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QUALITY AND PRACTICES FOR ITS ASSURANCE 19 PERSPECTIVES FROM PRIVATE SECTOR QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES The committee recognized that federal agencies face a number of unique conditions and responsibilities that shape their methods of quality assurance and quality control. The committee made a number of general observations on private sector practice that provide perspective for assessing federal agencies' inspection and other quality management activities. One important difference between federal and private sector construction is that virtually all private design and construction is negotiated in some fashion, and repeat business with major clients depends on (1) cost management, (2) schedule management, and (3) quality management. Since repeat business is very important to contractors engaging in private sector work, contractors have a high stake in providing a quality product. Negotiation is used by government also, but competitive bidding is by far the more common practice. A second important difference is that most private sector construction involves contractor pre-qualification. In the public sector, if a bidder can obtain a performance bond, he or she normally is entitled to bid.18 The contracting officer determines that a low post-bidder is responsible before the contract is awarded. On private work, the owner often selects a single contractor, or a small group of contractors deemed to be qualified. A third important difference is that the private sector is subject to legal regulation by local building codes. Most cities and municipalities require an inspection by local government personnel to assure conformance to code requirements. Designers and constructors for the private sector often rely on these codes and municipal inspection, especially with respect to electrical and plumbing systems, to assure the quality required. Upon a building's completion, most responsible local authorities issue an occupancy permit that certifies that a building permit 18 The bond is furnished after acceptance of the bid.
QUALITY AND PRACTICES FOR ITS ASSURANCE 20 was obtained at the start of construction, that electrical and plumbing inspections were made, and that the fire department has also inspected and approved the building. Federal agencies are not subject to local codes and municipal inspection. The agencies use their own design criteria and must assure for themselves that these criteria are followed in design and construction. In contrast to the federal government, the private sector encompasses organizations with a broad range of size and only the largest firms have building professionals on staff. Even these large firms, unless they maintain steady building programs, are unlikely to have sufficient staff capability to undertake substantial in-house quality management activities. Most private sector owners depend primarily on A/Es and other consultants to act as their QA agents and pay these agents for the service. Very active builders, such as real estate developers and certain large manufacturers, might be more likely to undertake extensive QA programs but this is not often the case. Real estate developers, in particular, rarely are willing to pay the A/E firm additional fees (typically 3 to 4 percent of construction) for full field inspection, and quality assurance inspections during construction will be casual and infrequent. The QA tasks are often tailored to whether the items in question are exposed or hidden from view in the completed project. Items hidden from view include structural concrete and steel, underground utility lines, foundations, pilings, caissons, service lines inside walls or above ceilings, water lines, gas lines, telephone lines, electrical conduits, sprinkler systems, HVAC duct work, and plumbing. On the private sector construction site, these hidden items may receive less inspection attention than on public works. On the other hand, many owners who are going to occupy as well as operate their buildings seek to assure the quality of the finished building by hiring an A/E firm or other qualified individuals to act as the owner's representative to supervise the construction. Independent testing laboratories will be used to
QUALITY AND PRACTICES FOR ITS ASSURANCE 21 perform the actual tests. The amount of testing ordered is usually determined by the level of in-house expertise and the owner's relationship with the contractor. The quality management philosophy of much private commercial work is expressed in the common phrase "If it don't fit, make it." When errors or other problems occur, alterations are made until there is a workable fit. Rarely is work scrapped or demolished and then re-executed as shown on the drawings and specifications. Because time delays are costly to private sector builders and owners, there is great pressure for the work to proceed uninterrupted on the construction site. Government agencies are seldom charged interest costs and so are not exposed directly to the strictly financial costs of delay. (However, contractors may charge the government for government-caused delays.) The A/E firm's role in private work inspection is similar to public sector work, except that procedures are generally less formal and there tends to be more practical interaction between the contractor staff and the owner's representatives.19 A/E firms that work primarily for distinct groups or types of private clients (e.g., retail or office commercial, large residential, or light industrial) often must adjust their staffing and management practices to accommodate the particular style of QA that project type entails. The size of the A/E firm, often closely correlated with the scale of projects the firm designs, also influences how the QA function is carried out. For example, low overhead is essential to the success of a small A/E office. Generally, there is no dedicated staff to handle quality management activities, such as quality assurance and inspection for quality control on projects. These tasks are performed by the same professional staff members that design, draft, and manage projects. Small, private clients question the value of the added expense of quality assurance, often assuming 19 One sharp difference is that the A/E may be authorized to act as the owner's agent, a practice virtually unknown in federal agency construction.
QUALITY AND PRACTICES FOR ITS ASSURANCE 22 that the contractor's quality control program is sufficient to assure conformance with construction documents. Small A/E firms that are sometimes employed for quality assurance have the advantage that the design architect or engineer is also the inspector, assuring knowledge of contractual requirements. The designer is in a good position to check conformance, review changes, and establish acceptable alternates. A disadvantage from an owner's point of view is the potential conflict of interest of the designer approving his or her own work, which may lead to omissions and errors. However, the owner's design budgets for small projects will seldom accommodate independent third-party inspection services. For mid-size commercial buildingsâthose in the $5â10 million dollar range, which constitute a substantial proportion of the private sector office and retail marketâbudgets are sufficiently large to accommodate special QA/QC personnel. The owner will often assign one or two staff members as the quality assurance observers. In some instances, such an observer is designated the "clerk of the works."20 As scale increases, large A/E, engineer-construction (E-C) and construction firms that work on large projects often have separate in-house QA/QC groups with independent reporting procedures and authority. The A/E, E-C and the constructor often designate a field quality assurance coordinator, and reporting to the coordinator may be one or more inspectors and a testing organization. The field coordinator reports to the home office on site problems such as owner changes, design changes or errors, construction errors, vendor changes or errors, and shipping damages. The home office audits the project for compliance with project procedures and checks that the field 20 Clerk of the works is a British term for one who supervises the construction and keeps records of materials used. The clerk of the works may also be responsible for recording workmen's time. While the term is understood by the American building industry, Americans usually use the term project supervisor or representative. (Greater Phoenix Chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction, 1973. Construction Dictionary.)
