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Management of Construction Conformance/Quality

1.1. Introduction to Quality Management

Quality has widely been recognized as a distinctive competency that can be used by business
to increase profitability and market share. The recognized success of Japanese firms with low
cost, high quality, reliable and innovative products has had considerable impact on the western
attitude to quality, particularly in forcing them to rethink their belief that quality is expensive
(Love et al. 1995). While this concept is well understood in the manufacturing industry, the
same cannot be claimed for the construction industry.

Customer satisfaction, which is of paramount importance in quality management, deals with

life-cycle cost, that is, after-sales service or the cost to users. Incidentally, in the construction
industry, while the supplier (constructor) is responsible for any defects up to defect liability
period or six months to one year from the date of completion, there is no provision that can
hold the supplier responsible for defects. Many times, the customer (user) takes possession of
the constructed facility much after the defect liability period is over and spends a huge sum of
money in rectification, which may at times be irreparable too. Also, most customers are not so
demanding with regard to the supplier (constructor/developer) because of their ignorance of
their rights.

Quality is defined in many different ways –

• It is the fitness for purpose.

• It is conformance to specification.
• It is about meeting or exceeding the needs of the customer.
• It is value for money.
• It is customer satisfaction/customer delight.
• It is doing it right the first time and every time.
• It is reduction of variability.

Quality management has broadly two aspects – Quality Assurance and Quality Control.
Inspection is also considered a part of quality management (generally as part of quality control).

Quality Management systems should follow the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle. The basic
processes under quality management system is outlined in the figure below.
As per ISO, the basic principles of project quality management are –

• Customer Focus
• Leadership
• Involvement of people
• Process Approach
• Systems Approach
• Continual Improvement
• Factual Approach to decision making
• Mutually beneficial supplier relationship

1.2. Inspection, Quality Control and Quality Assurance in Projects

Quality standards obtained from modern construction projects have not kept pace with
developments in technology and management in construction industry. Recurring incidents of
faulty design and construction have caused untold damage and loss of life and property.
Economic and legal implications of construction failures are nothing compared to the human
lives that are lost and the permanent or temporary physical, mental and psychological suffering.
Construction quality can be affected by:
 • Whether a clear set of design and drawings is available—sometimes the confusion in
design and drawings may show up in poor quality of construction
• Whether a clear, well-laid-out and unambiguous set of specifications is available
• Whether a clearly defined quality-control methodology exists
• Whether there has been usage of proper materials, workers and equipment during the
construction processes.

1.2.1. Quality Control

According to ISO, quality control is defined as a set of activities or techniques whose purpose
is to ensure that all quality requirements are being met. In order to achieve this purpose,
processes are monitored and performance problems are solved. Thus, quality control describes
those actions that provide the means to control and measure the characteristics of an item,
process, or facility against the established requirements.

In the context of construction, quality control is administered by the contractors or by the

specialist consultants such as consulting engineers or testing laboratories. Construction quality
control entails performing inspection, test, measurement and documentation necessary to
check, verify and correct the quality of construction materials and methods. Primary objectives
of construction quality control are to produce a safe, reliable and durable structure so that the
owner gets the best value for his investment. The construction industry does not abide by a
formal quality control programme as do the construction-related industries. Quality control on
some projects could be haphazard and inconsistent. Because of heterogeneity, it is impossible
to employ a uniform approach to check quality standards of construction work.

Three major quality control methods commonly used on construction projects are:

• Inspection
• Testing
• Sampling

Companies should first establish a minimum quality standard that will be the basics of
acceptance or rejection. Appropriate quality control methods can thereafter be used to judge if
variations are within the acceptable tolerances. Best results are obtained if quality control is
consistent and the techniques used are appropriate.
1.2.2. Quality Assurance
According to ISO, quality assurance is defined as a set of activities whose purpose is to
demonstrate that an entity (such as product, processes, person, department and organization)
meets all quality requirements. QA activities are carried out in order to inspire the confidence
of both customers and managers, that all quality requirements are being met.

In the context of construction, quality assurance activities include all those planned and
systematic administrative and surveillance functions initiated by project owner or regulatory
agents to enforce and certify, with adequate confidence, compliance with established project
quality standards to ensure that the completed structure and/or its components will fulfil the
desired purposes efficiently, effectively and economically. The increase in complexity in a
project has further increased the need for more efficient QA measures to ensure compliance
with contract specifications. Quality assurance programmes encompass the following:

• Establishing the procedure for defining, developing and establishing quality standards
in design, construction and sometimes the operational stages of the structure and/or its
components
• Establishing the procedure to be used to monitor, test, inspect, measure and perform
current and review activities to assure compliance with established quality standards,
with regard to construction materials, methods and personnel
• Defining the administrative procedure and requirements, organizational relationships
and responsibilities, communications and information patterns, and other management
activities required to execute, document and assure attainment of the established quality
standards.

