First International Conference on Construction In Developing Countries (ICCIDCI)

Advancing and Integrating Construction Education, Research & Practice

August 4-5, 2008, Karachi,, Pakistan

Quality Assurance and Control in the Construction of Infrastructure Services

in Developing Countries A Case Study of Pakistan
Ammad Hassan Khan
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology,
Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
ammadhk@hotmail.com
Salman Azhar
Assistant Professor,McWhorter School of Building Science, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA
Arshad Mahmood
Engineer,DESCON-CGGC(JV), Lahore,Punkab, Pakistan

Abstract
Quality is one of the critical factors in the success of construction projects. Quality of construction
projects, as well as project success, can be regarded as the fulfillment of expectations (i.e. the satisfaction)
of the project participants. The construction industry in Pakistan has been struggling with quality issues
for many years. The construction costs can be significantly reduced if the construction industry embraces
the concept of quality assurance and control that has been used with great success by service and
manufacturing industries in Pakistan. However, unlike manufacturing and service industries, where a
standard product is regularly produced, most products of the construction industry are one-offs, specially
designed for a specific purpose. Hence, attainment of a quality level is difficult both to specify and to
monitor. In this paper, a case study of the quality assurance and control during the execution of Taunsa
Barrage Emergency Rehabilitation and Modernization Project contract packages ICB-01 (Sub-weir,
downstream floor of barrage, instrumentation) has been presented. The Taunsa Barrage Project has been
considered as a success story in the construction of infrastructure development projects in developing
countries. The major part of the civil works of the Taunsa Barrage Project has been completed. This paper
is focused on the quality assurance and control using the concept of quality, quality management system
(QMS) and quality management system standards in the civil construction works.

Keywords
Quality, Quality Assurance, Quality Control, Civil Works, Infrastructure Projects

1. Introduction
Quality is a desirable characteristic by all stakeholders in construction. The quality assurance (QA) is a
set of activities whose purpose is to demonstrate that an entity meets all quality requirements (ISO, 2007).
QA activities are carried out in construction projects to inspire the confidence of stakeholders in meeting
the quality requirements. QA provide the stakeholder with adequate confidence that a structure,
component, material or system meets pre-stated quality standards and will perform satisfactory during its
entire service life. Quality control (QC) is the set of activities or techniques whose purpose is to ensure

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that all quality requirements are being met. In order to achieve QC, processes are monitored and
performance problems are solved (ISO, 2007).
Quality Control (QC) is concerned with actual measurement, testing or supervision of manufacturers
own final product control, either by inspection of each unit or by sample testing. Originally a
manufacturing-industry concern, quality is now acknowledged to be a key issue for the construction
sector whose clients increasingly demand quality certification (Chung, 2007). The objective of
construction QA/QC is to independently assure that the activities of a specific project are being performed
in accordance with all contractual specifications, codes and standards or government regulations. The
QA/QC is verified through checks audits, inspections and witnessing. These audit services are carried out
completely independently of the individual contractors, materials suppliers, manufacturer or sub
contractor as well as the purchaser or final user. Quality Assurance (QA) provides the facility owner with
adequate confidence that a structure, component, material or system meets pre-stated quality standards
and will perform satisfactory during service. QA/QC inspections can be applied to all materials,
structures, components or systems utilized in the construction and operation of complex industrial plants
including nuclear power stations. This service is being provided both on the construction site and at the
facilities of the manufacturers involved. The choice of operations to be performed depends on the
requirements of the assignment.
Project quality management must address both the management of the project and the product of the
project. Failure to meet quality requirements in either dimension can have serious consequences for any
or all the project stakeholders (PMI, 2000). The quality conscious construction stakeholders believe that
the essence of true QA/QC is in constant inspection along with project quality teams having a deep
knowledge of the QA/QC procedures. The verifications and reminders of quality in construction
stakeholders are consistently communicated from upper management to superintendents. In order to
accomplish the expectations from subcontractors, the main contractors must inspect their work on a
regular and consistent basis, with corrections made well before punch list reviews.
A case study of the quality assurance and control during Taunsa Barrage Emergency Rehabilitation and
Modernization Project, the oldest headwork of Southern Punjab, Pakistan has been discussed in this
paper. Taunsa Barrage (as shown in Figure 1) was originally constructed in a period of five years from
1953 to 1958 over the Indus River in the Southwest part of Punjab in Kot Addu Tehsil of Muzaffargarh
District. Soon after it's commissioning, it experienced multiple engineering problems, which aggravated
with the passage of time. Taunsa Barrage facilitates the flow of irrigation water from the Indus River in
three major canals, Muzafar Garh Canal (8,300 cusecs), Dera Ghazi Khan Canal (89,000 cusecs) and
Taunsa Panjnad (T-P) Link Canal (12,000 cusecs) supplying some six million acre feet of irrigation water
to cultivated lands in districts of Muzafagarh, Rajanpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur during Rabi
and Kharif agricultural seasons. The purpose of this rehabilitation project is to prevent the breaking down
of the dilapidated Taunsa Barrage. The project comprises of the restoration of the barrage, floodgates and
its incidental facilities in order to guarantee a water resource to the peripheral area. Samples of surface
water as well as ground water have been collected, tested and analyzed for physical, biological and
chemical elements in order to determine its suitability for aquatic flora and fauna, irrigation purposes as
well as human consumption.

