Abstract
The Product Liability (PL) Law became effective on July 1,1995. Japanese industries, lawyers, and customers are considering how to deal with PL from each position. The PL prevention concept is classified as product safety (PS) and PL defense (PLD). In this paper we emphasizes that PS is more important than PLD. To achieve PS, it is necessary to consider the product lifecycle. Though activities for quality assurance in the construction industry are conducted, accident reports at housing and building sites are increasing. There is some doubt as to whether the construction companies make good use of these accident reports. Therefore, construct such companies should analyze the causes of these accidents and use the results for "safe construction" in the design phase. The purpose of this paper is to propose a quality assurance system considering product lifecycle in the case of the construction industry. A flowchart of customer' s information and results of analyzed accident reports to design "safe construction, " a method of classification of accident reports in the design phase, and product safety management considering product lifecycle are proposed. The method of classification for the causes of accident reports is classified into 4 types (Type I Defects from building deterioration over time, Type II Defects from remodeling by residents, Type III Defects from interfacing between building and residents, and Type IV Defects from external causes which are difficult to foresee). We developed support software with a database for customer information and accident reports.
