Developing & Managing a Construction Quality Control Program

Let’s face it… quality help is hard to find. You cannot have quality pool construction without quality people, either direct reports or sub-contractors.

More than having specialists, the correct employee must be assigned to the tasks at hand. The job site supervisor must understand the project expectations and make sure that the right talent is assigned to the proper task.

The supervisor must have the knowledge of how to perform the tasks. They must have the ability and authority to train subcontractors and employees on the company’s expectations and methodologies. On-the-job training cannot occur if the supervisor themselves does not possess the requisite knowledge. You must invest in your employee’s professional development, in order to create a better product.

Employees with specialized skills and interests should be encouraged to further develop those skills. Employers should embrace industry seminars and manufacturer training to further hone these skills. After all, you cannot deliver quality projects without quality people.

Communication

Nothing dovetails together more than effective communication and quality control. You must develop a consistent means for everyone on a project to communicate expectations, project specifics & details, project progress and scheduling, job site safety & compliance, policies and procedures. A lack of communication often results in costly change orders of corrective measures.

Instituting Quality Controls With Your Team

Quality control needs to be included in every team meeting with employees and sub-contractors, to ensure it remains on the forefront of everyone’s mind.

Communications should occur on a regular schedule via a digital platform that records the messages, tasks and assignments. These construction messaging platforms ensure that there are no misinterpretations and that the collaboration is smooth and efficient.

These platforms standardize the communications channels, document the decisions and approvals, and ensure that the follow-through occurs.

Planning & Documentation

Inadequate planning almost always results in poor quality, delays, defects, re-work, and cost overruns. On a fixed-price contract, these will affect the bottom line. Each year, billions of dollars are spent by US construction firms, simply because of inadequate project documentation.

I could drone on for months about the importance of detailed plans, sections, scaled drawings, written specifications, MEP schematics and material lists.

Failing To Plan = Planning To Fail

One of the most common causes of errors and losses beyond having inadequate plans, are the slow response to RFI’s and change orders. Work often must cease or efforts shifted, while the approvals or clarifications are received. Sometimes the work proceeds without approvals or clarification, which may not eventually be a correct decision.

Even the simplest project will incur deviations from the original project plans or intent. Short delays in change order approvals or RFI responses often result in scheduling delays, deficient quality, or remediation.

Implementing a document management program is critical for the success of any construction project:

1. The centralized document database must be word-searchable. It should identify each document in which a word/phrase appears.

2. Hierarchical access should be provided to all stakeholders.

3. All project documents should be archived (proposals, plans, revisions, RFI’s, change orders, shop drawings, punch lists, etc.).

4. Archive access should remain available throughout the project.

Document management through a digital archive will result in better quality control, swifter communication, fewer miscommunications and improved project quality.

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