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Figure 1: Taunsa Barrage

It is important to note that all the barrages operating in Punjab have depreciated primarily due to age. To
adequately address this issue, Government of Punjab has successfully negotiated a loan from the World
Bank towards the cost of rehabilitation and modernization of Punjab barrages (Descon News, 2005). Out
of the entire construction cost of US$150 million, the World Bank is financing US$123 million (approved
in October 2004). Also, the Government of Japan is contributing a grant aid of 5,165 million yen, for the
detailed design of floodgates and these have been executed by JICA. The client of the project is
Government of Punjab through Project Monitoring Organization (PMO) of Irrigation and Power
Department. The design and supervision consultants of the project are Punjab Barrages Consultants (A
Joint Venture of National Drainage Consultants (NDC), National Engineering Services of Pakistan
(NESPAK) and Atkins-UK). The contractors for the ICB-01 package are joint venture between Descon
Engineering Limited and China Gezhauba Water and Power Group Company (CGGC). The Contractors
for ICB-01 package is M/s CCC of China. All the major contractors and consultants of the project are ISO
certified organizations.

2. Quality Assurance and Control at Taunsa Barrage Rehabilitation and Modernization

Project
According to Hendrickson (1999), the quality requirements should be clear and verifiable, so that all
parties in the project can understand them for conformance. In Taunsa barrage project, the Engineers
Quality Assurance Program (EQAP) in compliance with ISO 9000/2000 quality management system
(QMS) has been used. The references for the quality system are as follows:
General conditions of contract part 1 (FIDIC) clause 36 & 37 about materials, plant and
workmanship.
SP-9 Approval of materials and equipment (Source approval and approval on site).
SP-10 Contractors quality assurance plan.
The on and off site QA/QC activities included in the Taunsa barrage rehabilitation and modernization
project are listed in Table 1.
Table 1: Taunsa Barrage Rehabilitation and Modernization Project Quality Management System
Sr.

Description

2
3
4
5
6

On Site QA/QC Tasks

Activity
Audit of the QA programs of the organizations involved in the construction
and/or operation of the facility, including personnel qualifications and QA
manuals.
Review of the specifications, procedures and specified standards utilized on the
construction site.
Monitoring the control of construction materials.
Performance of on-site surveillance covering non-destructive testing, visual
testing, hydrostatic and performance testing of installations and equipment.
Monitoring the storage methods and preventive maintenance system of plant
equipment before and during installation.
Organization and implementation of record retention systems and the
development of accompanying procedures that are practical, logical and meet the
requirements of regulatory agencies.

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Sr.

