ACI 124.2R-94

maintain procedures for unique identification of individual product or batches. This identification should be recorded.

5.8—Process control

The supplier should identify and plan the production and installation processes, which directly affect quality. They should ensure that these processes are carried out under controlled conditions. Controlled conditions include the following:

• Procedures defining the manner of production and installation where the absence of such procedures could adversely affect quality;
• Use of suitable production and installation equipment and suitable working environment;
• Compliance with reference standards/codes, quality plans, or documented procedures, or all three;
• Monitoring and control of suitable process parameters and product characteristics;
• Approval of processes and equipment, as appropriate;
• Criteria for workmanship, which should be stipulated in the clearest practical manner (i.e., written standards, representative samples, or illustrations);
• Suitable maintenance of equipment to ensure continuing process capability;
• Qualifications of personnel that will be assigned to the project.

5.9—Inspection and testing

The supplier should establish and maintain procedures for inspection and testing activities in order to verify that the specified requirements of the product are met. The required inspection and testing, and the records to be established, should be detailed in the quality plan or procedures. Materials testing should be performed by a laboratory accredited according to the requirements of ASTM C 1077.⁴

Minimum requirements for inspection of all construction operations should be defined and inspection should follow the guidance of ACI 311.4R, and ACI SP-2.5 Inspectors should have appropriate certification per ACI. Minimum requirements may include inspection of the formwork system, the proper installation of reinforcing steel, the concrete quality as evidenced by required tests, verification of operations and facilities of production, concrete placements, and curing. Other considerations that could be included are reshore and form removal requirements, repair work, core drilling, sampling and testing, weather conditions, bonding and jointing, leveling and alignment operations, finishing operations, grouting operations, and protective coating operations. Periodic photographs documenting construction sequence, job progress, and construction details are desirable.

5.10—Control of measuring and test equipment

The supplier and subcontractor should establish and maintain procedures to control, calibrate, and maintain inspection, measuring, and test equipment (including test software) used by the supplier to demonstrate the conformance of the product to the specified requirements. Inspection, measuring, and test equipment should be used in a manner that

ensures that the measurement uncertainty is known and is consistent with the required measurement capability.

5.11—Inspection and test status

The inspection and test status of the product should be identified by suitable means that indicate the conformance or nonconformance of the product with regard to inspection and tests performed. The identification of inspection and test status should be maintained, as defined in the quality plan or procedures, or both, throughout production and installation of the product to ensure that only products that have passed the required inspections and tests (or released under an authorized concession) are dispatched, used, or installed. ACI 311.4R and 311.5R contain detailed recommendations for the inspection of concrete construction.

5.12—Control of nonconforming product

The supplier should establish and maintain procedures to ensure that products that do not conform to specified requirements are prevented from unintended use or installation. This control should provide for identification, documentation, evaluation, segregation (when practical), disposition of nonconforming products, and for notification, as required in the project quality plan.

Categories of dispositions are as follows:

• Repair: the process of restoring an item to an acceptable condition even though the repaired item may not comply with the original requirements;
• Rework: the process of restoring an item to the original requirement;
• Accepted as is: a nonconforming condition that, after evaluation, is determined to satisfy requirements, including those of performance, maintainability, fitness for use, and safety;
• Reject: a disposition that indicates an item is unsuitable for its intended purposes and cannot be economically reworked or repaired. The item should be segregated or removed and replaced.

Repaired or reworked items should be reinspected. Because repaired items may not comply with the original requirements, criteria for the acceptability of the repair should be furnished to the individual or team performing the inspection. Reworked items should be inspected in accordance with the original requirements.

5.13—Corrective and preventive action

Corrective action request: Significant nonconformance of a recurring nature, that indicates a system problem should be addressed in a corrective action request. Determining the root cause of such conditions, as well as the appropriate corrective actions, should preclude future similar nonconforming conditions.

The supplier should establish and maintain procedures for implementing corrective and preventive action. Any corrective or preventive action taken to eliminate the causes of actual or potential nonconformities shall be to a degree appropriate to the magnitude of problems and commensurate

• Owner’s policy statement
• Quality objectives
• Scope of work
• Organizational relationships
• Authority/responsibilities of various organizations

• Elements applicable to that organization’s scope of work
• Program
• Implementing procedures

both, required to fulfill these responsibilities, the owner should designate an organization or individual to perform these functions. Table 2.1 describes the elements of a quality system.

