The 3-Phase Quality Control System
👋 Welcome to The Influential Project Manager, a weekly newsletter covering the essentials of successful project leadership.
Today’s Overview:
One Framework: Learn how the US Army Corps of Engineers' renowned system ensures consistent, high-quality construction projects by focusing on prevention, detection, and correction.
One Breakdown: The Ingredients of an Effective Pre-Installation Meeting. Discover the essential elements that make a pre-installation meeting truly effective - clear communication, setting expectations, and identifying potential challenges, to name a few.
Freebie: Don't miss my gift to you – a pre-installation meeting agenda template to help streamline your pre-install process and keep your team on track.
The 3-Phase Quality Control System
There are 7 factors that need to be managed and controlled on a construction project in order to produce a successful outcome for the owner and all parties involved.
Cost
Time
Quality
Quantity
Safety
Relationships
Function
Today we’re going to focus on Quality.
Specifically, a proven framework to help you optimize it.
When things are done with poor quality, all hell breaks loose. Various negative consequences will start to surface, impacting not only the project but also the stakeholders involved.
In effort to support the quality initiatives on your projects, I’m sharing with you an effective framework that has served me well throughout my career: The Three Phase Quality Control System.
Developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the three phases of control are required for all military-related quality control plans and are the core of their Construction Quality Management Systems.
This framework is intended to be used for each “Defined Feature of Work” (DFOW). For example:
Exterior Metal Panels
Bathroom Tile
Concrete Slab on Grade
Patient Room Headwalls
Rooftop Mechanical Screen Walls
It is highly effective on projects due to its systematic, proactive, and comprehensive approach to ensuring quality.
The system consists of three key phases:
Preparatory Phase
Initial Phase
Follow-Up Phase
Each phase plays a crucial role in promoting quality, catching errors, troubleshooting bugs, and preventing defects.
As a best practice, I’ll have my projects run every scope and feature through the 3 phases. More complicated scopes and features will get more attention, but this framework serves as a reliable baseline.
To give you a solid understanding of what’s involved, let’s look at each of the steps you’ll follow for each project scope/feature:
1. Preparatory Phase:
“Site conditions not discovered before breaking ground become deep holes, filling up with money and delays.”
Before beginning any work on a project, the project team conducts a preparatory meeting with the relevant stakeholders.
The preparatory meeting is also commonly referenced as a “Pre-Installation Meeting.”
During this meeting/phase, the teams discuss and review the project requirements, specifications, details, materials, equipment, and safety measures related to the scope of work.
The goal is to verify that materials and equipment meet requirements and workers are trained and qualified for their tasks.
The group also identifies any potential issues or challenges and proposes solutions to mitigate them. This phase ensures that everyone involved in the project is aware of the expectations and requirements before work begins.
During this phase, the Project Management team should do the following:
Host a thorough pre-installation conference meeting with applicable stakeholders
Review and flush out all the requirements for the task(s)
Assess the current situation, inspect the job site
Review the findings with staff, subcontractors, design team, and the client
Correct any challenges identified prior to starting the work
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.
In this phase, construction activities commence under the supervision of the project team. The subcontractor begins the initial phase by performing a small portion of the work as a trial or demonstration.
The team inspects the initial work to ensure it meets project specifications and quality standards. This phase allows for immediate detection and correction of any issues, creating a culture of continuous improvement and ensuring that subsequent work is of high quality.
The initial phase serves as a benchmark for quality throughout the project.
During this phase, the Project Management team should do the following:
Inspect the first-in-place (after work begins) to make sure that it is appropriate to continue work
Check that all requirements for personnel, materials, and equipment are in place
Verify that the site has passed its job-ready inspection
3. Follow Up Phase
The Follow-Up Phase occurs throughout the rest of the construction activity.
This phase involves regular monitoring, inspection, and documentation of the ongoing construction work.
During the follow-up phase, the team is to continuously monitor and inspect the work to ensure that the established quality standards are being maintained. Regular inspections and documentation help identify any deviations from the project specifications or quality requirements.
The follow-up phase promotes accountability and ensures that the final product meets the required standards.
