To assure the quality of construction products and processes, the Virginia Department of Transportation has established three levels of construction control. First, contractors themselves provide oversight and quality control as set out in the Department's Road and Bridge Specifications and in their contract stipulations. Second, the Department's construction inspectors provide quality acceptance by determining whether contractors are adhering to specifications and either accepting or rejecting the work in progress. Finally, the Department's quality assurance program examines the methods for inspecting projects and determines where new procedures are necessary to keep the construction process under departmental control. In 1987, the quality assurance effort for highway construction in Virginia was redesigned and retitled the Contract Quality Assurance Program, and steps were taken to put the program on a sound statistical footing and to improve its reliability among field personnel. Sample size requirements were calculated, and a stratified random sampling plan was instituted. A list of inspectable items was developed and prioritised to assist inspectors in managing their time and to ensure agreement on what field inspection entailed. New reporting procedures were developed to change the focus of the program from "inspecting inspectors" to evaluating the inspection process, thus removing the punitive aspects of the previous program.
Abstract