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This paper presents the development of a visual inspection methodology for engineered wood products that are commonly used in residential construction in the USA. Engineered wood products include wood composite structural elements such as I-joists, oriented strand board, and structural composite lumber products, and metal plate connected wood trusses. Due to the proprietary nature of wood composite engineered products, there are no uniform standards between different manufacturers for installation and use. If improper installation methods are used, engineered wood products may not be able to safely carry design loads. Improper use or modifications constitute prescriptive code violations. Construction errors that result from the unique installation requirements demonstrate the need for specific inspection methods to detect installation errors early in the construction process. The goal of this research is to develop an expert-validated visual inspection methodology, associated knowledge base, and software application for selected engineered wood products and hanger hardware for non-compliance at the pre-drywall stage of new residential construction. A modified Delphi method was used to solicit and refine inspection methods from subject matter experts. Based on these results, an inspection method and computer software application were developed. The method establishes a systematic expert-validated inspection procedure that identifies known high-risk areas for installation problems for engineered wood products. The software contains the instructions for implementing the inspection method, a reference library of authoritative installation guidelines and illustrations, the ability to document observed defects, and a vehicle to create a report. The experts validated the method and software application, and confirmed the usefulness for detecting construction errors. |