During this phase, the Project Management team should do the following:
Regular inspections and documentation of the work
Monitor work on a daily basis to assure that all job requirements are being met in a timely manner
Verify that the tasks are being performed correctly up until their completion
One Breakdown:
The Ingredients for an Effective Pre-Installation Meeting
“Pre-Installation meetings set the framework for kicking off the construction phase. Make yours dynamic, informative and participatory so everybody hits the ground running in the right direction.”
A pre-installation meeting is one of the most important meetings on a project.
The pre-installation meeting is where the “nuts and bolts” details are discussed.
The time and energy invested into the pre-install will have a return on investment worth more than you think. I strongly recommend you prioritize your time and energy so these meetings are properly prepared for and facilitated.
These meetings work best when they take place two to three weeks prior the actual installation. This way the information is fresh in everyone’s mind, and there’s enough time to gather all the required materials or equipment.
An effective pre-installation coordination meeting involves thorough planning, clear communication, and active participation from all stakeholders.
Here are the 7 key components to develop for hosting such a meeting:
Meeting Objectives: Clearly define the goals and objectives of the meeting to ensure all attendees understand its purpose and expected outcomes.
Attendee List: Invite representatives from all relevant trades, including subcontractors, suppliers, and other stakeholders, to ensure comprehensive coordination and collaboration.
Agenda: Develop a detailed agenda that outlines the topics to be discussed, allocates time for each item, and designates presenters or discussion leaders (free template below).
Meeting Materials: Provide all necessary documents, drawings, details, and specifications to the attendees in advance to ensure they come prepared for the meeting.
Meeting Logistics: Choose a suitable date, time, and location for the meeting, and communicate these details to all attendees well in advance. Make sure the venue has the necessary equipment and facilities for presentations and discussions.
Meeting Facilitation: Designate a skilled facilitator to lead the meeting, keep discussions focused, and make sure all agenda items are covered within the allotted time.
Action Items and Follow-Up: Clearly assign responsibilities, deadlines, and action items during the meeting, and document these for future reference. Schedule follow-up meetings as necessary to track progress and address any outstanding issues.
One Template:
[Free] Pre-Installation Meeting Agenda
“You can tell a lot about a project by the pre-installation meeting questions that come up.”
In effort to help you put this new framework to use, here's an template agenda you can use for your “Phase 1 - Preparatory Phase” Pre-Installation Coordination Meeting:
Welcome and Introductions (5 minutes)
Meeting facilitator to welcome attendees and provide a brief overview of the meeting objectives
Project Overview (10 minutes)
General Contractor to present a high-level overview of the project, including key milestones and timelines
Trade-Specific Installations (60 minutes)
Each trade representative to present their installation plan/details, highlighting any potential coordination issues or conflicts with other trades
Discussion of possible solutions and resolution of conflicts
Trade-to-Trade discussion & commentary
Site Logistics and Safety (15 minutes)
General contractor to present site logistics, including access, storage, and staging areas for each trade
Review of site-specific safety requirements and protocols
Quality Control and Inspection (10 minutes)
General contractor to outline quality control measures and inspection processes for each trade
Schedule and Sequencing (20 minutes)
Review and confirmation of installation schedule and sequencing for all trades
Discussion of any necessary adjustments to accommodate coordination requirements
Communication and Coordination (10 minutes)
Establish a communication plan for ongoing coordination between trades throughout the installation process
Designate points of contact and discuss preferred communication methods
Action Items and Next Steps (10 minutes)
Recap of action items, responsibilities, and deadlines assigned during the meeting
Scheduling of follow-up meetings or site visits, if necessary
Open Discussion and Q&A (10 minutes)
Allow time for any additional questions or concerns to be addressed
Meeting Adjournment (1 minute)
Meeting facilitator to thank attendees for their participation and adjourn the meeting
I can’t emphasis enough the added value of including as many other members of the project team or other stakeholders as possible.
I’ve overseen hundreds of installations, and I can truly say our best ones are those which begin with a pre-installation meeting that is attended by all representatives from the installing contractor, the GC/CM, the designers, QA/QC people, City staff, other trades affected by the work, etc.
I know there never seems to be a good time for anyone to fit in another meeting, but time spent resolving issues such as submittals, QA/QC requirements and responsibilities, design intent, schedule and access, and so forth — before they can negatively impact productivity in the field — gets paid back with dividends.
Don’t miss the opportunity.
Until next week,
Kyle Nitchen
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