2.2—Characteristics of a quality system

Table 2.2 indicates the various phases of a project and how the quality system is developed. These phases make up the life cycle of the project. The table also indicates responsibilities of the organizations involved. It should be modified to fit the specific organizational arrangements and quality objectives for the project.

The quality system is viewed in terms of information flow between project organizations and interaction among individuals in the project team. Information flow and management of information is the lifeblood of the project, essential for achieving effective interaction among project personnel. Appendix A explains the relationship of process flow and the hierarchy of documents.

This quality system ensures that project information flow is relevant, accurate, consistent, and timely. The project benefits because:

• standards of performance are established;
• areas of responsibility are specified;
• decision points are identified;
• appropriate follow-up, actions, and decisions are delineated;
• criteria for project performance and assessment are provided.

The arrangement of a quality plan into discrete project phases is not intended to imply that project phases do not overlap. Additionally, activities at a given phase may require that a new activity be initiated that relates to an earlier phase. Therefore, the boundaries between project phases are not sharply defined.

Each construction activity is unique because of the different and varying conditions, and requirements associated with each project. Additionally, an individual activity must comply with cost, safety procedures, and code and regulatory

requirements. Efficiency improves when a construction project is conducted with well-defined plans and detailed procedures.

The recommendations, in each phase, provide an overview of the quality principles and necessary elements to ensure that a coordinated quality plan is implemented for the project.

To facilitate communication among project organizations, the identification, responsibility, and authority for interaction and exchange of information among the project teams should be established. Good communications are the hallmark of a quality project. All members of the project team should communicate frequently their expectations and anticipated problems. Open and frank discussions are essential. Plan for frequent meetings.

Once the project team has been assembled, a meeting chaired by the owner is recommended. The agenda should be distributed prior to the meeting. The meeting should include the owner or the owner’s representative, design professionals, contractors, principal subcontractors, testing agencies, and representatives from regulatory agencies.

After the project meeting, the contractor should chair a similar preconstruction meeting attended by subcontractors, materials suppliers, vendors, and other suppliers that support the contractor. The design professional may be invited to attend, but generally only as an observer or a source of information for the contractor. The meeting procedure and agenda items are similar to the initial project meeting, but particular emphasis is placed on performance of the contractor’s team and commitment to the project. This is the phase where a review of such items as plans, specifications, unique requirements, and submittals is made and discussed to ensure that all parties are committed to the same quality assurance goals.

Both meetings should develop common goals and lines of communication for the participants involved in the project. Minutes of both meetings should be kept and distributed in a timely manner to all attendees by the chairman or a designee.

Critical interface and authority issues (such as who can authorize the addition of water to concrete) should be decided upon. Contingency authority delegation should be established in the event that the originator authority is not available.

CHAPTER 3—QUALITY PLAN

The project quality plan documents the owner’s quality objectives and should be developed early in the project. As a minimum, the plan should include the following elements:

• owner’s policy statement;
• Quality objectives and expectations;
• Scope of the plan;
• Organizational relationships and interfaces;
• Authority and responsibilities of organizations and contractors;
• A description of the quality manual those organizations are required to establish and implement.

As a project goes through the phases outlined in Table 2.2, the plan may change. The owner and the project team should periodically review and, if necessary, update the plan during the life of the project. Updated copies of the plan should be provided to all affected organizations. Verification of implementation of changes should be conducted.

CHAPTER 4—QUALITY MANUAL

4.1—Elements

Each organization assigned responsibility in the plan should detail in a quality manual the methods used to meet the owner’s quality objectives stated in the plan. The quality manual should include those elements described in Chapter 5 as appropriate to their scope of work. A quality manual will normally contain or refer to, at a minimum:

• Quality policy;
• The responsibilities, authorities, and interrelationships of the personnel who manage, perform, verify, or review work-affecting quality;
• The procedures, such as quality system procedures, design procedures, and construction procedures;
• A statement about reviewing, updating, and controlling the manual.

A quality manual can vary in depth and format to suit the needs of the organization.

4.2—Responsibilities of the project team

A listing of quality manual elements that should be addressed by each project organization is shown in Table 4.1. A similar table should be developed by the owner or the owner’s designee in the project quality plan. Each organization shown in the table should develop their own manual. Typically, these manuals, once developed, would serve more than one project.

