The definition of “quality” in the construction industry does not mean goodness, luxury, or shininess. It should be defined as “conformance to requirements” such as: Project specifications
- Project drawings
- Industry standards
- Code requirements
- Shop drawings
- Manufacturers written installation instructions
It is getting harder each year to achieve good quality results on construction projects. It requires development and adherence to processes designed to deal with an untrained workforce, poor subcontractor supervision, and inadequate construction documents.
The Douglas Company has created a number of processes to specifically help eliminate non-conformance or quality problems, from occurring on our projects from start to finish. These include:
- Detailed subcontractor prequalification, including job site visits to help assure that subcontractor has no major quality issues.
- Preconstruction meetings to review the standards that are to be followed.
- Pre-installation meetings prior to the start of work to review, in detail, the standards that will be followed.
- Quality inspections for each trade are added to the project schedule. These are to occur prior to the next trade starting.
- Quality inspection audits to assure the project team is not missing any potential quality issues.
The processes relating to managing project quality all require a large time commitment of the project team. The processes help prevent and control quality issues that always cost time and cause surprises, which is one of our brand promises; “Peace of Mind”.
Brian McCarthy
Executive Vice President, Midwest Construction Operations
The Douglas Company
