Improving the technical quality of the execution of interventions on built heritage through the optimalization of the effort and knowledge of the various stakeholders.

The need for the development of a specific quality management approach for built heritage is based on the complexity and specificity of historic buildings. The main aim of the research was therefore the development of a specific quality management approach for built heritage. The concepts that establish the approach were developed based on an understanding of the aim, the conservation principles and the challenges of heritage preservation. They are translated into an approach based on an analysis of existing quality management approaches in other fields. The scientific basis for the approach is acquired based on a thorough analysis of current practice and an exploratory study of two methods for quality improvement: knowledge enhancement and knowledge sharing. By establishing the analysis of current practice at three levels of detail, the obtained results identify a variety of approaches, problems, attitudes and technical issues. The research therefore gave a voice to different stakeholders and covered different types of interventions.

The developed quality management approach is a participative approach that is founded on the establishment of continuous care, as well as the enhancement and sharing of knowledge. Its aim is the preservation of cultural significance. This is accomplished through a process of continuous care in which all stakeholders are equally involved. Technical knowledge, skills and knowledge on values and significance are essential for deciding on interventions and implementing them. Conservation quality therefore stems from the merging of three concepts: (1) continuous care, (2) the stakeholders, (3) knowledge.

Regarding the management of historic structures, the analysis of maintenance practices in Flanders identifies the absence of a true preventive approach. Discrepancies in the significance of concepts such as maintenance, repair, conservation and renovation complicate the quality of maintenance activities. There is a limited implementation of true preventive actions, such as the cleaning of gutters, and professionals are not always involved for repair interventions. Monumentenwacht proves to be an important support for owners, thanks to their expertise and objective opinion. There is a potential to improve the management of built heritage by implementing the monitoring data into a system of reliability monitoring.

The case study research on structural repair interventions demonstrates that professionals often implement a linear problem solving approach that does not include the controls-step of the ISCARSAH approach. The project-based involvement of engineers, sometimes even limited to part of the decision making process, complicates a true continuity in the continuous care for historic structures. The research therefore proposes the implementation of simple forms of structural monitoring by Monumentenwacht, in close collaboration with conservation engineers.

The analysis of implemented mortar joint repair interventions individuates that knowledge is important for their correct implementation. However, professionals prefer to tackle the complex decision on a compatible mortar recipe based on their experience. Such attitudes impede a continuous knowledge enhancement on the compatibility of mortar joint repair interventions. Increased documentation of the characteristics of existing and newly implemented materials would facilitate the complex decision making. This requires the sharing of knowledge and experiences between different professionals. Furthermore, the skills, training and motivation of masons proved to be predominant for a correct implementation of mortar joint repair interventions. The quality of these interventions is therefore founded on the training and proudness of the masons.

The second part of the dissertation focuses on an investigation into two methods for quality improvement: knowledge enhancement and knowledge sharing. Three exploratory investigations exemplify specific technical challenges that would benefit from knowledge enhancement through continuous care. Such knowledge enhancement could be achieved based on interdisciplinary knowledge sharing of advanced monitoring data. The exploratory study on knowledge sharing between the members of a building team advances the important interrelation between three inter-personal processes: (1) the establishment of trust, (2) the merging of cooperation through a shared understanding, (3) the creation of an on site operational community.