Description

5
6
7
8

Off Site QA/QC Tasks

Activity
Assistance in defining the QA program which meets the full intent of all
regulatory requirements. It includes aspects of organization, personnel,
inspection plans and program, and procedures. This is summarized in QA
manual.
Review of the design, specifications, drawings and specified standards to assure
compliance to the applicable regulatory requirements.
Performance of pre-award or pre-qualification surveys including a complete
review of the suppliers QA program to meet governmental or purchasers
requirements.
Inspection, witnessing or verification of any action undertaken during
manufacture to establish the quality of a material, structure or system. These
functions are accomplished in accordance with requirements of QA standards
and government regulations.
Assistance to the purchaser in cases where corrective action is needed due to
non-conformity.
Assistance in public hearings and standard review boards.
Performance of formal audits before and during the manufacture of equipment at
the premises of the architect, constructor, manufacturer or sub-supplier.
Organization of training courses in such fields as QA, reliability, test methods,
equipment and plant systems and related quality areas such as safety, and the
qualification and certification on non-destructive testing / evaluation methods.

The details of the quality management system of Taunsa barrage rehabilitation and modernization project
are shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Taunsa Barrage Rehabilitation and Modernization Project Quality Management System)

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Project Oriented PQMS Data

The project quality management system (QMS) was very comprehensively formulated. However, these
PQMS is not addressing any limits or margins of acceptability in case of onsite and offsite Q.A/Q.C tasks.
The contractor of the project especially remained in excessive pressure due to the unlimited exercise of
the PQMS implementation on the project by Client and Consultant. It has been observed in the project
that excessive strictness in the implementation of the quality sometimes originate various crucial technical
constraints, which seriously affect the scope, schedule and budget. It has also been depicted from the
project case study that in case of excessive experimentation related to the quality in the projects (when the
technical quality related background of the stakeholders is also limited), number of times the project
stakeholders were unable to get any favorable solution. The documentation controlling based on the
project PQMS comprise of following:
Changes in construction processes
Material procurement
Field testing and inspection
Final check out of facility
The process and implementation of the Q.A/Q.C audit procedures always remain difficult to apply in the
developing countries infrastructure projects. The same difficulties have been observed in the subject
project. These difficulties has been arising various questions and doubts in the direction, communication,
integration and outcomes of the quality management system of the project. Thus the development of an
integrated project oriented quality management system for the project is necessary for Client and
important from the ISO9000:2000 perspective. So in the subject project after the implementation
shortcomings of PQMS, an advance version of the PQMS in the form of project oriented quality
management system has been established. This system has provided support and removes the
discrepancies in the quality consequences. The representation procedure of the system is shown below in
Figure 3.

PQMS data for

Client

Client

Sub-Contractor

PQMS Data for

Contractor

Contractor

Consultant
Project Oriented PQMS Data
PQMS data for
Consultant

Figure 3: Project Oriented Quality Management System

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The various project site activities related to QA/QC are shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Site Photographs

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2.1 Material Sources Approval

The major scope of work in the project includes the reinforced cement concrete (RCC), steel sheet piles
and earthwork. Thus the approved sources in-context with quality management system have been required
for steel, cement, fine aggregates, coarse aggregates, slag, additives, water stops, and steel sheet piles.
The quality management standards adopted for the approval of the sources of material are listed in Table
2. The references for the quality management standards of materials have been mainly adopted from the
American Standards for the Testing of Materials (ASTM, 2007). The Pakistan standards & quality control
authority (PQSA, 2007) guidelines for the selection of material quality and sources have also been
incorporated wherever necessary in this project.
Table 2: Taunsa Barrage Rehabilitation and Modernization Project Materials with Quality
Management Standards, Tests and Approved Sources
Sr
.

Material

Steel
Reinforcement
Cement

Quality
Management
Standards
ASTM-615-81
(a)
ASTM C-204,
109,187,191,
151,BS-12,
PSS232:1983(R)

