Posted by Ed Caldeira on Thu, Jul 01, 2010 @ 08:52 AM
Developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the three phases of control are required for all military construction projects and are the core of their Construction Quality Management Systems.
In fact, in addition to the USACE, the Navy Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), the Air Force Civil Engineering Support Facility (AFCESA) and The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have all adopted the quality control policies and procedures that make up the Three-Phase Control System.
So what are the three phases of control? As the owner of a construction company, you may already be performing them, but you'll need to explain how in your construction quality control plan.
Essentially, if you’re reviewing your construction project requirements before you begin work, making sure your work starts correctly, and monitoring your work in process, then you’re performing the three phases of control. There’s a bit more to it than that, but that’s it in a nutshell.
To give you a general understanding of what’s involved, I’ve put together a brief summary of the steps you’ll follow for each construction task, or as the Corps of Engineers calls them, for each Definable Feature of Work (DFOW).
Phase 1 - Preparatory Phase
The Preparatory Phase occurs usually days or weeks in advance, before you begin each construction task or DFOW. For this phase, your superintendent should do the following:
- Review all the requirements for the task
- Assess the current situation
- Inspect the jobsite
- Review the findings with staff, subcontractors, and the client
Phase 2 - Initial Phase
The Initial Phase occurs just prior to giving the go-ahead to begin work and ensures that the task will start correctly. For this phase, your site supervisor should do the following:
- Check that all requirements for personnel, materials, and equipment are in place
- Verify that the site has passed its job-ready inspection
- Inspect the first article (after work begins) to make sure that it is appropriate to continue work
Phase 3 - Follow-up Phase
The Follow-Up Phase occurs throughout the construction task. For this phase, your site supervisor should do the following:
- Monitor work on a daily basis to assure that all job requirements are being met in a timely manner
- Verify that the tasks or DFOW are being performed correctly up until their completion
To see how our construction quality control plan templates address the three phases of control, look at our cross-reference table of USACE requirements and download a USACE-Navfac sample.
The three phases of control are something every construction company should be implementing. Not only do they ensure a consistent level of quality, by having your Three-Phase Control System in place, you’ll also have one more element that project owners are looking for in a quality-driven company.
Posted by Ed Caldeira on Fri, Jan 22, 2010 @ 04:13 PM
If you want a shot at winning a government construction contract, you'll want to dive in and tackle the mound of documents you'll need for your comprehensive quality control plan.
Quality control plans for government contracts require a substantial collection of documents, records, and forms. Their purpose is to communicate what you do to assure consistent quality results on every job.
A good quality control plan will show your clients that your company can fit into their quality systems.
What documents do you need?Most government agencies with comprehensive QA/QC requirements want specific submittals during each phase of construction. The phases include:
- Bid Qualification Phase
- Pre-Construction Phase
- Construction Phase
Here is a list of most of the documents or submittals you'll need for each phase of construction.
Bid Qualification Phase Submittal Documents - qualify your company to manage and deliver quality work
Pre-Construction Phase Submittal Documents -part of your project quality plan-- detail how you will manage and deliver quality on this project.
- Organization Chart – identifies the management team responsible for ensuring project quality
- Quality Personnel’s Qualifications form – lists the qualifications of your quality management team
- Quality Personnel’s Appointment letter– gives your quality management team authority for ensuring project quality
- Quality Training Plan – establishes your training plan for quality-related activities
- Regulatory codes and standards form - lists the regulatory codes and standards you comply with
- Industry standards form – outlines the industry standards you comply with
- Inspection and Test Plan form– describes the inspections and tests you conduct
- Selection of key suppliers and subcontractors form – explains you supplier and subcontractor selection process
- Material and equipment specification form – records specifications for the material and equipment you use
- Communications plan form - records a summary of monthly project status reports
Construction Phase Submittal Documents - provide a record of how you carried out your project quality plan
- Inspection and Test Records – records the results from your planned inspections and tests
- Nonconformance Reporting – documents any work or materials found during inspections and tests that don’t meet (conform to) your standards
- Daily Construction Reporting – summarizes what happened on the job site that day
- Training Records – lists training sessions that were conducted for preventive as well as improvement purposes
- Quality System Audits – defines the preventive actions you take because of your monthly project quality system audits and your annual company-wide quality system audit.
- Document Control Records – explains the controls you use to keep your quality system records up-to-date, accurate, and safe
The way you show your client that you have a good QA/QC program with good systems in place is by showing them your system documentation. In other words, you need to show them a good quality control plan.
Get started with developing your quality control plan by documenting the quality processes you do now.
Follow that up with a plan to improve upon your existing quality systems, and you'll be ready for that government construction contract.
And, don't forget... always document your quality processes.
Get Two Free Project Quality Plan Submittal Forms.
About the Author - Ed Caldeira is founder of Caldeira Quality, specializing in
First Time Quality construction quality programs and
FTQ360 performance management software. He can be reached at
www.FirstTimeQuality.com.