Quality Assurance
In accordance with the contract and the state of the art, the Construction/Project Management must plan, arrange respectively carry out corresponding measures for quality assurance (internal control). The results must be recorded and, in case of non-conformities, suitable measures initiated, where necessary in coordination with the client or his authorized representative.
Amongst other things, this includes agreeing and determining the following measures:
• Timely involvement of the staff taking into account the mandatory reporting and involvement criteria
• Determination of the project management plan including quality control planning and remedial works management; when developing the quality control plan the contractual regulations and country-specific standards must be taken into account
• Verifiable monitoring of internal measurement and test equipment
• Planned monitoring of deliveries and works performed in the project execution phase with identification marking and accompanying documentation
Depending on the contractual provisions, the project management plan as well as miscellaneous documents in this regard, such as test certificates of mounted Anchors, etc., must be handed over to the client.
Site Organization
An essential part of tendering is planning the future site organization. The site organization is essentially based on the individual circumstances and particularities of the project as well as the type of contract.
The site organization must be planned in detail. The planning of the site organization must include the superior Construction/Project Management and the construction management for individual trades and clearly define the respective responsibilities. Other Group-internal and external participants such as designers, architects, design coordinators, surveyors, etc. must be integrated in the planning of the site organization.
For project-related mergers (bidding consortium), the respective responsibilities must be clearly defined and agreed in writing with the partners. The interfaces to the works of the partners must be observed and taken into account accordingly in the planning of the site organization.
The planned personnel for the project team with the respectively required qualification should already be available in the own organization or in the consortium or must be made available at the time of the execution.
In addition to considering the composition of the project team, the planning of the construction site organization also includes the detailed planning of the site installations and the premises required for the project team and labor personnel.
Involving Specialists
In the case of unusual projects and projects with special risks, experts must be involved at an early stage, irrespective of the defined limits and criteria. In addition, regardless of the defined threshold values and criteria, experts must be involved in any case in all projects that are critical, unusual or include special risks.
Unusual projects and projects with special risks differ from standard projects of an operating unit at least in one of the following criteria
• Scope of services (unless this is standard in the unit: particularly complex project
• Country
• Technology (first use, pilot project ...)
• Resources (special resource / qualification needs…)
Preparing technical Concepts
A major factor for a smooth, on-time and efficient construction process is work planning appropriate to the project in the execution phase. The work planning from the tender phase and the subsequent estimate form the basis for it. Thus, work planning is an important instrument for scheduling and estimation-based planning and control of the construction site.
The concepts already developed in the tender phase, for example for logistics, construction roads and storage spaces, disposal of demolished and excavated material, planned construction processes as well as mass distribution plans and so forth, must be refined for the construction execution.
It is essential to consider the assumptions of the estimate. Work planning must never be done detached from the estimation assumptions.
Country-specific safety, health and environmental protection requirements
The country-specific safety, health and environmental protection requirements (SHE) must be taken into account in the construction execution. In addition, project and customer-specific provisions must be observed as well as rules of technology adhered to.
The Construction/Project Management must discharge its assigned duties for preventive personnel and environmental protection. All project participants are obligated to comply with legal and operational provisions as part of their activities.
Project-related SHE core tasks include, amongst others:
• Carrying out risk assessments and updating them where necessary, including determining and monitoring of derived measures,
• Creating safety plans
• Provision of suitable facilities and personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Documented instructions for participants
• Availability of alarm and evacuation plans
• Provision of preventive services
• Assuring personnel qualification through short-term manpower planning and organization of appropriate trainings
• Coordination with the client, his representative and other project participants
• Carrying out inspections
In the event of a work accident, the specified reporting procedure must be followed accordingly.
Performance Targets
A crucial factor for a effective construction process is the planned and controlled use of personnel and equipment resources.
During the construction phase the Construction/Project Management must therefore generate clear performance targets for the significant internal own works performed on the basis of Work Estimate, communicate them to the responsible management personnel (site manager, foreman, etc.) and target the implementation.
In the course of execution, these targets must be monitored and documented by means of a periodic (daily if required) PLANNED/ACTUAL comparison. If the estimation-based performance targets are not reached, the causes must be determined and appropriate measures initiated. If there are significant deviations, the responsible management must be informed.
Lean Construction
The major objective of improving construction processes is the increase in productivity through efficient planning of processes, the cooperation of all project participants at an early stage and the avoidance of waste (LEAN Construction).
In the course of continuously improving the processes, construction processes should be efficiently planned in the work cycle and matched to each other so that any wastes, e.g. waiting times, down times, correction of defects as well as too high or too low material stocks are avoided as well as unnecessary associated costs. Deficiencies normally occur in a project if work processes are not thoroughly prepared respectively synchronized with each other. With the support of LEAN Construction methods, the processes should be systematically and continuously improved by all employees involved.
