Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - NEWCOM (New competence for building professionals and blue collar workers – certified qualification schemes to upgrade the qualification for building nZEBs)

Teaser

On 01.01.2021, the nearly zero-energy building standard becomes mandatory for new buildings. The challenge for achieving the European and national climate and energy goals is that low energy consumption is not only planned on paper, but can really be met by actual...

Summary

On 01.01.2021, the nearly zero-energy building standard becomes mandatory for new buildings. The challenge for achieving the European and national climate and energy goals is that low energy consumption is not only planned on paper, but can really be met by actual buildings.
Even small mistakes in the construction can lead to increased energy consumption and loss of indoor comfort. Therefore, the quality of construction work is immensely important when constructing nearly zero-energy buildings. To ensure the very low energy consumption, an air-tight building envelope as well as professionally installed heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems are required.

The NEWCOM project supports the professional execution of nearly zero-energy buildings on the one hand by developing new training modules for professionals, and on the other hand by preparing a basis for mutual recognition of competences.
Due to the current needs of the partner countries, NEWCOM focuses on the development of training modules for the optimal implementation of flat roofs (including structural waterproofing) and comfort ventilation systems. In addition, training modules will be developed for quality assurance in the planning, implementation and operation phase of nearly zero-energy buildings. NEWCOM therefore helps to increase the competence in the construction itself, in quality assurance and professional execution of nearly zero-energy buildings as well as to make the competences of professionals visible and comparable in order to create a basis for a Europe-wide recognition of competences.

NEWCOM supports building owners, companies, professionals and educational institutions. One can benefit from a clear visibility of competences, an increased quality assurance in the construction and thus from a reduction in construction errors.

Work performed

The first step of the project NEWCOM was the identification and evaluation of existing certifications schemes and implementation methods for blue collar workers and building inspectors in the participating countries. Furthermore relevant existing training materials which are available on already existing certification schemes or could be useful for the further development and integration in future certification schemes were collected.

Moreover a database of common/harmonised descriptors (terms and phrases to be used in qualification standards/Units of Learning Outcomes (ULOs) to describe the skills, knowledge and competences required) as well as the assessment and certification of the needed qualification schemes for professionals for the missing competences was developed. Furthermore current barriers in constructing high-quality buildings were identified. At present these barriers are: inadequate quality assurance, the construction companies´ lack of interest in increasing the competence of their employees and lack of demand from the clients’ side for sustainable and energy-efficient buildings. There is also a decline in demand for personnel certification (in accordance with ISO 17024) in the field of building technology and passive house standards. Only legally binding required personnel certifications for safety-relevant work can currently assert their position in the market.
As a result, NEWCOM aims to develop training modules that can be used both as standalone and as a complement to already established courses.

The second step is the development of missing certification schemes for building professionals. Based on the current needs of the partner countries training modules for flat roofing and structural waterproofing and comfort ventilation systems are being developed. Similarly, training modules for quality assurance are being developed in the planning, implementation and operation phases of nearly zero-energy buildings. These training modules are developed in cooperation with educational institutions, further education institutes as well as public and private stakeholders. For developing the training modules, a knowledge hub was created.
Moreover demonstration pilot “train the trainer”-courses will be implemented soon to test and evaluate the developed training modules.

The third step will be the preparation of the sustainable implementation of the developed training modules with a special focus on the possibility of mutual recognition. In this context the database of common/harmonised descriptors for skills, knowledge, competences will be further developed to be useable for the mutual recognition of competences of upskilled building professionals. This database is intended to provide a basis for the mutual recognition of skills of professionals throughout Europe.

Final results

Construction errors are responsible for most of poor energy performance of buildings in practice. Reasons for construction mistakes are often that workers on construction sites, who make up relevant parts of the building envelope or the HVAC systems, are not aware of the complexity of nearly zero-energy buildings. This is because of the very limited availability of further education in the construction sector in many countries around Europe especially regarding on the possibility of mutual recognition between different member states. Furthermore, actual offered courses in the building sector do not cover topics like cross craft understanding, lifelong service approaches or continuous controlling and monitoring for the construction and maintenance of nZEBs (nearly zero-energy buildings). In addition, quality control also lacks in many cases. These factors all result in construction mistakes on-site.

Mandatory checks of the energy performance of a building during construction and when completed could highly improve its quality. Some industries have already accepted the challenge and provide special training and certification schemes for skilled workers (e.g. certified external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS) in a few countries (e.g. in Austria this competence is a requirement in tenders, especially in the public sector). A further possibility to guarantee high energy performance standards is that nZEB quality must be claimed across all project phases, including inspection and monitoring (e.g. air tightness tests, thermography inspections, ventilation flow inspections and building information modelling).

The project NEWCOM will address these issues and will take on the building quality challenges building owners, construction workers and supervisory authorities are facing today in order to achieve the European and national climate protection targets for 2020 by implementing nearly zero-energy buildings standards. NEWCOM focuses on the development of missing training modules with a specific focus on mutual recognition.
The main project outputs are:
• Development of needed training modules for building professionals.
• Implementation of respective “train the trainer” trainings in the participating countries.
• Preparation of mutual recognition of the developed training schemes between different member states (incl. the preparation of a European database of certified building professionals).
• Development of strategies to raise the market demand for the developed training schemes to guarantee the sustainability beyond the project lifespan as well as the replication across the EU by involving national associations and training centres.

Website & more info

More info: http://www.newcomtraining.com.