In order to strengthen the management of construction project quality testing and promote the healthy and orderly development of the construction project quality testing industry, on July 28, the General Office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued a letter soliciting opinions on the "Implementation Opinions on the Measures for the Administration of Construction Project Quality Testing (Draft for Solicitation of Opinions)."

Regarding qualification licensing, the draft for solicitation of opinions requires that provincial housing and urban-rural development authorities shall strictly carry out qualification licensing work for testing institutions within their administrative regions in accordance with the provisions of the "Measures" and the "Qualification Standards." Without the approval of our Ministry, the scope of qualification licensing for testing institutions shall not exceed the qualification categories stipulated in the "Qualification Standards," and the authority for qualification licensing shall not be delegated to relevant departments of municipal-level and lower people's governments.

The draft for solicitation of opinions also requires that where testing activities are carried out without obtaining the corresponding qualification, where the qualification certificate has expired, or where testing activities exceed the scope of qualification licensing, the testing reports shall be invalid and shall not be used as acceptance materials for construction project quality.

The specific content is as follows:

Attachment: Original Text:

Letter from the General Office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development on Soliciting Opinions on the "Implementation Opinions on the Measures for the Administration of Construction Project Quality Testing (Draft for Solicitation of Opinions)"

In order to implement the "Measures for the Administration of Construction Project Quality Testing" (Order No. 57 of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development) and the "Qualification Standards for Construction Project Quality Testing Institutions" (Jianzhi Gui [2023] No. 1), strengthen the management of construction project quality testing, and promote the healthy and orderly development of the construction project quality testing industry, our Ministry has researched and drafted the "Implementation Opinions on the Measures for the Administration of Construction Project Quality Testing (Draft for Solicitation of Opinions)" (see attachment), and is now soliciting opinions from the public. Relevant units or individuals may submit feedback opinions before August 10, 2023 through the following channels and methods:

1. Email: zhiliangchu@mohurd.gov.cn

2. Mailing address: Department of Engineering Quality and Safety Supervision, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, No. 9 Sanlihe Road, Haidian District, Beijing (please indicate "Feedback Opinions on the Implementation Opinions on Testing Management Measures" on the envelope), Postal Code: 100835.

Attachment: Implementation Opinions on the Measures for the Administration of Construction Project Quality Testing (Draft for Solicitation of Opinions)

General Office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development

July 26, 2023

Implementation Opinions on the Measures for the Administration of Construction Project Quality Testing

(Draft for Solicitation of Opinions)

In order to implement the "Measures for the Administration of Construction Project Quality Testing" (Order No. 57 of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development) (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures") and the "Qualification Standards for Construction Project Quality Testing Institutions" (Jianzhi Gui [2023] No. 1) (hereinafter referred to as the "Qualification Standards"), these Implementation Opinions are formulated.

I. Qualification Management of Testing Institutions

(1) Provincial housing and urban-rural development authorities shall strictly carry out qualification licensing work for testing institutions within their administrative regions in accordance with the provisions of the "Measures" and the "Qualification Standards." Without the approval of our Ministry, the scope of qualification licensing for testing institutions shall not exceed the qualification categories stipulated in the "Qualification Standards," and the authority for qualification licensing shall not be delegated to relevant departments of municipal-level and lower people's governments.

(2) When applying for the qualification of a testing institution, the applicant shall, in accordance with Article 8 of the "Measures," submit materials to the qualification licensing authority of the place where the unit is registered. The applicant shall be responsible for the authenticity of the "Application Form for Qualification of Construction Project Quality Testing Institutions" (see Attachment 1) and other materials submitted and their contents. The address of the testing site for applying for special qualification recognition must be within the same provincial administrative region, and the address of the testing site for applying for comprehensive qualification recognition must be within the same municipal administrative region.

After receiving the application materials, the qualification licensing authority shall verify whether the application materials are complete and meet the requirements, and shall make a written decision on acceptance or non-acceptance. After acceptance, the qualification licensing authority shall promptly organize expert review, and shall notify the applicant in writing of the expert review time.

Where a testing institution applies for additional qualification items or changes, the provincial housing and urban-rural development administrative department may appropriately simplify the application materials. The specific list of materials shall be determined by the provincial housing and urban-rural development administrative department.

