Quality Management of CPD projects is primarily performed in two ways:
- Definition and continuous updating of solid design criteria, with milestone design documents reviewed against these criteria
- Extensive monitoring of construction quality through regular field visits and reports, with documentation tools that create a permanent record of all observed quality issues, and projects not eligible for Turnover until all quality issues have been resolved (or at minimum the vast majority of issues, and any issues that affect the User Group’s ability to operate the space)
Quality Management begins during Project Initiation with the development of the preliminary Owner’s Project Requirements, which serve as the first set of criteria against which early design submittals will be reviewed, with the OPR updated after review and approval of each set of milestone design documents. The updated OPR then serves as the benchmark for reviews of subsequent designs.
Once the project enters construction, the focus of the Quality Management program turns to observing work in place, documenting all non-conforming work, and pursuing resolution of all quality issues as conditions of Substantial Completion and Turnover.
A successful Quality Management plan will include the following aspects:
- Documenting key performance and program metrics in the OPR and reviewing each design submittal against these metrics
- Developing and memorializing consistent protocols for capturing and implementing technical and user group design reviews, and a protocol for closing out design review comments as a condition of entering the next design phase
- Defining specific testing that is required on all projects (materials, commissioning, etc.)
- Clearly outlining the quality management that is required by A/E and GC/CM agreements and the enforcement tools that are provided by the contracts
- Define a consistent tool (e.g. BIM 360) for documenting and resolving quality issues
- Use of e-Builder project management software for timely and appropriate approvals and responses of contractor submittals and requests for information
- Creating easily followed procedures for various stakeholders and their required commitments to visit the construction projects on a regular basis, and a process for capturing and resolving any site observations.
CPD has developed a template for a standard Quality Management Plan that can be customized to reflect the scale and specific scope of work for each project. The architecture and engineering team is the University’s primary advocate in assuring a high quality of construction, along with the University’s commissioning agent. The CPD project manager may also make his or her own observations on built quality, but the CPD PM’s primary role in quality management during construction is to enforce the resolution of all items noted by the A/E, Commissioning Agent, or representatives from the User and Technical groups.
If the A/E, commissioning agent, or user/technical representatives cite nonconforming work items that are not justified by the project’s drawings and specifications, the CPD PM will inform the relevant party that their observation is not supported by the documents, and the issues will be closed.