In LEAN Construction coordinator, it is necessary to check whether or which methods can be applied for process improvement as part of construction execution. The Lean Production scope of work scope of services respectively extent of consultation also includes, amongst others:
LEAN Building Construction
• Impetus, support and anchoring of tact planning and tact controlling in the tender and execution phase for construction sites (design control, structural works)
• Planning, support and anchoring of "LEAN Logistics" for construction sites in the tender and execution phase
• Conducting workshops for process improvement in the administrative area, estimation, purchasing, construction preparation, design as well as construction execution
LEAN Transportation & Infrastructure Works
• Creation of LEAN concepts in the tender phase and support of work planning in the estimation and execution phase
• Support, implementation and anchoring of LEAN methods locally on the construction sites
• Conducting workshops for the improvement of construction processes
Organizing, Coordinating and checking Design
Lacking, late or incorrect design are the main causes for disruptions and delays in the construction process and resulting additional costs thereof. Design services for changed and/or additional works during construction execution can also cause further disruptions and additional costs in rendering the works themselves. An intensive, project-based design management provided by the ABC Solutions is therefore essential for a smoothly, on-time and efficient construction process.
Nevertheless, a suitable designer must be selected for the project depending on the expected scope and complexity of the design as well as possible provisions of the client (e.g. use of BIM) at an early stage. The suitability and dependability must be verified by corresponding supporting documents.
The scope of services to be rendered in the execution phase as well as the mandatory deadlines for the respective design deliveries must be clearly defined and agreed with the selected designer. The basis for that forms the design schedule that is created on the construction schedule and the agreed planning flow procedure. In addition to interfaces and design dependencies, agreed review process and approval periods must be heeded. Such a design schedule must also be developed for any design provided by the client.
The design schedule must be checked regularly and updated as required. Periodic PLANNED/ACTUAL comparisons must be carried out by means of drawings tracking lists in order to detect possible deviations at an early stage and to initiate appropriate measures where necessary.
An essential part of the design management is design coordination - both for design provided by the client and design created under internal responsibility.
The following tasks, in particular, fall under the design coordination:
• Project-specific organization and documentation of the entire design management
• Organization of the review and approval processes
• Control and monitoring of the design process and the design deadlines
• Analysis of the contract documents relevant to design regarding construction and design TARGET
• Formal and content-related checking of drawings and design documents for completeness, technical correctness and plausibility with involvement of specialist construction managers where necessary (e.g. carrying out a "design check") – additional checking with regard to cost-effectiveness, if the design is created under internal responsibility.
• Information of the client for detected errors or inconsistencies in the event of client-provided design for arranging a clarification with the designer for design created under internal responsibility
• Coordination and control of individual designers for different trades, checking the respective design documents with regard to interfaces to be heeded and ensuring accordance of the individual design documents
• Generation and ongoing update of the drawings list
• Internal approval of all design documents for the execution on the construction site
• On time distribution of internally approved design drawings to all necessary recipients (e.g. foreman, surveyor, accounting technician, subcontractors and suppliers)
• Ensuring that only the latest drawing version is used on the construction site
• Continuous checking of design for contractual conformity
• Initiation and coordination of developing cost-effective alternatives for execution
• Solving difficulties in construction execution by coordinating design changes
• Ongoing documentation of all determinations during design reviews and design approval processes, of copying and delivery, of monitoring the dates of the design delivery as well as all design changes
The responsibility for design coordination must be determined during the course of the Project Kick-Off meeting at the latest. Depending on whether the design is provided by the client or is created under internal responsibility, the tasks in association with the design coordination required in the project must also be recorded in a binding manner.
If the design is supplied by the client, an intensive design management forms the basis for successful contract management. The impacts of the design to dates, quality standards and costs must be tracked by the person in charge of design management (design coordinator), documented and forwarded to the persons in charge of contract management.
Procurement of Assembly Materials
Material deliveries are needed in accordance with the time schedule at a defined point in time. The determination of the bid invitation / enquiry dates and award dates for individual material deliveries significantly influences the success of procurement. The PLANNED dates relevant for procurement, such as the distribution of enquiries, return date for quotations, award dates as well as the period for executing the works or time of deliveries, must be stated in the award schedule.
The following criteria must also be observed when generating the award schedule:
• Current market situation for the individual trades or material groups (workload of potential suppliers)
• Anticipated contract size
• Lead times for material release orders
• Production times (off site)
Generating Bill of quantity and Material Lists for Suppliers
Quotes must be obtained from subcontractors and suppliers for the trades and materials specified by the Construction/Project Management or together with Procurement.
Enquiries to suppliers must be generated trade-based respectively according to material groups with a unique and complete description of the scope of work scope of services, and using original texts of the bill of quantities.
