Quality Assurance

The first goal of inspections is to improve the inspector’s ability to accurately evaluate that all construction work complies with approved construction documents and applicable codes and regulations. Quality assurance (QA) is defined as “all those planned and systematic actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that a facility will perform satisfactorily while in service.” The key words of this definition are confidence and perform.
The key to applying the concept of quality assurance is based upon determining how to achieve adequate confidence that an item or facility will perform satisfactorily in service. The key for success is dependent upon implementation and application.
In an effective quality assurance program, Inspectors are aware of quality requirements, and are confident of their ability to perform to the required level of quality. They work with the design team to be sure that what they do is checked at required intervals. Inspectors track the progress through in-process inspection and try to anticipate difficulties before a reject or stop-work point is reached.

The preferred approach for inspections is direct observation of the activity in process. In many cases, however, the activity to be inspected will not be in progress at the time of inspection. Since the evaluation must still be performed, the inspector must perform an evaluation without the benefit of direct observation of the activity which it means reviewing contract documents for any work in advance (Being Pro-Active).
Characteristic of all quality assurance programs are three basic principles:

1. Final responsibility for quality rests with the organizations that design, develop, produce, maintain, store, and issue the product. Quality assurance supports these activities by ensuring that adequate quality provisions are planned, developed, and implemented.

2. Quality cannot be "inspected" into the finished product. Quality assurance focuses its activities on the identification, prevention, and correction of unsatisfactory conditions or elements which influence acceptability of the end product. Which it means, inspector needs to be pro-active.

3. Quality is defined in terms of contract specific requirements to be met.
We provided a number of factors which have exerted a significant influence on Inspection quality assurance programs such as:

1) Make sure that all the inspectors have a knowledge of quality control and assurance procedure
2) Having Advance technology, computers, and software will help us to have a better and faster communication with the contract parties
3) Have a really concerns about the site safety (Safety First)
4) Helping contract parties to have a better understanding about timely delivery of construction materials, and quality of them.
5) Checking all delivered material to the job site with contract documents, approved submittals, and testing lab verification (Labels)
6) Communicating with the design team if we notice any deviation from contract documents.
7) Having complete Knowledge of special inspection and testing lab requirement per T&I sheet
8) Having professional, and effective knowledge of the relationship with all contract parties
9) Having Skill in interpreting contract documents and codes
10) Having Skill in conducting Inspection per contract documents
11) Having Skill in written and oral communications with contract parties
12) Ensures that contractors fulfill their responsibilities for construction in accordance with contractual requirements,
13) Reviewing the contractor's activities based on schedule and capabilities in light of contract quality requirements;
14) Helping contractor to insure that the contractor understands the contractual requirements for each different trade;
15) Preparing, and implementing effective inspection request
16) Reviewing all approved submittals in advance.
17) Making sure that special Inspector and Material testing lab performing their duties per contract documents. Also, making sure that all contract parties receiving the special inspector daily report and testing lab result in timely manner.
18) Reviewing the material testing lab result, to make sure that it complies per contract documents.
19) Preparing a procedure (Deficiency Report) to notify contractor and all contract parties when we notice any deviation from contract documents
20) Providing corrective action procedure by the contractor when we notice any deviation from contract documents
21) Making sure the all rejected material, and not accepted by design team gets move from job site
22) Providing a report after contractor took a corrective action per design team direction
23) Participation in all construction meeting
24) Set up Pre- Construction meeting per specification for each trade before they start the work
25) Checking contract’s as built plan and progress payment
26) Providing RFI, Submittal, FCD, Change Order, and Addendum logs
27) Keeping record of certain phases of construction procedure such as Concrete pouring operation, welding operation, and etc.
28) In RFI log, making sure that RFI is closed or not? Is there any extra action requires by the contractor or not? Is there any action required by design team (Such as providing FCD) or not?
29) Updating Inspection’s team plans with all RFI’s, Addendums, and FCD’s.
30) Providing inspection schedule per construction schedule.
31) Providing critical submittal list per construction schedule
32) Set up required meetings with local utility companies
33) Following DSA guideline regarding to DSA Duties
34) Providing Daily report with all information which it pertains to work and requested by District
35) Making sure that delivered material to the job site gets proper storage
36) Making sure that all material is acceptable after the installation
37) Providing Inspector Punch List at the end of project

The overall objective of quality assurance is to ensure that quality considerations are addressed and requirements are achieved at each stage of the facility's life service