It can be commonly observed that engineers/contractors use the term QA and QC

interchangeably, which is not correct. While QA is a construction management process, QC is
a sampling or inspection process. The focus in quality assurance is on defect prevention, while
the focus in quality control is on defect detection once the item is constructed. In fact, it can be
said that quality control is an element of a quality assurance programme.

1.2.3. Inspection
Inspection usually entails checking the physical appearance of an item against what is required.
Activities such as measuring, examining, testing and gauging one or more characteristics of a
product or service and comparing this with specified requirements are part of inspection. It is
generally a non-destructive qualitative observation such as checking performance against
descriptive specifications and, thus, it could be subjective in nature. In some cases, gauges or
machines may be required to do some simple measurements or examinations. Collecting
concrete cube samples and testing them for quality interpretation is one of the most common
examples of inspection in concrete construction operation. The three common levels of
inspection are -

(1) at the time of receiving the raw materials, parts, assemblies and other purchased items;
(2) at the time of processing; and
(3) final inspection prior to acceptance of product.

The process of inspection is undertaken in a structured way using checklists.

A sample checklist is shown below:

LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED - ECC DIVISION

QUALITY FORMAT
Format - L&T/MS/C-04/F02
CHECK LIST FOR FORMWORK
Project : Date:
Area / Building : Time:
Description of Work / Drg Ref. : Cum:

Description Items / Check Required Actual Remarks

A.FORMWORK STAGING 1.FORMWORK SCHEME

2.DISTANCE BETWEEN ADJACENT

MEMBERS
3.BASE COMPACTION
4.VERTICALITY/BRACINGS

B. FORMWORK FIXING 1.MATERIAL

2.TYPE
3.DIMENSIONS
4.LINE
5.LEVEL
6.VERTICALITY/PLUMB
7.RIGHT ANGLE
8.GABDI SHUTTERS
9.CUTOUTS
10.GROUT TIGHTNESS
11.STRIPPING TIME

L&T Engineer Customer

1.3. The PMI Framework of Quality Control

Control Quality is the process of monitoring and recording results of executing the quality
management activities in order to assess performance and ensure the project outputs are
complete, correct, and meet customer expectations. The key benefit of this process is verifying
that project deliverables and work meet the requirements specified by key stakeholders for final
acceptance. The Control Quality process determines if the project outputs do what they were
intended to do. Those outputs need to comply with all applicable standards, requirements,
regulations, and specifications. This process is performed throughout the project. The inputs,
tools and techniques, and outputs of this process are depicted in the figure below.

1.3.1. Inputs for Quality Control

• Project Management Plan: Provides the project quality plan which states how QM will
be performed within project.

• Project Documents:

– Quality Metrics: Limits & Tolerances, on-time performances, budget control,

defect frequency, failure rate etc.

– Lessons learnt register: Inputs from past project data related to quality.

– Test and Evaluation Documents: Guidelines that establish the testing and
evaluation procedures. Inspection and Test Plan.
• Approved Change Request: Defect Repairs, revised work methodologies, revised
schedules etc.

• Deliverables: Unique result that must be produced to complete a project.

• Work Performance Measurement: Planned v/s Actual data for technical, schedule & cost
performance.

• Organizational Process Assets: Quality standards, policies, work methods, issue & defect
reporting procedures etc.

• Enterprise Environmental Factors: Project management information system; quality

management software can be used to track errors and variations in processes or
deliverables; Governmental agency regulations; and Rules, standards, and guidelines
specific to the application area of the tasks in the construction project.

1.3.2. Tools and Techniques for Quality Control

• Data Gathering:
– Checklists and Check Sheets are tools to gather data for quality control. They are
descriptive (Checklist) and express the frequency of observed quality issues (Check
sheets).
– Statistical sampling: Choosing a part of population of interest for inspection of
conformity to standards.
– Questionnaire and Surveys: This tool is useful to test the user’s opinion on the
intended quality of the product or service delivered by the company. In
construction, this is rarely used during the project. Post hand-over, there may be use
of such tools.
• Data Analysis:
– Performance Reviews: Performance reviews measure, compare, and analyze the
quality metrics defined by the Quality Management Plan against the actual results.
– Root Cause Analysis: Root cause analysis is an analytical technique used to
determine the basic underlying reason that causes a variance, defect, or risk. A root
cause may underlie more than one variance, defect, or risk. It may also be used as a
technique for identifying root causes of a problem and solving them. When all root
causes for a problem are removed, the problem does not recur.
• Inspection: Reviews, peer reviews, audits, walkthroughs-examination of work to
determine conformity to documented standards.
• Testing/Product Evaluations: Testing is an organized and constructed investigation
conducted to provide objective information about the quality of the product or service under
test in accordance with the project requirements.
The intent of testing is to find errors, defects, bugs, or other nonconformance problems in
the product or service. The type, amount, and extent of tests needed to evaluate each
requirement are part of the project quality plan and depend on the nature of the project,
time, budget, and other constraints.
Tests can be performed throughout the project, as different components of the project
become available, and at the end of the project on the final deliverables. Early testing helps
identify nonconformance problems and helps reduce the cost of fixing the nonconforming
components.
In construction projects, testing may include cement strength, concrete workability test,
nondestructive tests at construction sites for testing the quality of hardened concrete
structures, and soil tests.
Inspection and Test Plan helps in setting up a systematic outline of how to conduct
testing/product/process evaluation in construction projects.
A sample Inspection and Test Plan is shown in the figure below.
Sl. Component/ Method of Quantum Reference Format of Agency
No. Process Nature of Check / Test Check of Check Document Record L&T Client

