site Manager;

- Representative of the Technical Department of the contractor.

3.7. The investor organizes inspections of construction works, parts of the construction project, construction phases, items of the construction project, and the entire construction project according to Articles 23, 24, 25, and 26 of Decree 209/2004/NĐ-CP.

For construction works that are difficult to rectify deficiencies when proceeding with subsequent works such as underground construction, hidden parts of important load-bearing items, the investor requires the contractor to participate in the inspection together.

for subsequent work such as construction of underground and hidden parts of important load-bearing components, the project owner shall require the contractor to participate in acceptance together with the design entity.

When organizing the final acceptance of a construction item and the entire construction project for use, the investor invites representatives of the users or owners of the construction project to attend the inspection.

the owner of the facility participates in acceptance.

3.8. After completing the inspection of the entire construction project according to regulations, the investor organizes the handover of the construction project to the owner or user of the construction project.

III. Regarding the authority to decide demolition as stipulated in Article 86 of the Construction Law

1. Authority to Decide Demolition

The demolition of construction projects as specified in Clause 1, Article 86 of the Construction Law shall be carried out based on the decision of the People's Committee at the provincial or district level depending on the scale of the project. If the owner or user of the construction project does not comply, forced demolition will be implemented and they will bear all costs associated with the demolition.

2. Preparation and Approval of Demolition Plans

After receiving the demolition decision from the competent authority as stated in Clause 1 of this section, the person assigned to organize the demolition must prepare and approve the demolition plan. In cases where adjacent households or non-adjacent households may be affected by the demolition, the demolition plan must have the agreement of the adjacent household owners and the owners of nearby constructions.

Depending on the scale and nature of the construction project to be demolished, if necessary, the person assigned to organize the demolition should seek the opinion of experts on the demolition plan before approval.

IV. On the conditions for upgrading for organizations that do not meet the criteria for classification and newly established organizations as stipulated in Chapter V of Decree 16/2005/NĐ-CP

1. For project management organizations that do not meet the criteria for classification, if they have managed at least five projects requiring only the preparation of economic-technical reports for construction projects, they can manage Class C projects.

2. For construction survey organizations that do not meet the criteria for classification, if they have completed at least five construction survey tasks for Class IV projects, they can undertake similar survey tasks for Class III projects.

3. For design consulting organizations that do not meet the criteria for classification, if they have designed at least five Class IV projects, they can design similar Class III projects.

4. For construction supervision consulting organizations that do not meet the criteria for classification, if they have supervised construction for at least five Class IV projects, they can supervise construction for similar Class III projects.

5. For construction project contracting organizations that do not meet the criteria for classification, if they have renovated three projects, they can construct Class IV projects and subsequently, if they have constructed at least five Class IV projects, they can construct similar Class III projects.

V. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular takes effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

2. The Minister, Heads of Ministries equivalent to Ministries, Heads of Government Agencies, Chairmen of Provincial People's Committees, and Chairmen of Municipal People's Committees directly under the Central Government are responsible for implementing this Circular. Any difficulties encountered during implementation should be reported to the Ministry of Construction for consideration and resolution./.