Quality Assurance for DOE
Department of Energy (DOE) has a very rigorous Quality Assurance Program (QAP) per the DOE Order 414.1 D requirements. The QAP has many guidelines and handbooks on how to assure quality for science projects as well as infrastructure projects. The main focus of the DOE complex is to safeguard safety, therefore there are many installation and construction-related guidelines and orders under the Environmental, Safety, and Health (ESH) orders and guidelines that apply to the Construction Work. In general, DOE QAP focuses on three categories: Management, Performance, and Assessments. However, there is no specific order or guideline on Construction Quality Assurance.
Business Operations
A Construction Manager with Business Administration or CMBA is the ideal professional to work as part of QualityPMO to ensure that the proper program structure, processes, and people are assigned to each part of the business. They understand the legal and business case aspects of the contract and will conform to issues compliance to satisfy the requirements.
Project Management
A Construction Project Management Professional with PMP certification that has expertise in Construction Management is the ideal candidate to lead the Work Planning and Control required for Construction Quality Assurance. Most DOE Construction Projects fall under the capital improvement and DOE O 413 requirements that PMP-certified professional managers could fully implement all PMBoK processes and procedures.
Guided Continuous Improvement
Part of any well-organized program is to self-assess and be prepared for external independent assessments. By studying Lessons Learned from other projects and collecting lessons from current activities, a QPMO is an ideal candidate to create a Quality Culture for Guided Continuous Improvement. Considering all the four domains of Business, Process, People, and Innovation, a QPMO helps the QualityPMO to understand Management Objectives and guide the team toward the success of the Business Mission.
