The road to quality : a structure for requirements

Summarizes the results of a study that was carried out by the Road and Hydraulic Engineering Division (DWW) of the Dutch Department for Public Works and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat) to establish a structure for the quality requirements in road engineering in the Netherlands laid down by experts in all the relevant fields. The purpose of the study is to show that the existing quality requirements can be presented in a structured manner. It is confined to developing a general specification method for a quality system for the design, construction and maintenance of roads. The structure identified can be used to clarify the following points at various levels of decision making: a) how to define the desired quality; b) which arguments are significant in discussions on the allocation of responsibilities; c) how to measure quality. As an example the structure is used for the requirement "riding comfort in relation to the evenness of the road".