Quality Control and Assurance in Construction Project Management

14 May 2023

In the construction industry, quality management is crucial to the success of any given endeavor. After all, it’s essential for ensuring safety, compliance with building codes, and overall stakeholder satisfaction.

Within the domain of quality management, quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) are two essential components. While frequently used interchangeably, these terms represent distinct processes that work together to create effective quality management systems for safer onsites and better project delivery.

This article will look at quality control and quality assurance in construction project management. We’ll also go over how XYZ Reality’s solutions are revolutionizing the way that construction projects are built, and how they can help with ensuring quality.

What is quality assurance (QA) in construction?

In construction, quality assurance refers to the planned activities implemented to ensure that a construction project meets required specifications. It focuses on developing plans to verify that processes are properly executed and that quality results are achieved.

To ensure that all processes and deliverables adhere to established criteria, quality assurance usually involves the:

• Establishment of objectives and performance indicators

• Creation of quality plans, procedures, and guidelines

• Evaluation of project requirements

The purpose of quality assurance is, in essence, to provide assurance that the project will satisfy or exceed customer and regulatory expectations.

In this regard, XYZ Reality's Engineering Grade AR™ solution proves to be incredibly useful, as professionals can validate construction at every phase. Visualizing the project’s design in real time can help immensely with optimizing the construction process at every stage. With XYZ Reality, you can better ensure that project delivery meets quality standards.

What is quality control (QC) in construction?

While quality assurance is a proactive approach that focuses on preventing defects and noncompliance, quality control is centered more on the inspection and fulfillment elements of quality management.

In other words, quality control in construction refers to the systematic procedures that ensure that construction activities, materials, and workmanship end up conforming to predetermined requirements.

It takes place during different phases of the construction process to identify any potential issues via the execution of:

• Inspections

• Tests

• Evaluations

The main objective of quality control is to promptly identify and correct problems. By minimizing defects and rework, it becomes easier to ensure that the final product meets intended quality standards.

Applications of quality assurance and quality control in construction projects

Here’s how quality control and quality assurance are applied to different stages of a construction project.

The pre-design phase

During the pre-design phase, quality assurance takes priority. A quality assurance manager conducts exhaustive research on all building requirements, including those pertaining to team tasks and necessary supplies.

They organize all documentation, clarify standards, and ensure that all teams and quality control officers are aware of what to look for and how to adhere to the procedures.

Implementing design standards

In the phases of design and planning, quality control is crucial. Quality control officers evaluate the project’s plan to determine if it meets the decided-upon quality assurance standards. They ensure compliance with design requirements and building codes, approving designs, revisions, and proposed materials.

If any aspect of the project fails to satisfy required standards, it’s the duty of the quality control officer to rectify the situation.

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Approving construction materials

The quality assurance manager is responsible for establishing the standards for supplies and materials, while the quality control officer is responsible for approving them, ensuring that the materials delivered by suppliers satisfy quality requirements.

If low-quality supplies are received, the quality control officer must rectify the situation in accordance with the procedures established by the quality assurance manager. This ensures that construction can proceed without modification, preventing delays.

Maintaining quality throughout construction

During the construction phase, supervisors are responsible for validating the quality of the work being conducted.

Quality assurance managers provide supervisors with all pertinent documentation and knowledge, with supervisors then verifying the integrity of work and its adherence to protocols.

If problems are identified, the supervisor is then expected to address them expeditiously, possibly introducing additional training or refresher courses to enhance the quality of work.

This collaboration between supervisors and quality control officers reduces the number of revisions required and maintains the project's timeline and budget.

Commissioning

After construction is complete, commissioning is conducted and a team carries out a final building inspection, going around and checking to make sure everything works as intended. The inspection also identifies any components that don’t follow code requirements, taking note of those that do.

At this point, the quality assurance manager's procedures take center stage, with measures to take if the building fails inspection. If the structure passes inspection, the quality assurance officer and quality control officer can leave the project and proceed to the next one.

Ensure project quality with XYZ Reality

XYZ Reality offers innovative solutions that are revolutionizing the way projects are built.

Our Atom headset superimposes holograms onto building sites to allow you to visualize the project as a reality before your eyes. Construction professionals can visually check and verify construction components in real time, improving safety, accuracy, and performance.

With the XYZ Platform, you can manage all underlinings of XYZ, whether that’s all things BIM, AR, dashboards, data, models, and more.

Book a demo with XYZ today!