Quality Tests

Approved Sources

Yield strength, ultimate strength,

percentage elongation, bend test,
diameter, weight and x-area.
Blain air permeability, compressive
strength, normal consistency, initial &
final setting time, soundness, Le-Chatlier
expension, loss of ignition, silicon oxide,
insoluble residue, alumina, iron oxide,
calcium oxide, magnesia, sulphur
trioxide.
Sieve analysis, material passing # 200,
unit weight, specific gravity, absorption,
moisture content, soundness, Loss
Angeles Abrasion, clay lumps and friable
particles, petrography, mortar bar test for
potential alkali reactivity.
Sieve analysis, material passing # 200,
unit weight, specific gravity, absorption,
moisture content, soundness, clay lumps
and friable particles, sand equivalent,
organic impurities, light weight particles,
petrography analysis, mortar bar test fro
potential alkali reactivity.
Silicon oxide, alumina, iron oxide,
calcium oxide magnesia, sulphur trioxide, Blain air permeability, residue, 728 days slag activity index
Chemical and physical properties

Fazal (FSL, 2008) and

Pak Steel (PAK, 2008)

Coarse
Aggregates

ASTM C-136,
117,29,127,
566,81,131,
142,123,295,
227

Fine
Aggregates

ASTM C-136,
117,29,128,56
6,88,142,2419
, 40,123,295,
227

Slag

ASTM C-150
Type IV

Additives

Water
Stops
Sheet Piles

Manufacturer
Specified
Manufacturer
Chemical and physical properties
Specified
ASTM A-857, Mill test, heat analysis and tensile test.
328

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Askari(Askari, 2008),
Mapple
Leaf(KMLG,2008),
DG Khan(DGK,2008)
and Javedan
(JCL,2008)
Sakhi- Sarwar,
Saanghar and Vehao

Khumbi and Kohar

Attock cement and

Thatta cement

Sika and Fosroc

Decora
Arcelor

The quality control has been achieved through assurance of the specifications, QC manual, monitoring,
inspection, testing, measuring testing equipments, testing, test results, non-conformance reports &
actions, QC records and internal quality audits.
2.2 Testing Frequency for the Major Materials
The testing frequency for the major construction materials is listed in Tables 3(a)-(g).
Table 3(a): Testing Frequency for Soil Materials
Sr.

Test

Designation

Testing Frequency

Grain Size Analysis/Gradation

ASTM C-136 & D-422

1 per 10,000 cft

Hydrometer

ASTM D-442

1 per 50,000 cft

Liquid Limit

ASTM D-4318

1 per 50,000 cft

Plastic Limit

ASTM D-4318

1 per 50,000 cft

Shrinkage Limit

ASTM D-427

1 per 50,000 cft

Specific Gravity

ASTM D-854

1 per 50,000 cft

Moisture Density Relationship

ASTM D-1557

1 per 50,000 cft

Moisture Density Relationship

ASTM D-698

1 per 50,000 cft

Field Density: Compacted Fill

ASTM D-1556

1 per 20,000 cft

10

Field Density: Structural Back fill

ASTM D-1556

1 per 2,000 cft

11

Field Density: Gravel Base

ASTM D-1556

1 per 5,000 cft

12

Relative Dry Density

ASTM D-4253 & 4254

1 per 5,000 cft

Table 3(b): Testing Frequency for Cement

Sr.
1

Designation
ASTM C-348 &
C-349
Initial and Final Setting Time (on ASTM C-191
Pure Past)
Autoclave Expansion
ASTM C-151

Blaines Specific Surface Area

ASTM C-204

Chemical Analysis

ASTM C-114

Test
Compressive Strength

Testing Frequency
1 per 200 tons or 1 per month if
consumption is < 200 tons
1 per 200 tons or 1 per month if
consumption is < 200 tons
1 per 200 tons or 1 per month if
consumption is < 200 tons
1 per 200 tons or 1 per month if
consumption is < 200 tons
1 per 1000 tons or 1 after 3 months
if consumption is < 1000 tons

Table 3(c): Testing Frequency for Steel

Sr.
1
2
3
4

Test
Size and weight
Elongation
Bending test
Tensile strength and yield strength

Designation
ASTM A 615
ASTM A 615
ASTM A 615
ASTM A 615

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Testing Frequency
As Required
As Required
As Required
As Required

Table 3(d): Testing Frequency for Fine Aggregates

Sr.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Test
Sieve Analysis
Materials Passing # 200 Sieve
Unit Weight
Specific Gravity
Absorption
Moisture Content
Soundness
Clay Lumps & Friable Particles
Sand Equivalent
Organic Impurities

