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QUALITY AND PRACTICES FOR ITS ASSURANCE 23 quality assurance coordinator's records are clear and current. On projects with stringent time constraints, efforts will be made to assure that equipment is in compliance with specifications before it leaves the vendor's shop so that delays correcting problems in the field are avoided. Vendor pre-qualification is becoming more widespread. LEGAL DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN FEDERAL AND PRIVATE PRACTICES In addition to the applicability of local codes and municipal regulatory practices, other legal distinctions between public and private work influence quality management practices. The terms and conditions of the American Institute of Architects General Conditions of the Contract for Construction (AIA Document A201, 1987 Edition) illustrate typical industry practices in the private sector. The AIA also publishes related contract documents that define the architect's (Document B141) and the subcontractors' (Document A401) roles on the project. 21 The important legal feature of these documents is the formal assignment of responsibilities for QA activities to the design professional. The term used in the AIA documents to describe the process during construction whereby the owner's interests are protected is ''administration of the contract.''22 The architect oversees this process. The owner retains the architect to design the 21 Published and copyrighted by the American Institute of Architects, these documents receive widespread use throughout the construction industry and are approved by the Associated General Contractors of America. 22 In the AIA Contract Documents, "supervision" is a term used to describe the contractor's responsibilities on the construction project. Supervision connotes the contractor's management, direction, and control of the construction process; this is in contrast to the architect's visits to the site to observe the progress of construction and to evaluate the contractor's compliance with contract requirements.
QUALITY AND PRACTICES FOR ITS ASSURANCE 24 project and to prepare the working drawings and specifications. After the contractor is hired, the architect "administers" the construction contract on behalf of the owner to determine if the contractor is fulfilling contract requirements and to advise the owner whether the contractor is performing the work properly. The AIA contract requires the architect to visit the site "to become generally familiar with the progress and the quality of the completed work and to determine in general if the work is being performed in a manner indicating that (it) will be in accordance with the contract documents." The AIA General Conditions, however, make a clear distinction between the roles of the architect and contractor, and there is well-recognized language that states that the architect "is not responsible for construction means, methods, techniques, sequences or procedures, or for safety precautions and programs in connection with the work, since these are solely the contractor's responsibility . . . ." By maintaining this distinction in the contract between the roles of the architect and the contractor, the architect is able to concentrate on protecting the owner's interest. Other major areas of responsibility for the architect spelled out in the AIA documents involve evaluating the contractor's applications for payment; rejecting work that does not conform to the contract requirements; taking appropriate action on shop drawings, samples and product data; preparing change orders; conducting inspections to determine the dates of substantial completion and final completion; and making the initial determination on claims by either the owner or the contractor. In the AIA documents, the word "inspection" is used to describe the architect's services only in the context of determining substantial completion and final completion. At those two points in the construction process, the architect is contractually obligated to "inspect" (i.e., look very closely at) the work to determine compliance with contract requirements. The word "inspect" is used to connote the higher degree of care expected of the design professional at those two points in the process, in contrast to the more cursory evaluation that takes place during the site visits prior to the date of substantial completion.
