What is Building Reliability Assessment?

Building reliability assessment in the construction testing industry is a scientific evaluation of a building's safety (load-bearing capacity, stability) and usability (suitability, durability). It aims to understand the building's current condition, identify potential hazards, and guide repairs. This is commonly performed during major repairs, renovations, changes in use, after disasters, when the building reaches its design lifespan, or when significant damage is discovered. Through investigation, testing, and calculations, a professional agency ultimately issues an assessment report.

When to conduct a reliability assessment:

• Before major repairs, renovations, or expansions: To understand the current structural condition and ensure safe modifications.

• Change of use: Such as converting a factory to a residential building, requiring an assessment of suitability.

• Reaching the design lifespan: When continued use is planned, assessing its remaining lifespan.

• After a disaster: After earthquakes, fires, or accidents, assessing structural damage.

• When serious problems occur: Such as cracks, deformation, corrosion, or tilting.

• Impact from adjacent construction: When nearby construction may endanger the building's safety.

• Regulatory requirements: When required by laws and regulations.

Main contents of the assessment:

• Investigation: Reviewing documents and conducting on-site investigations (environment, loads, components, damage).

• Testing: Using instruments to measure material properties, component geometric parameters, cracks, displacement, deformation, etc., and conducting load tests if necessary.

• Analysis and calculation: Conducting structural analysis based on data and standards, verifying load-bearing capacity and normal usability.

• Evaluation: Based on the analysis results, classifying the building's reliability (e.g., safety assessment, seismic assessment).

Types of assessments:

• Building condition assessment: Evaluating the existing condition.

• Building safety assessment: Evaluating safety aspects such as load-bearing capacity and stability.

• Building seismic assessment: Evaluating seismic resistance.

• Dangerous building assessment: Assessing buildings deemed dangerous.

• Comprehensive assessment: A comprehensive evaluation of safety and functionality.

Key differences:

• Testing: Focuses on data collection (instruments + data), such as measuring material strength and crack width.

• Assessment: Focuses on expert judgment and comprehensive analysis (data + experience + standards), issuing conclusions, such as "the main structure of this building is safe."

Professional assessments require CMA (China Metrology Accreditation) and structural engineering testing qualifications, and are an important means of ensuring building safety and rational use.