Concept homes with KOMO certificate and template in KiK

Building companies easily manage burden of proof and quality assurance costs

Building companies are increasingly looking more deeply into standardisation and industrialisation. With concept homes they provide total solutions for housebuilding. The current demand for concept homes is highly topical, due, in part, to the great shortage of housing and the search by clients (especially housing associations) for affordable homes.

Certifying concept homes

The introduction of the Building Quality Assurance Act (hereinafter Wkb) and the amended burden of proof for the builder, means the builder of concept homes faces a new challenge. How does the builder demonstrate that the concept offered meets the requirements of the Wkb and the burden of proof under the Civil Code? And how does the builder keep the costs affordable for the quality assurer?

Building companies specialising in concept homes can opt to certify their concept(s). With that, they demonstrate objectively tested and approved quality, while managing their proof and quality assurance costs at the same time.

KOMO quality assurance system (KiK) helps builders of concept homes with template in KiK tool

Development of the software application KiK tool is moving forward. Further work is on-going concerning the possibility of creating templates for a type of building structure (1st quarter 2021). These templates are reproducible and can be supplemented for any subsequent building project. The advantage is that it simplifies and shortens the planning/testing phase and the risk assessment up to and including the assurance plan.

A template that you can link to certificates has an additional advantage. When the concept home is certified, for example by means of KOMO Assessment Guideline 0904 or 0905, the tool recognises this as a control measure and the intensity of supervision by the quality assurer can be reduced, resulting in cost reduction. In addition, the certificates substantiate the builder’s burden of proof.

Read more about certification schemes in KiK here.

‘VDM Woningen’ sees advantages of concept home certification

One of the building companies that has certified its prefabricated timber frame construction elements is building company VDM Woningen. VDM produces sustainable, high-quality concept homes and for a long time has worked on various concepts that are produced in its own factory. VDM Woningen is in possession of the KOMO attestation with product certificate based on Assessment Guideline 0904 Timber Frame Construction, and Assessment Guideline 1704-1 Finger-Joint Timber for Load-Bearing Applications.

With the certifications the company shows that the prefab construction of the Timber Frame Housing (TFH) satisfies high standards of quality (Wkb, burden of proof). “That’s not the only thing,” explains Jan van der Meer, director of VDM Woningen, “It places us in a priority position, because the efforts of the quality assurer remain affordable.”

He experienced this during the trial project with 11 prefab timber frame homes in collaboration with the KiK Quality Assurer ‘gBOU’. He was initially sceptical about the costs of quality assurance. Jan van der Meer: “but when put into practice our KOMO certificates showed that they have a positive effect. It makes a difference to quality assurer gBOU in terms of time and work because products and processes have already been tested for quality. And the benefit is that it provides optimised quality assurance deployment and ultimately lower costs.”

We asked Keimpe Stroop from gBOU. if he isn’t afraid of getting less work as a quality assurer. Keimpe Stroop: “No, not at all! There is enough work to do for the quality assurer. Operating this way means work performed according to the Wkb remains affordable.”

Jan van der Meer thinks further: “Building with wood really is the future. It is a valuable building material, it is sustainable and it is inexhaustible when it is sourced from sustainably managed forests. As of 1 January 2021 the Building Decree will be amended on various points, think here of the NZEB requirements (Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings), we are considering certifying a complete shell Timber Frame Construction with the SKH Foundation (foundation for the certification and inspection of timber, timber products and timber construction). Under the Wkb, the certified concept is easy to reproduce and that saves us so much time.”

SKH helps builders to position themselves

Certification body SKH certifies products, processes and people in various sectors. It also provides the KOMO quality mark for timber building concepts. Director Oscar van Doorn explains how SKH helps builders of concept homes with cost reduction and providing proof. “SKH certifies concept homes for KOMO certificates based on Assessment Guideline 0904 Timber Frame Homes, and Assessment Guideline 0905 Building Systems for Energy-Efficient homes and Home Extensions. By definition, this means that the concept homes comply with the building regulations.