Form Work Ensure availability of formwork scheme

drawing for all structures
a. Check for staging, Inspection All Floors IS 456/Drgs/ Check list C R
- FORMWORK SCHEME Scheme Drgs based on drg/
- BASE COMPACTION Format-
- DISTANCE BETWEEN ADJACENT MEMBERS C-04/F02
- VERTICALITY/BRACING
b. Check for formwork fixing (Check list for Inspection/ -do- Drawings /Method -do- C R
stagewise control to be prepared based Measurement Statement
on drawing for all major activities)
- MATERIAL
- DIMENSIONS
- LINE
- LEVEL
- VERTICALITY/PLUMB
- RIGHT ANGLE
- GABDI SHUTTERS
- LEAK TIGHT JOINTS
- CLEANLINESS
- APPLICATION OF FORM RELEASE AGENT
c. Stripping time Inspection -do- As per Clause 11.3 Format- C R
of IS 456 C-04/F02

• Data Representation:
– Cause and Effect Diagram: The Cause and Effect Diagram (Ishikawa Diagram)
is a popular group decision making tool to identify root causes of quality defects in
construction projects.
 – Control charts: Control charts are used to determine whether or not a process is
stable or has predictable performance. Upper and lower specification limits are
based on the requirements and reflect the maximum and minimum values allowed.
Upper and lower control limits are different from specification limits.
The control limits are determined using standard statistical calculations and
principles to ultimately establish the natural capability for a stable process. The
project manager and appropriate stakeholders may use the statistically calculated
control limits to identify the points at which corrective action will be taken to
prevent performance that remains outside the control limits.
Control charts can be used to monitor various types of output variables. Although
used most frequently to track repetitive activities required for producing
manufactured lots, control charts may also be used to monitor cost and schedule
variances, volume, frequency of scope changes, or other management results to help
determine if the project management processes are in control.
– Histograms: Histograms show a graphical representation of numerical data.
Histograms can show the number of defects per deliverable, a ranking of the cause
of defects, the number of times each process is noncompliant, or other
representations of project or product defects.
– Scatter Diagrams: A scatter diagram is a graph that shows the relationship between
two variables. Scatter diagrams can demonstrate a relationship between any element
of a process, environment, or activity on one axis and a quality defect on the other
axis.
• Meetings: Two approaches (types of meetings) can be used to control quality as part of
collaborative decision making.
– Approved change requests review. All approved change requests should be
reviewed to verify that they were implemented as approved. This review should
also check that partial changes are completed and all parts have been properly
implemented, tested, completed, and certified.
– Retrospectives/lesson learned. A meeting held by a project team to discuss:
▪ Successful elements in the project/phase,
▪ What could be improved,
▪ What to incorporate in the ongoing project and what in future projects, and
▪ What to add to the organization process assets
1.3.3. Outputs of Quality Control
• Quality control measurements: Documented results of QC activities.
• Validated Changes: Changed or repaired item is inspected for further acceptance or
rejection.
• Validated Deliverables: Inspection of targeted milestone completion for further
acceptance or rejection.
• Organizational Process Asset Update: Compilation of completed checklists & lessons
learnt documentation.
• Change Requests: Incorporation of major change in product or process into project
management plan.
• Project Management Plan Update: Incorporation of QC inputs into QIP.
• Project Document Update: Updating Quality Standards based on QC activities and their
outcome.

1.4. Standard Documents used in Construction Sites for Quality Management

The table below outlines the standard practices and documents that construction projects
generally follow.

1.5. Non-Conformance

Non-conformance is the non-fulfilment of requirement. It can be there for quality management

system, or ISO 9001: 2000, or customer satisfaction, or legislation, or regulatory body.

Non-conformance can be either major or minor. It is graded as a major non-conformance if no

evidence of adherence to a procedure/system element is found or if there is a major risk to final
product or service quality. The non-conformance is a minor one if there is limited evidence of
compliance with the procedure or there is no appreciable risk to final product or service quality.

The non-conformance report should contain the relevant clause of the audit standard, the
reference of procedure, the location, the mention of particular activity where non-conformance
has been observed, the nature of problem, the evidence, and the scale of problem mentioning
whether non-conformance is to be graded as major or minor.

The procedure for non-conformance identification and rectification is shown the diagram
below.

A sample non-conformance report is shown in the figure below.

1.6. The QMS Responsibility Matrix

A construction site team needs to distribute the responsibilities to manage different quality
management system (QMS) functions for client satisfaction and zero-defect outputs. The
responsibility matrix is shown in the table below.