Works Supervision and Testing on Condominium Sites

On a condominium site the works supervisor and the tester perform different functions in the client's interest. The works supervisor is the technician who oversees execution on behalf of the condominium, checks that the work is carried out to professional standards and in line with the specification, and reviews the progress states. Testing is the final check that verifies correct execution and legitimises payment of the balance and release of the retention. Both must be kept separate from the firm carrying out the works.

Who the works supervisor is

The works supervisor is a qualified technician, an engineer, architect or surveyor, appointed by the condominium to represent its interests on site. They are not an employee of the firm and must not coincide with it: it is precisely their independence that guarantees effective control. The appointment is resolved by the meeting together with the approval of the works, stating the fee, which is among the costs of the intervention and is allocated on the same criterion as the work.

The duties of the works supervisor

The works supervisor oversees the execution phase from a technical standpoint. They check the works conform to the design and the specification, verify the quality of materials, contest defects in writing, authorise or reject variations, and draw up the progress states on which payments to the firm are based. They manage the relationship between condominium and contractor on the technical level and document the course of the site, an essential element in any later dispute over defects.

• Checking conformity with the design and the specification
• Controlling the quality of materials and workmanship
• Contesting in writing any defects found
• Issuing the works progress states
• Technical management of variations approved by the condominium

Testing the work

Testing is the concluding check that verifies the work has been carried out to professional standards and in line with the contract. For simpler interventions it may take the form of the certificate of correct execution drawn up by the works supervisor; for more significant works, particularly structural ones, a full test is required, sometimes entrusted to a different technician. Testing is the moment the condominium accepts the work: important effects on payments and warranties run from it.

Why testing protects the condominium

Payments made during the site, including those against progress states, are provisional in nature and do not amount to acceptance of the work. Definitive acceptance coincides with a positive test outcome. Until then the condominium keeps the ability to assert defects and non-conformities, and holds the retention withheld on each payment. Releasing the balance and the retention only after a positive test is the most effective protection against defective execution.

Warranties after testing

Testing does not extinguish the contractor's liability. The warranty for defects of the work under the Italian Civil Code remains in force and, for serious building defects that compromise stability or make the building unusable, the contractor's ten-year liability under Article 1669 applies. The condominium must report defects within the time limits set by law from discovery: this is why it is important to document the test, keep the records and monitor the work in the following months.

Mistakes to avoid

The gravest mistake is entrusting the control to the same firm that carries out the works, hollowing out the guarantee function. Other frequent mistakes are paying the balance without testing, releasing the retention before the final check, failing to appoint a works supervisor for works that require one, and not keeping the technical documentation. The cost of supervision and testing is not an avoidable expense: it is the insurance that the work paid for is genuinely conforming.

Coordinating the works supervisor, progress states, testing and release of the retention is easier with software that links each payment to the site phase and stores the technical documentation. With AmministraPro the manager records progress states, manages the retention and archives testing records: the tools are described on the features page and the plans on the pricing page.