“It is important that we transfer the lessons learnt to other islands,” according to Mr. Paul Bacchus, Executive Director of the National Development Foundation of Antigua and Barbuda.

Mr. Bacchus made these comments to members of the Programme’s Advisory Group, which was established in June 2006 to guide the process by which Grenada establishes a Construction Quality Assurance (CQA) mechanism through the Programme.

Mr. Bacchus and Keith Ford of Caribbean Open Trade System (COTS) were guests at the final meeting of the Advisory Group, which was convened at the Agency for Reconstruction and Development (ARD) Conference Room on October 29, 2007.

The Grenada Hurricane Resilient Home Reconstruction Programme is a collaborative effort by the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the ARD. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) funded the Programme with a grant of $70,000 (US).

The CQA was developed to ensure adherence to the Grenada Building Code and the Grenada Building Guidelines from conception to construction of a house.

In addition to the OAS and the ARD, the Advisory Group comprised representatives of:

• Bankers Association of Grenada,
• Grenada Cooperative League Ltd.,
• National Insurance Scheme,
• Association of Grenada Insurance Companies,
• Grenada Chamber of Industry and Commerce,
• Grenada Society of Architects,
• Construction Association of Grenada,
• Grenada Institute of Professional Engineers,
• National Disaster Management Agency,
• Housing Authority of Grenada,
• Ministry of Communication, Works and Transport,
• Ministry of Social Development,
• Ministry of Health and the Environment, and the
• Physical Planning Unit of the Ministry of Economic Development and Planning.

Between December 2006 and October 2007 the Programme convened seven workshops and two symposia; conducted an audit of the planning applications, and provided weekly field training for Building Inspectors in the Physical Planning Unit.

To quantify that training, it translates into 74 person-days for engineers and architects, 87 person-days for building inspectors, 182 person days for draftsmen and contractors, and 51 person-days for tradesmen The Grenada Building Code and Guidelines were the main reference materials.

Additionally, the Programme produced three important documents:

1. A Checking Manual for the Examination of Residential Plans and Inspection of Residential Construction, which is used by PPU Building Inspectors,
2. A Residential CQA Charter that commits all key stakeholders to the principles of the CQA Mechanism., and
3. A Model Home Construction/Repair Contract for use by homeowners and contractors

The Model Home Construction/Repair Contract is accessible on the ARD website, www.ardgrenada.org which has a special section for the Grenada Hurricane Resilient Home Reconstruction Programme. Plans are underway for stakeholders to become signatories to the Residential CQA Charter.