4.3—Quality policy

Management with executive responsibility should define its policy for quality, including objectives for quality and its commitment to quality. The quality policy should be relevant to the owner’s goals and the expectations. Management should ensure that this policy is understood at all levels of the organization.

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maintain procedures for unique identification of individual product or batches. This identification should be recorded.

5.8—Process control

The supplier should identify and plan the production and installation processes, which directly affect quality. They should ensure that these processes are carried out under controlled conditions. Controlled conditions include the following:

• Procedures defining the manner of production and installation where the absence of such procedures could adversely affect quality;
• Use of suitable production and installation equipment and suitable working environment;
• Compliance with reference standards/codes, quality plans, or documented procedures, or all three;
• Monitoring and control of suitable process parameters and product characteristics;
• Approval of processes and equipment, as appropriate;
• Criteria for workmanship, which should be stipulated in the clearest practical manner (i.e., written standards, representative samples, or illustrations);
• Suitable maintenance of equipment to ensure continuing process capability;
• Qualifications of personnel that will be assigned to the project.

5.9—Inspection and testing

The supplier should establish and maintain procedures for inspection and testing activities in order to verify that the specified requirements of the product are met. The required inspection and testing, and the records to be established, should be detailed in the quality plan or procedures. Materials testing should be performed by a laboratory accredited according to the requirements of ASTM C 1077.⁴

Minimum requirements for inspection of all construction operations should be defined and inspection should follow the guidance of ACI 311.4R, and ACI SP-2.5 Inspectors should have appropriate certification per ACI. Minimum requirements may include inspection of the formwork system, the proper installation of reinforcing steel, the concrete quality as evidenced by required tests, verification of operations and facilities of production, concrete placements, and curing. Other considerations that could be included are reshore and form removal requirements, repair work, core drilling, sampling and testing, weather conditions, bonding and jointing, leveling and alignment operations, finishing operations, grouting operations, and protective coating operations. Periodic photographs documenting construction sequence, job progress, and construction details are desirable.

5.10—Control of measuring and test equipment

The supplier and subcontractor should establish and maintain procedures to control, calibrate, and maintain inspection, measuring, and test equipment (including test software) used by the supplier to demonstrate the conformance of the product to the specified requirements. Inspection, measuring, and test equipment should be used in a manner that

ensures that the measurement uncertainty is known and is consistent with the required measurement capability.

5.11—Inspection and test status

The inspection and test status of the product should be identified by suitable means that indicate the conformance or nonconformance of the product with regard to inspection and tests performed. The identification of inspection and test status should be maintained, as defined in the quality plan or procedures, or both, throughout production and installation of the product to ensure that only products that have passed the required inspections and tests (or released under an authorized concession) are dispatched, used, or installed. ACI 311.4R and 311.5R contain detailed recommendations for the inspection of concrete construction.

5.12—Control of nonconforming product

The supplier should establish and maintain procedures to ensure that products that do not conform to specified requirements are prevented from unintended use or installation. This control should provide for identification, documentation, evaluation, segregation (when practical), disposition of nonconforming products, and for notification, as required in the project quality plan.

Categories of dispositions are as follows:

• Repair: the process of restoring an item to an acceptable condition even though the repaired item may not comply with the original requirements;
• Rework: the process of restoring an item to the original requirement;
• Accepted as is: a nonconforming condition that, after evaluation, is determined to satisfy requirements, including those of performance, maintainability, fitness for use, and safety;
• Reject: a disposition that indicates an item is unsuitable for its intended purposes and cannot be economically reworked or repaired. The item should be segregated or removed and replaced.

Repaired or reworked items should be reinspected. Because repaired items may not comply with the original requirements, criteria for the acceptability of the repair should be furnished to the individual or team performing the inspection. Reworked items should be inspected in accordance with the original requirements.

5.13—Corrective and preventive action

Corrective action request: Significant nonconformance of a recurring nature, that indicates a system problem should be addressed in a corrective action request. Determining the root cause of such conditions, as well as the appropriate corrective actions, should preclude future similar nonconforming conditions.

The supplier should establish and maintain procedures for implementing corrective and preventive action. Any corrective or preventive action taken to eliminate the causes of actual or potential nonconformities shall be to a degree appropriate to the magnitude of problems and commensurate