ITP QA/QC DOCUMENT

INSPECTION AND TEST PLAN (ITP)

Definition:
Inspection and Test Plan (hereafter called as: ITP) is one of the tool of
Quality Assurance program in which the detail description of the Quality
Control activities are performed (by the field/site quality person such as
field engineers and inspectors) in accordance with the planned and defined
quality standard and requirements. In other words, ITP functions as “a
bridge” between the Quality Assurance and Quality Control. The
inspection and test activity described in the ITP will cover the activities
before, during and after the process of the product realization (i.e.:
manufacturing, fabrication, construction, installation), to ensure that the
quality level of the product is within the acceptable design standards and
requirements.
How to Prepare an ITP:
In general the ITP should follow the sequence of operations and clearly
define who is responsible for signing off each check.
First decide when in the process you want to conduct an inspection or
check. Common hold points are prior to a phase of high cost/ high value
work, where any pre-existing problems will create difficulties at the next
stage, or will mean a high cost of re-work when discovered later in the
process.
For each check point you need to specify exactly what to look for (perhaps
refer to another document for details), how the check is recorded, and who
must perform/signoff the inspection.
Plan vs. Checklist:
An Inspection and Test Plan is not the same as an Inspection Checklist.
An ITP tells you when in the process to perform an inspection. The details
of the inspection are contained in the checklist, and are typically recorded
there.
An ITP might refer to different checklists for each inspection point, or
could refer to a code or standard that sets out the requirements for what
and how the check must be performed, e.g. AS1012 – Methods of Testing
Concrete. A simple ITP can closely match the checklist.
The Inspection and Test Plan is like a Work Instruction and the Checklist
is a form that becomes the actual record. Both the ITP and Checklist are
documents that must be controlled.
Procedure for making an ITP: 8 Steps:
1. Read Specification

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2. Drawing, Method statement & material submittal

3. Define activity description
4. Test or inspection performed
5. Stage or Frequency
6. Code or specification
7. Acceptance criteria
8. Inspection or verification

Read Specifications:
When you want to start writing the ITP, you must firstly read the
specification of the work that you are going to make an ITP for. Like
“Block Works” you should read carefully the whole specification, not only
once, but twice or much better, several times because there are terms
sometimes that you have to understand well. During your reading, you can
highlight the important terms so that when you come back you can
immediately track it.
The specification is your basis for writing ITP.
Drawing, Method statement & material submittal
Make sure that the drawing is approved, if not, make sure that it is being
submitted to the consultant because that will be incorporated in the ITP as
preliminaries. The same with the method statement and material submittal,
especially material submittal, there are some works that you’ll going to use
the technical data of a material and you are going to pick some acceptance
criteria’s from there. You will learn later in the next article how to identify
and write the “Acceptance Criteria.”
Define activity description:
You could ask yourself by saying “What could I inspect in the first place?”
In the specification that you’ve just read many times and perhaps you’d
found this word “preparation or examination” that could be a hint of an
activity that you are going to inspect first before the succeeding activity
proceeds.
Second, the word “Installation or Completed work” that would be
your succeeding inspection. Like for example in the activity of block
works, before the placing of a first level onto the slab, inspection shall be
done first for surface preparation. So your activity description will be
“Installation of block.”

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And third, if you find the word “Test” this one will be another an activity
that you should write. If the activity, for example, is block works, then
that’s usually written in the specification “test of block sample” or
sometimes “test of mortar.”
Test or inspection performed:
Let’s take this Inspection & Test Plan Sample, and see under the Test or
Inspection Performed column. You will just write “Approval” for the
documents that to be included such as the method statement, material
submittal and inspection and test plan.
And write “Visual” for the material and activity to be inspected.
Stage or Frequency:
We’ll just jump off to the material to be inspected because there is no
certain frequency for the documents or submittal. So we’ll go to the
material and define what the frequency is. Once the material arrives on site
then you may write the frequency “Every material arrive on site” or just
simply “Material Arrival on Site.”
If you have mock-up sample for block work activity then your frequency
there is going to be “1 wall panel (6 meters).”
In the activity of surface preparation and setting out your frequency there
would be “Prior to laying of every course.” The last activity is “Completed
block work” then your frequency there would be “Every completed
panel/area.”
Code or specification:
Under this column you will just write the corresponding code or
specification to the “Activity Description” you’ve written. The Clause
from the particular area of the specification. Like, for example
“Specification Section 07300 Clause 1.0” is where the word “Surface
Preparation” activity was written.
Acceptance criteria:
The acceptance criteria are the most important part of your ITP, why?
Because this is your basis how you are going to approve or accept the
material arrive and work done on site respectively. So think deeply about
this item.
In the “Block work” activity sample, let us say for
example materials. What will be your acceptance criteria? No thinking
twice, it would be “Approved Material Submittal as Code A/B or 1/2.”
You will then write it in the row of material in your ITP under acceptance
criteria column.

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How about the “Setting out and surface preparation” activity? In the
setting out activity, when you hear “setting out” it can immediately pop-up
into your mind that it is made by a surveyor, therefore your acceptance
criteria there would be a survey report, make sure the surveyor has signed
it off before you submit to the Engineer/Consultant.
The “Surface Preparation” activity, how do you accept that? It could
be surface is clean, surface is chipped-off etc. But that sentences are most
likely to be written in the Checklist. So, the most general term would
be “No unsatisfactory conditions.”
Inspection or verification:
Under the inspection or verification, there are three parties involved which
they are Contractor, Consultant or Engineer and Client or Employer. Now,
there are corresponding responsibilities or task these three parties are
involved in and to be represented by E as execution, was witness point and
has hold point. First is Contractor which normally the party who will
execute the project. Second, the consultant or engineer who will
commonly checked the work or material, the inspection criteria will be
either witness or hold.
The inspection process shall have the inspection criteria for every
Inspection and Test Plan item. Here are the following:
 Surveillance (S) = random attendance at site, no signature required
on the Inspection Request (IR) or its accompanying documentation.
 Execution (E) = attendance at site is a must, signature is always on
Inspection Request and Checklist.
 Witness (W) = attendance at site is expected, signature is required
on check sheet of Inspection Request (IR) and Checklist, but if the
signatory is not present to sign at the time, follow on work may
proceed and the document (s) singed later.
 Hold Point (H) = attendance at site is mandatory and signature is
required on the check sheet of Inspection Request at the time of the
inspection to release the following work.
 Review (R) = documents to be reviewed, no signature required on
the Inspection Request or its accompanying documentation.
 Records (RE) = documentation to be recorded, no signature
required on the Inspection Request or its accompanying
documentation.

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