Designation
ASTM C-136
ASTM C-117
ASTM C-29
ASTM C-128
ASTM C-128
ASTM C-566
ASTM C-88
ASTM C-142
ASTM C-2419
ASTM C-40

11
12

Light Weight Particles

Petrography Analysis

ASTM C-123
ASTM C-295

13

Mortar Bar Test for Potential Alkali ASTM C-227

Silica Reactivity

Testing Frequency
1 for 5,000 cft
1 for 5,000 cft
1 for 10,000 cft
1 for 10,000cft
1 for 10,000cft
1 for 10,000 cft
1 for 50,000 cft
1 for 20,000 cft
1 for 20,000 cft
5 per source for initial approval. 1
per month after approval per
source or 50,000 cft
1 for 50,000 cft
3 no. per source for initial
approval.
As required by the Engineer.

Table 3(e): Testing Frequency for Coarse Aggregates

Sr.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

Test
Sieve Analysis
Materials Passing # 200 Sieve
Unit Weight
Specific Gravity
Absorption
Moisture Content
Soundness
Clay Lumps & Friable Particles
Los Angeles Abrasion
Light Weight Particles
Petrography Analysis

Designation
ASTM C-136
ASTM C-117
ASTM C-29
ASTM C-127
ASTM C-127
ASTM C-566
ASTM C-88
ASTM C-142
ASTM C-131
ASTM C-123
ASTM C-295

12

Mortar Bar Test for Potential Alkali ASTM C-227

Reactivity

Testing Frequency
1 for 5,000 cft
1 for 5,000 cft
1 for 10,000 cft
1 for 10,000cft
1 for 10,000cft
1 for 5,000 cft
1 for 50,000 cft
1 for 50,000 cft
1 for 20,000 cft
1 for 50,000 cft
3 no. per source for initial
approval.
As required by the Engineer.

Table 3(f): Testing Frequency for Concrete

Sr.
1
2
3
4
5

Test
Compressive Strength
Slump
Air Content
Temperature
Fresh Density

Designation
ASTM C-39
ASTM C-143
ASTM C-231
ASTM C-1064
ASTM C-138

117

Testing Frequency
1 for 2,000 cft per class per batch plant
1 for 2,000 cft per class per batch plant
1 for 2,000 cft per class per batch plant
1 for 2,000 cft per class per batch plant
1 for 2,000 cft per class per batch plant

Table 3(g): Testing Frequency for Admixtures

Sr.
1
2
3
4

Test
Air entrainment
Admixtures (water reducing)
Admixtures plasticizers
Curing compound

Designation
ASTM C-260
ASTM C-494
ASTM C-494
ASTM C-309

Testing Frequency
As Required
As Required
As Required
As Required

2.3 Laboratory and Field Tests Performed and Required

A comparison of the number of laboratory and field tests performed and required at the project site is
shown in Table 4.
Table 4: The Abstract of Quality Control Activities for the Taunsa Barrage Emergency
Rehabilitation and Modernization Project (MPR, 2007)
Sr.

Description of Testing

A. Laboratory Testing
1
Gradation of Coarse Aggregates
2
Gradation of Fine Aggregates
3
Unit Weight of Coarse Aggregates
4
Unit Weight of Fine Aggregates
5
Specific Gravity of Coarse Aggregates
6
Specific Gravity of Fine Aggregates
7
Sand Equivalent
8
Los Angeles Abrasion
9
Absorption of Coarse Aggregates
10 Absorption of Fine Aggregates
11 Brick Testing
12 Cylinder Testing
13 Cylinder Casting
14 Soundness of Coarse Aggregates
15 Soundness of Fine Aggregates
16 Atterberg Limits
B. Field Testing
1
Temperature
2
Slump
3
Cylinder Moulding
4
Field Density Tests

Number of Tests
Performed

Number of Tests
Required

1,124
551
641
411
499
293
330
371
499
293
212
24,129
25,698
58
62
54

950
482
477
286
456
242
289
253
456
242
As Required
23,586
25,242
80
59
As Required

