Introduced in 1989, the Construction Quality Assessment System (CONQUAS®) serves as a national standard for assessing the construction workmanship quality of new building projects.
Objective of CONQUAS®
CONQUAS® was developed with three key objectives:
- To establish a standard system for assessing construction workmanship quality in building projects.
- To ensure objectivity in assessments by measuring constructed works against defined workmanship standards and specifications, using sampling methods to represent the overall project.
- To enable quality assessments to be conducted systematically, within reasonable cost and time constraints.
Today, CONQUAS® is a widely recognised and internationally accepted benchmarking tool for quality. CONQUAS® is a registered trademark in Singapore, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong SAR, United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, India and Thailand.
How Companies Benefit from CONQUAS®
By submitting their projects for CONQUAS® assessment, companies can benefit from the following:
- Benchmarking construction workmanship quality against CONQUAS® standards
- Enhanced client confidence and a competitive advantage by consistently delivering projects with high CONQUAS® bands
- Improved marketability and a stronger corporate image through a proven CONQUAS® track record
- Reduced scrutiny and additional checks from BCA by consistently delivering good construction workmanship quality, allowing focus on areas that truly matter to homeowners.
Amendments to CONQUAS®
CONQUAS® is regularly updated to stay relevant with evolving technologies and rising quality expectations. Here is the list of amendments to CONQUAS®:
CONQUAS® (Private Residential)
Launched in November 2025 for private building projects with residential component to focus on addressing critical workmanship-related issues that impact liveability and functionality, whilst maintaining a balance between construction productivity and quality.
CONQUAS® 2022
Launched in May 2022 and further enhanced in May 2023 to encourage developers and builders of building projects to take ownership of their construction workmanship quality while balancing construction productivity and quality.
3-TIER CONQUAS® SCHEME
The 3-Tier CONQUAS® Scheme is applicable to all private residential CONQUAS® applications received from 9 October 2019 onwards. This scheme is designed to help raise quality standards by:
- Incentivise project teams to achieve good performance and banding
- Tailor inspections more precisely depending on performance and project risk
The scheme has been further refined to allow for escalation of the CONQUAS® tier for ongoing private residential projects after an application has been submitted. This escalation applies to:
- Projects with construction tenders called from 1 June 2022 and applied for CONQUAS® from 1 November 2022.
Assessment Approach
The assessment comprises three main components (applicable to projects with construction tenders called from 1 July 2023 onwards):
- Internal Finishes: Refers mainly to architectural finishes (e.g. floors, internal walls, ceilings, doors, windows, and components), as well as basic Mechanical & Electrical (M&E) fittings.
- Installation Methods Verification and Functional Tests: Applies to the following four trades:
- Waterproofing works to bathrooms/toilets
- Stone/tiling installation works
- Timber floor installation
- Window installation and tests on window water-tightness, wet area water-tightness and adhesion of internal wall tiles
- External Finishes: Includes roofs, external walls, and external works assessed at the building completion stage
Each component is further broken down into various assessment items. The sum of the 3 components will give the CONQUAS® score which will be used to derive the CONQUAS® band for private projects with residential component. For CONQUAS® (Private Residential) projects, pre-requisites on critical tests are considered to derive the CONQUAS® band and more information on the scoring methodology can be found in the CONQUAS® (Private Residential) manual.
CONQUAS® Manual
The manual provides detailed information on the assessment, including:
- The components to be assessed and their weightages according to the building type
- Assessment approach for each component
- Construction Workmanship Quality Standards: List of elements that will be assessed
Download the CONQUAS (Private Residential) Manual (PDF)
Download the CONQUAS 2022 Manual (PDF, 1.0MB)
Download the CONQUAS 2019 Manual (PDF, 1.0MB)
Download the CONQUAS Manual - 9th Edition (PDF, 1.0MB)
How To Apply
Developers/builders can submit an application via CONQUAS® e-Application. The application for assessment must be submitted before the commencement of construction works. Please view application procedures for more detailed information.