(3) Where testing institutions merge, the surviving or newly established testing institution after the merger may inherit the qualification of the testing institution before the merger, but shall apply for re-verification of qualification in accordance with regulations. Where a testing institution undergoes restructuring, system reform, or other such matters, it shall apply for re-verification of qualification in accordance with regulations. Where a testing institution splits, the newly established unit shall apply for qualification as a first-time application, and the original unit shall apply for re-verification of qualification in accordance with regulations.

(4) The qualification licensing authority shall establish an expert pool and organize the implementation of expert review. Expert review shall follow the principle of recusal. Members of the expert review group shall be objective and fair, abide by professional ethics, and bear responsibility for the review opinions they propose. The qualification licensing authority shall supervise and guide the expert review process. For testing parameters that have passed the qualification recognition of the market supervision department and are still within the validity period, the content of expert review may be appropriately simplified.

(5) The qualification licensing authority shall complete the qualification review and make a written decision in accordance with Article 9 of the "Measures." Before making a decision, the qualification review results shall be publicly announced to society.

The qualification licensing authority shall, within 10 working days from the date of the written decision on qualification review, issue the "Qualification Certificate for Construction Project Quality Testing Institutions" (hereinafter referred to as the qualification certificate, see Attachment 2) to the applicant, and shall report the information of the issued qualification certificate to our Ministry for record through the national quality and safety supervision information platform.

(6) Additional qualification items refer to a testing institution that has already obtained a special qualification applying for other special qualifications; the validity period of the additional qualification after approval shall be consistent with the validity period of the original qualification certificate. Where a testing institution applies for additional qualification items, it shall meet the requirements of the corresponding qualification standards.

Where a testing institution applies to add testing parameters, this does not constitute additional qualification items; the specific review procedures shall be determined by the provincial housing and urban-rural development administrative department.

(7) A testing institution shall submit an application for qualification renewal to the qualification licensing authority 30 working days before the expiration of the validity period of the qualification certificate. Where an application for qualification renewal is not submitted within the time limit, the qualification certificate shall automatically become invalid upon expiration of the validity period.

(8) Where an applicant's qualification renewal or change does not meet the requirements, its qualification application shall not be approved, and the reasons shall be notified at one time. The licensing results shall be published to society simultaneously.

(9) A testing institution that is ordered by the qualification licensing authority to rectify within a time limit due to failure to meet the requirements of the "Qualification Standards" shall, after completing the rectification, submit an application for re-verification to the qualification licensing authority. The application procedures shall be implemented in accordance with Article (2) of these Opinions, and the qualification licensing authority shall publicly announce the qualification review results to society before making a decision. Materials not involving rectification matters need not be submitted.

(10) Where a testing institution that has obtained the qualification of a construction project quality testing institution in accordance with the original qualification standards applies for re-verification in accordance with the "Qualification Standards," the testing experience of the testing institution shall not be assessed.

II. Management of Testing Activities

(11) Testing institutions shall carry out corresponding testing activities in accordance with the professional categories and testing parameter scope in the licensed qualification certificate. Where testing activities are carried out without obtaining the corresponding qualification, where the qualification certificate has expired, or where testing activities exceed the scope of qualification licensing, the testing reports shall be invalid and shall not be used as acceptance materials for construction project quality.

(12) The commissioning party shall commission a testing institution with the corresponding qualification to carry out testing business and shall sign a contract with it.

(13) The affiliation or other interest relationships referred to in the "Measures" mean that the testing institution has a direct administrative superior-subordinate relationship with the construction, construction, and supervision units related to the construction project being tested, as well as building materials, building components, and equipment supply units, or has economic or other interest relationships that may directly affect the fairness of the testing institution's work, such as equity participation, joint operation, and other relationships.

(14) Subcontracting referred to in the "Measures" means the act of a testing institution transferring testing parameters within the scope of its qualification certificate to another testing institution for testing.

For optional parameters in testing items for which the relevant special qualification has not been obtained, where the testing equipment is expensive or has low utilization rate, upon written consent of the commissioning party, they may be subcontracted to other testing institutions with corresponding qualification requirements for testing; other testing parameters shall not be subcontracted.

(15) Where the qualification renewal or change of a testing institution is not approved, its unperformed testing contracts may continue to be performed with the consent of the commissioning party, except for testing parameters for which it does not have the testing technical capability.

