Importance of laboratory testing of Environmental & Building materials

Testing of building/construction materials and environmental testing go hand in hand in ensuring the infrastructural development of a nation, which eventually leads to the prosperity and growth of that country. The success of any infrastructural project lies in the availability of skilled manpower, application of advanced technologies, and utilization of high quality construction materials. The quality of such materials should be assessed properly in an accredited laboratory.

The developmental changes that have accompanied human civilization throughout the world have relied a lot, among a number of important parameters, on the infrastructural growth and the associated technologies. Infrastructure implies all those things and structures which form the basis or foundation of a progressing society, and finally of a nation. Infrastructure includes buildings, highways, bridges, railway and metro projects, and all those ingredients which form an integral part of the global image of a country. Now, the key to building an infrastructural marvel is the civil engineering techniques, technologies, and most importantly the building/construction materials. Construction materials include cement, aggregate, concrete, reinforced steel, structural clays (bricks), bitumen, various types of plastics etc. Proper assurance of the properties of these materials is vital to ensuring the quality and durability of the final structures that are made with them. But having said all these, we should not forget about our environment that allows us to live and breathe. Often the environmental concerns are either ignored or are sacrificed at the altar of economic progress, which actually jeopardize our future. There have been a number of irreversible changes that have been inflicted on our environment due to reckless and thoughtless activities of mankind. One such example is the ‘Greenhouse Effect’ and the various global effects associated with it. Any major civil project has to be analyzed, before it gets underway, for its compatibility (with environment) and feasibility. Hence, the importance of environmental testing can not be ignored. The reliability of the test results is a very important issue, and here accredited laboratories tend to have an edge over other laboratories because of certified competence.