Construction Quality Assurance as part of CQM
Construction Quality Assurance (CQA) is a process to ensure that construction work is performed according to the contractual requirements as specified in contract documents and specifications and the Industry Standards referenced in them.
In the Construction Quality Management (CQM) Community of Practice (CoP), discussions on General Quality Improvements and Best Practices were presented and shared. However, in 2023, CQM.us will focus on Construction Quality Assurance to help distinguish the Construction Quality Control (CQC) activities from Construction Quality Assurance (CQA).
As many professionals are aware, CQC involves the inspection and verification of products (services or results of processes) to confirm that the quality requirements are achieved. However, for a successful CQC, proper Work Planning and Control (WPC) is required to plan and manage quality for both the Project and the final Product. WPC management is performed by Project Management Professionals to ensure Project Management and Quality Planning at Project Level per quality requirements flown down from the Enterprise Level CQM Program to ensure proper Quality Planning of CQC during task performance. It is the CQA’s purpose to ensure the Enterprise Level CQM is properly translated into requirements and implemented in Projects as they provide expertise for Quality Culture and Mindset based on Organization’s mission and core values in a QualityPMO. The goal of CQA is to prevent quality defects and issues by sharing lessons learned and risk identification based on graded-approach to proactively stop contractual non-conformances. This includes ensuring that the team of competent people receives the needed training to perform their tasks according to agreed plans and monitoring the performance. Upon detection of non-conformances, the CQA team acts as an investigation team to find root causes and recommend corrective action plans to prevent reoccurrence and share lessons learned.
Work Planning and Control for CQA
WPC in the context of the Department of Energy Quality Assurance stands for Work Planning and Control. It is a process used to plan, organize, execute, and control work activities to meet project goals and objectives. The goal of WPC is to ensure that work is executed safely, efficiently, and effectively, and that the work product meets the required quality standards. The WPC process is critical to the overall success of a project, as it helps to prevent problems, ensure that resources are utilized effectively, and maintain control over the project schedule. In the context of the Department of Energy, WPC may also encompass compliance with DOE quality assurance requirements, ensuring that work is performed according to established standards and regulations.