QUALITY MANAGEMENT

IN CONSTRUCTION
PROJECTS

Basic elements of quality

1. Quality characteristics
2. Quality of design
3. Quality conformance

1.Quality characteristics
Dimension, strength, colour,
temperature, and for concrete slump, size of aggregates, water
cement ratio, surface finish,
compressive strength, etc.

2.Quality of design
Desired
standards
for
the
characteristics
that
define
a
product and also the tolerances for
acceptable variations from the
standard
If very high standards of quality
and stiff tolerances are set, this
will increase the cost of the
project.

3.Quality conformance

It is affected by
1. The field construction methods skill
of the workers, the efficiencies of the
tools and equipment used and the
quality of the materials.
2. Supervision
enforced
and
the
managerial controls applied to direct
the working crew to conform to the
plans and specifications
3. Inspection
and
quality
control
procedures that are applied.

Requireme
nts of the
owner

Site
construction
methods
Supervision &
control
inspection

Criteria
for
design

Engineerin
g & design
process

Degree of
conformance
to
specifications

Technical
specificati
ons

Quality
of
construc
ted
structur
e

Organisation for quality control

Construction
provide:

Manager

is

qualified

to

The CM will provide Quality Assurance

and monitor the day-by-day construction
quality control activities performed by
construction
contractors
to
verify
compliance with the contract plans and
specifications.
The CM will also manage, coordinate,
and administer all QC/QA activities and
requirements,
including
those
of
subcontractors.

 Construction contractors are responsible

for the quality control of their constructed
work product as well as the necessary
inspections and tests required to ensure
that their work complies with the contract
documents.

Site Manager monitors and works to approve

each contractors quality, and progress
reports to ensure that the project is meeting
the contract requirements.
The SM will manage the field implementation of
the Construction Quality Assurance Plan at
the project sites under control of the senior
field engineer (FE) and the Construction QA
Officer.

Construction Quality Assurance Officer

The CQAO reports directly to the CM.

Field Engineer
The FE reviews QC and QA testing
documentation with contractors, engineers,
and inspectors.
The FE also reviews the plans and
specifications and estimates the type and
number of QA tests that should be
accomplished for each activity.
The FE meets with third-party testing and
inspection firms to review test requirements
and coordinate testing and inspection
services.

INSPECTION AND VERIFICATION ACTIVITIES

Quality control plans will cover the type, test

standard, frequency, control requirements,
and assigned responsibility for inspections
and tests.
The CM will review and approve these plans
Contractors shall perform the inspections and
tests as prescribed in the technical
specifications

 QA inspection and testing will be used

to
verify
the
adequacy
and
effectiveness of the contractor QC
program.
The QA inspection and testing frequency
will be at the discretion of the CQAO
based on results of QC tests, evaluation
of daily reports, audits of the QC
program
and
verification
testing
conducted by the CM and owners third
party testing firm.

Inspection and Testing Plan

Materials qualification testing will be

done prior to construction to verify that
the materials comply with requirements
of the specifications.
The contractor will obtain representative
samples of the materials designated at
the proposed source of the materials.
Test samples will be sent by the
contractor to the Testing Laboratory.
For soils, sampling and analysis will be
performed by the contractor on the
onsite borrow material source.

Sampling
This is the process of determining the quality
of a large group by examining a part of the
group that is representative of the whole
group.
If the size of the sample is large, the reliability
of the information obtained is more, but cost
of inspection increases.
Reliability = 100
No. of defective units x
100
No. of units tested

Mean
=
+..+ xn

=
N

Standard deviation
( x x )2

N1
V

x 100

x1 + x 2 + x3

 Smaller the standard deviation higher is

the degree of conformity.
standard deviation is an absolute measure
of dispersion but coefficient of variation is
a relative measure of dispersion. It is used
when the variability of 2 or more groups
are to be compared.
If the variation is less means more
consistent and homogeneous is the
(eg.)concrete mix.

Follow-Up Inspection

The contractor and the CM perform follow-up

inspections daily.
Ensure continuing compliance with
Contract requirements.
Ensure continuing compliance with control
testing until completion of particular
feature of work.
The CM inspection staff records follow-up
inspections in their daily inspection report.
Conduct final follow-up inspections and
correct test deficiencies prior to the
addition of new features of work.

DOCUMENTATION
Project documents will be managed through a
combination of a secure document filing and storage
system and a computerized document tracking system.
Sufficient records shall be prepared and maintained as
work is performed to furnish documentary evidence of
the quality of construction and laboratory analysis and of
activities affecting quality.
Each contractor QC technician shall maintain a daily log
of all inspections performed for both contractor and
subcontractor operations on a form acceptable to the CM.
The Daily Inspection and Daily Test reports shall be
signed by the responsible QC technician and the QCM.
The CM shall be provided at least one copy of each daily
inspection and test report on the work day following the
day of record.

DAILY CONSTRUCTION REPORT

A daily construction report will be prepared and
signed by each FE and FI.
The report will include a summary of the contractors
daily construction activities.
Supporting inspection data sheets will be attached
to the daily report where needed.
the daily construction report will include the following
information:
1. Date, project name, location, and other
identification
2. Description of weather conditions, including
temperature, cloud cover, and precipitation
3.Reports on any meetings held and their results
4.Record of visitors to site

5. Locations of construction underway during that

day
6. Equipment and personnel working in each
activity, including subcontractors
7. Descriptions of work being inspected
8. Decisions made regarding approval of units of
material or of work, and corrective actions to be
taken
9. Description of problems or delays and resolution
10. Communications with contractor staff
11. Construction activities completed and/or in
progress
12. Progress photos, where applicable
13. Signature of the report preparer

INSPECTION AND TESTING REPORT

1. Description or title of the inspection

activity
2. Location of the inspection activity or
location from which the sample was
obtained
3. Recorded observation or test data
4. Results of the inspection activity
5. Personnel involved in the inspection
activity
6. Signature of the inspector

Quality control circles

In addition to the quality control

team, quality control circle, which is
a small group formed voluntarily
within the organisation.
Employees from all hierarchal levels
meet to discuss the problems and
find solutions.

Planning of construction
projects

Principles of planning
The plan should form a basis for
project monitoring and control
It should be flexible
It should be realistic
It should be comprehensive

roles of planning

Initial screening
Designing
Tendering
Constructing
commissioning

advantages of planning
When the contractor prepares the
network schedule, he studies the
work properly.
A detailed programme in conjunction
with cost control can prevent the loss
of money.
Planning lays down a preconceived
programme not only for the whole
project but also for the various
stages of work.

stages of planning
Preplanning
Detailed planning
Monitoring and control

types of plans

Standing plan
Single use plan
Strategic plan
Administrative plan

Standing plan
Plans which are used repeatedly and
include the managements policies,
procedures and rules.

Single use plan

Used for single purpose
Designed to accomplish specific
objective within a relatively short
period of time

Strategic plan
Concerned with broad matters that
affect the development of an
organisation
The factors being economic,
technological and environmental
Emphasis is given to predicting the
future behaviour of external
variables and formulation of
alternative types of action in the light
of the expected events

Administrative plan
Less subjective than strategic plan
Focuses on how to accomplish the
objective of the project or the
organisation
Concerned with factors within the
control of the organisation

Agencies involved in
planning
Owner
Builder/contractor