PURPOSE
Successful projects are usually characterized by good planning, a quality design, and clear and biddable plans and specifications. The goal of every program is to deliver quality projects, on time and for the lowest total cost for complete project delivery. The surest approach to achieving the lowest total project cost is to focus on design quality and clarity. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the procedures and approaches that have been implemented, either throughout the Bureau or in certain programs of the Bureau, to manage project design and achieve both design quality and clarity.
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RESPONSIBILITIES
Program Manager: The Program Manager is responsible for establishing and enforcing effective quality assurance (QA) / quality control (QC) policies and procedures within the program. The Program Manager must communicate the importance of QA/QC throughout the program, monitor the effectiveness of the program, and make QA/QC changes as necessary should the program fail to achieve the goals of design quality and clarity.
Project Manager (PM): The PM is responsible to conduct QC on the project by using the QA procedures developed for the program. The PM bears the lead responsibility to assure that the final plans and specifications are of high quality and clarity.
Project Engineer (PE): The PE may share responsibility with the PM to conduct various aspects of the QA/QC program, such as design reviews and constructability review. The PE is also responsible to communicate the importance of QA/QC to all members of the design team.
Construction Manager (CM): The CM may be asked to participate in or even to manage the constructability review process. Participation by the CM is desirable because it affords him/her a complete understanding of the project.
PROCEDURE
Design Quality and Design Clarity
Achieving design quality is the foundation for keeping costs under control during construction. Nothing is more important than design quality. It must be stressed during all stages of project design, including planning and concept development, pre-design, detailed design, and bid and award. Effective construction management begins at the very beginning of a project because the costs of CM, including change orders and claims, are largely determined by the project’s design quality and clarity. Nothing provides a better return on investment than focusing Bureau resources to produce a quality design. Emphasizing design quality and design clarity is the surest way to minimize the amount of change orders and construction costs. There is no better or more effective way to control total project costs than producing well-documented, well-designed plans and specifications. Design quality is Job 1.
Plans and specifications must not only be of high quality, but they must also be clear, understandable, and constructible. The Contractor should know exactly what he/she is bidding. Areas of interpretation should be kept to a minimum because the Contractor’s interpretation may differ from the Project Engineer’s or the Inspector’s. Avoid ambiguity and be specific. Design clarity is Job 2.
The requirement for public bidding puts additional pressure on the Designer to achieve both quality and clarity in plans and specifications. Contractors have a right to bid the minimum equipment and material that meets the quality intent of the plans and specifications. Therefore, accuracy and consistency among the calculations, drawings, specifications, and all project documents are essential to achieving the desired project quality.
A balance must be achieved between the design cost of achieving higher levels of quality and clarity versus the expected cost reductions from lower change order costs. There comes a point in time where pursuing further quality and clarity is not cost-effective because the potential savings become less than design costs to achieve the higher quality. The dollar value of change orders issued during construction is one industry measure of whether a proper balance has been achieved. In general, a change order percentage of 5% of the construction value (CV) or less is taken as one measure that a reasonable level of design quality and clarity are being achieved. However, some projects may suffer from poor design quality without necessarily increasing change order costs. In the latter case, the number of issues that the CM team must resolve becomes the measure of design quality and clarity. As a general rule, never compromise on the normal QA/QC activities described in this chapter. They are designed to achieve the minimum required design quality and design clarity.
Definitions
Quality. A quality design means that the project, as constructed by the Contractor from the plans and specifications, will meet or exceed the standards and goals established for the project and will be delivered within the established budget and schedule. Project goals will usually include Owner requirements that the facility be safe, efficient and functional and meet objectives for maintainability and operability. The Owner may also specify the expected design life and life cycle costs to be achieved by the project’s facilities and equipment. Achieving a quality design also means that contractors can prepare competitive bids, and that the project is constructible and can be completed within reasonable schedules and with reasonable profits. A quality design must meet all regulatory requirements and conform to applicable laws, codes, regulations and policies. There are many aspects to the term “quality”, and it means different things to different people. The PM and PE must try to meet as many of the numerous expectations for quality as possible.
Quality Assurance (QA): Quality assurance is the program that establishes policies, procedures, guidelines, training, standards and other activities designed to assure an acceptable level of quality. The program must consider such matters as function, operability, maintainability, constructability, service life, life cycle economics and the adequacy of the documents that provide the product. The QA program encompasses everything that the Bureau does to assure design quality and clarity. The QA program provides a high level of certainty that quality standards are achieved.
Quality Control (QC): Quality control is the application of the policies, procedures, guidelines, training, standards and other activities developed by the Quality Assurance Program. QC is the application of the QA program and the use of its tools and activities to control design quality. The distinction between QA and QC is subtle and often the subject is simply referred to as QA/QC, a practice that will be used in this chapter.
RELATED PROCEDURES
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