Quality Performance with Technology
July 21, 2010
Ensuring a job is completed effectively isn’t just based solely on the finished product; there are many factors that need to be taken into consideration. Effectively managing QA/QC (quality assurance and quality control) requires the collection of information relating to compliance at every stage throughout a project.
However this can be a time consuming process that involves creating numerous reports regarding the quality of a project, which then have to be submitted back to the main office. This process makes it difficult for construction companies to evaluate a certain stage in a project because they don’t have immediate access to the data.
By leveraging technology, construction companies can better assess the quality of a specific project through realtime project information. For example, Turner Construction Co., www.turnerconstruction.com, New York, N.Y., selected Vela Systems Checklists (QA/QC) software from Vela Systems, www.velasystems.com, Burlington, Mass., to enhance its visibility into project quality.
The Vela Systems software enables Turner Construction’s field workers to replace paper checklists with electronic records on a tablet PC. After entering the applicable information on the checklist, along with photos and other project-critical data, field workers can upload the information in realtime to an online dashboard where management can access and analyze the information to determine how a subcontractor is complying with QA/QC.
“With tools such as Vela Systems, we’re able to make correlations and assessments of quality assurance with certainty because we’re getting factual, realtime data from the projects,” says Ed McNeill, senior vice president, Turner Construction. “We’re documenting conformance to create a more balanced and positive methodology, as opposed to the industry approach of only documenting the negative of punchlists.”
Subcontractor performance is an important component when analyzing project quality. If a subcontractor is not adhering to the appropriate level of quality assurance, staff members can document the incidents in realtime. This information can be useful when considering a specific subcontractor for additional projects moving forward.
With the ability to collect QA/QC information in realtime throughout a specific project, Turner can more effectively avoid risk associated with the jobsite by identifying performance trends as they take place.