6,821
5,898
26,034
2,189

6,745
5,821
25,242
As Required

3. Concluding Remarks
In construction project due to the involvement of various stakeholders in quality control and assurance,
issues of quality control arise in virtually all the functional areas of construction activities. Within the
organizational structure of the stakeholders in the Taunsa Barrage construction project, a limited number
of quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) personnel were responsible for an increasingly large
workload involving many more complex practices than found in traditional construction. To ensure the
continued quality of rehabilitation of the barrage facilities, several approaches are being considered,
including automation. The computer-aided technology in particular shows great promise in creating tools

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to assist QA/QC elements. Past development of QA/QC in Pakistan has shown that the stakeholders must
become involved early in the process to ensure suitable performance. However, in developing some
QA/QC systems, the stakeholder is not known and the system cannot be tailored for a particular level of
domain knowledge. When this situation occurs, it is necessary to provide flexibility in the system to
handle users with differing levels of knowledge about the domain. Incorporating this flexibility into a
computer module is a major problem in current QA/QC development and different approaches have been
tried to deal with the problem.
The experience of quality control and assurance during the construction of Taunsa barrage can lead to
following observations:

The performance specifications for construction operations specifying the required construction
process and specifying the required quality of finished facility remained absent in term of
application and implementation in the project.
The statistical sampling methods (variable and attributes) commonly used for the quality control
has not been used in the project.
Accurate and useful information collection during construction is an important part of
maintaining quality performance.
The capability of the contractors after the pre-qualification has been evaluated and PQMS are
than developed for a specific project.
In developing countries like Pakistan the quality awareness and consciousness limits is required
to be communicated among the stakeholders through seminars, conferences, workshops etc.
As in Pakistan, the PQMS as per ISO for the construction industry is relatively new in
implementation and adaptation, thus project oriented PQMS are prerequisite before the
commencement of the actual construction particularly on mega projects.

4. References
Askari, (2008). Askari cement, http://www.askaricement.com, 01/15/08.
Arcelor, (2007). Arcellormittal commercial RPS sheet piling, http://www.arcelormittal.com/sheetpiling,
12/26/07.
ASTM, (2007). ASTM international standards worldwide, http://www.astm.org/cgibin/SoftCart.exe/index.shtml?E+mystore, 12/26/07.
Chung, H.W. (2007). Understanding quality assurance in construction, Microsoft Readers eBooks,
eBooks Mall Inc, http://www.ebookmall.com/ebook/74105-ebook.htm , 12/12/07.
DECORA, (2007). Water stop product details, http://www.decora.com.pk/index.php?page=waterstops,
12/26/07.
Descon News - Events, (2005). Taunsa barrage rehabilitation and modernization contract,
http://www.descon.com.pk/News/desconNewsJuly2005.aspx , 12/20/07.
DGKC, (2008). DG Khan cement company limited, http://www.dgcement.com ,01/15/08.
FOSPAK, (2007). FOSROC constructive solutions, http://www.fosroc.com/LocationDetails, 12/27/07.
FSL, (2008). Fazal Steel FSL Group, http://www.fazalsteel.com/index1.html, 01/15/08.
Hendrickson, C. (1999). Project Management for Construction, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-731266-0,
PA, USA.
ISO, (2007). International organization for standardization, http://www.iso.org , 12/27/07.
JCL, (2008). Javedan cement limited, http://www.jcl.com.pk/ , 1/15/08.
KMLG, (2008). Kohinoor Mapple Leaf Group Mapple Leaf Cement,
http://www.kmlg.com/kmlg/cement_products_1.php , 01/15/2008.
MPR, (2007). Taunsa barrage emergency rehabilitation and modernization project monthly progress
report April 2007 Abstract of Quality Control Activities, Punjab Barrages Consultants.

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PMI, (2000). A Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge PMBOK, Project Management
Institute, Four Campus Boulevard, Newtown Square, PA, USA.
PSQCA, (2007). Pakistan standards & quality control authority. http://www.psqca.com.pk/ ,12/27/07.
PAK, (2008). Pakistan steel mills Corporation private limited, http://www.paksteel.com, 01/15/08.
SIKA Industry, (2007). SIKA industry magazine No. 3, http://www.sika.com/industry.htm ,12/27/07.

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