(16) The legal representative of the testing institution or its authorized signatory shall be the report approver. The report approver shall have obtained an intermediate or above technical title in engineering-related fields and shall have been assessed and confirmed by the qualification licensing authority. Testing reports not signed by the report approver shall be invalid.

(17) Where a testing institution undertakes testing business across provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the Central Government, it shall file a record with the provincial housing and urban-rural development authority of the place where the project is located and be incorporated into the local testing supervision system. The housing and urban-rural development authority of the place where the project is located shall inspect whether its local personnel, instruments and equipment, testing sites, quality assurance system, etc. meet the requirements for carrying out corresponding testing activities.

Provincial housing and urban-rural development authorities shall publicly disclose to society the methods, procedures, contents, and related requirements for handling the record filing, and the results of the record filing shall be published to society simultaneously. Departments below the provincial level shall not set up duplicate record filing procedures. Provincial housing and urban-rural development authorities shall strengthen collaboration and cooperation to regulate the relevant testing behavior of testing institutions carrying out testing business across provinces and the construction, construction, and supervision units related to the business they carry out.

(18) Provincial housing and urban-rural development authorities shall establish testing informatization supervision systems, guide testing institutions to establish informatization management systems, promote the electronicization of testing reports, and ensure that the entire testing process is traceable.

(19) Housing and urban-rural development authorities at all levels shall be responsible for guiding and supervising testing institutions to strengthen the training of testing personnel. Provincial housing and urban-rural development authorities shall propose requirements and content for the training of testing institution personnel.

(20) Internal laboratories of production enterprises such as ready-mixed concrete (mortar) and prefabricated components are part of the enterprise's internal quality assurance system. They are responsible for issuing test reports for the quality control of their own production process and the factory inspection of their semi-finished products (or products), and shall be responsible for the authenticity, validity, and accuracy of the test reports. Their laboratory management, testing behavior, testing equipment and facilities, site environment, and supervision and management thereof may be implemented with reference to the relevant provisions of the "Measures."

III. Explanations on the "Qualification Standards"

(21) The number of years of quality testing experience in the qualifications of a testing institution shall be calculated from the date of first obtaining the qualification of a construction project quality testing institution.

(22) The technical director refers to the person fully responsible for the technical work of the testing institution, and the quality director refers to the person responsible for the quality system management of the testing institution. The technical director and quality director of a testing institution shall not be the same person.

(23) The same technical personnel and registered personnel shall not exceed 2 special qualifications in the recognition of special testing qualifications.

(24) For remote counties (cities, districts) without testing institutions, where an applicant whose registered address is in the county (cities, districts) applies for the qualification of a testing institution, with the consent of the provincial housing and urban-rural development authority, the standard for the number of main personnel in its application for special qualifications may be appropriately lowered, provided that for the 3 special qualifications of building materials and components, building energy conservation, and municipal engineering materials, the number of technical personnel shall be no less than 15, of whom no less than 3 shall have intermediate or above technical titles in engineering-related fields; and for the 6 special qualifications of main structure and decoration, steel structure, foundation engineering, building curtain wall, road engineering, and bridge and underground engineering, the number of technical personnel shall be no less than 12, of whom no less than 3 shall have intermediate or above technical titles in engineering-related fields, and no less than 1 shall have senior or above technical titles in engineering-related fields.

The above-mentioned testing institutions may only undertake testing business within the administrative region of the county (city, district) where the registered address is located.

(25) The qualification licensing authority may, in light of local realities, appropriately add or remove optional testing items or optional testing parameters in Attachment 2 of the "Qualification Standards" in accordance with the testing business scope stipulated in the "Measures" and the latest construction engineering standards and specifications.

IV. Other Matters

(26) Provincial housing and urban-rural development authorities may, in accordance with the "Measures" and the requirements of these Implementation Opinions and in light of actual conditions, formulate implementation rules for their regions.

(27) These Opinions shall come into effect on the date of issuance, and the original "Notice on Issues Concerning the Implementation of the " (Jianzhi [2006] No. 25) and the "Notice on Issuing the Format of Qualification Certificates and Qualification Application Forms for Construction Project Quality Testing Institutions" (Jianzhi Han [2005] No. 346) shall be abolished simultaneously.

Attachments: 1. Format of the "Application Form for Qualification of Construction Project Quality Testing Institutions" 2. Format of the "Qualification Certificate for Construction Project Quality Testing Institutions"