All construction projects, regardless of scope, require commitment to quality in order to achieve excellent results. This is where quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) come into play. Both are integral parts of any construction project; QC monitors project activities to ensure they are consistent with design, safety, and quality standards, whereas QA ensures that management plans, teams, and personnel are correctly following design instructions and monitoring project quality.
Quality assurance establishes and maintains requirements for developing and/or manufacturing products and services. QA systems are meant to increase customer confidence, improve work processes and efficiency, and increase successful competition, and are usually comprised of three methods:
- Failure testing: Continually testing a product/service to determine if it succeeds or fails
- Statistical process control (SPC): A methodology used to manage and control the production of a product/service
- Total quality management (TQM): Quantitative methods that rely on facts, data, and analysis to support planning and performance reviews
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) ensures that products and services are safe, reliable, and of high quality, and QA systems often pair with ISO standards to ensure that their QA practices are effective. While the concept of QA first began in the manufacturing industry, its success has helped it spread to most industries. QA programs help prevent defects before they arise, making their processes extremely vital to any construction project’s success.
Quality control is the testing process used to guarantee that products or services meet a specific standard. There are two crucial goals of QC: to make certain that all products and services are as uniform as possible; and to minimize errors and inconsistencies within those products and services. QC is a multi-industry process that can be found in industries such as manufacturing, food, pharmaceuticals, software, and, of course, construction. QC is tactical and management focused; it is the act of monitoring the work as it occurs, in contrast to QA processes. In the construction industry, QC ensures that material installation, for example, conforms to the builder’s expected standards. QC also implements corrective measures when expected standards are not met. Across all industries, QC is a fundamental process.
QA and QC, while different, work closely together so that total overall quality can be achieved in all aspects of a project. While QC focuses on detecting and correcting defects, QA concentrates on preventative measures through robust processes and procedures. QC ensures that output complies with proper specifications, while QA is the sum of all processes and actions taken to guarantee that requirements are satisfied. Together, QC and QA form the backbone of an organization; both ensure that products and services are able to meet both regulatory requirements and customer expectations, with the main goal of QC and QA being to fulfill quality requirements with a consistent quality management system.
When choosing a construction company, dedication to quality matters. At Pulse Construction, we’re committed to doing business with an honest, professional, and competitive approach – without compromising safety or schedules. Contact us today for all of your building needs.