The conditions as well as contractual risks from the construction contract with the client must be transferred as far as possible to the subcontractors or suppliers. Sufficiently long binding periods for quotes must also be ensured.
Functional work specifications must be checked with other contract documents handed over by the client, such as contract conditions, preliminary remarks, expert reports, etc. for the generation of the bill of quantities for enquiries, first for technical feasibility, conformity with regulations, consistency and corrected where necessary. In particular, also the interfaces between the individual trades must be handled carefully.
Subcontractors and suppliers need clear performance specifications in order to prepare their quotes. The number and quality of incoming quotes depend heavily on the quality and traceability of the provided bill of quantities. Unclear descriptions of the scope of work scope of services specifications can result factoring possible risk premiums into their quotes.
Obtaining Guarantees from Suppliers
The guarantees agreed with subcontractors and suppliers for the execution phase must be presented in the stipulated form and in due time in accordance with the contractual agreements respectively demanded by the Construction/Project Management and checked for contractual conformity.
Ensuring dependability of Equipment
Based on equipment planning and coordination vision the Construction/Project Management is responsible for the requisition of suitable equipment, its acceptance and transfer as well as for proper operation and therefore maintaining the operational readiness of the construction plant and equipment.
Construction plant and equipment must only be operated by adequately qualified personnel.
The duties of the plant / equipment operator are comprised of the following tasks amongst others:
• Responsibility for designated use in compliance with the instructions
• Adherance to safety regulations
• Ensuring regular maintenance
• Carrying out regular cleaning
• Upkeeping the machine log (if defined for the equipment type)
• Immediate reporting of defects respectively necessary repairs to the responsible base
Control Procedures
Site Diary
The documentation of the construction process respectively the development process of a structure work is essential in the complex construction process. A precondition for successful contract processing is the complete recording of all events resulting from the cooperation between the client, contractor, subcontractors and suppliers. The status of the works performed and any disruptions must be verifiably documented by means of the site diary/daily site report. The Construction/Project Management is obliged to keep a site diary/daily site report up to date. These shall be signed by the client in a timely manner whenever possible. The generated reports must be sent to the client in any case for the purposes of information.
All circumstances arising in the course of construction execution that lead to difficulties and hindrances as well as all determinations that cannot be comprehended at a later date must be recorded consistently in the site diary/daily site report. Thus, the site diary/daily site report is the basis for successful processing and is also used as proof of contract-compliant execution.
Entries must be made amongst others in the site diary/daily site report regarding the following points:
• Weather conditions (temperature, storm, etc.)
• Level of staff and equipment
• Materials used
• Performance progress and scheduled works
• Quality and functional tests
• Results of meetings on the construction site
• Instructions of the client
• Damage reports/incidents
• Events and circumstances that may be important for contract processing
From a legal perspective, the site diary/daily site report is regarded as evidence of progress on site. So the site diary/daily site report is an important means of documentation in the event of disruptions of the construction process.
Documenting deviation from Scope of Service in relation with the Client
Deviations from scope of work scope of services are any deviations from the contractually agreed construction TARGET through modification of scope of work scope of services (e.g. change of quantities, target dates, works performed and payment processes), but also through performance disruptions (e.g. hindrances) during the construction period. Deviations respectively modifications can also be wanted mutually by the contract parties and lead to a formal change in the contract. If deviations from scope of work scope of services in the construction process are triggered or caused by one of the contract partners, clarification of the associated effect including the bearing of costs must be agreed on.
Documenting deviation from Scope of Service in relation with the Consortium Partners / Suppliers
As soon as target date delay of a Consortium Partner or supplier is detected that affects or could affect the scheduled execution of the assigned works or delivery or also other trades, the relevant company must be pointed to in writing of not rendering the service in line with the contract and the hindrance it has caused. At the same time, immediate remedial measures must be demanded and potential claims for compensation formally announced.
If there is a performance disruption due to works performed or deliveries not in line with the contract caused by a Consortium Partner or supplier (e.g. independently changed or defective works/delivery), the Consortium Partner or supplier must be pointed to in writing immediately of his contract violation and remedial actions demanded.
Outgoing measurements and carrying out quantity survey
The establishment of quantities for billing as well as performance can be determined from drawings respectively plans (TARGET data), local measurements (ACTUAL data) and daily wage slips (ACTUAL data).
In construction, measurement is understood as the on-site determination of type and dimensions of the construction works performed. Measurements must be documented on a measurement sheet and serve as the basis for calculating quantities. Where possible, the measurement must be carried out together with the client corresponding to the progress of the construction. This applies particularly to works performed that are covered after execution. By joint signing of the measurement it becomes a certificate and must not be changed afterwards.
If quantities are determined from on-site measurements, these measurements must be numbered, and contain the item number and the item text of the work performed intended to be settled. The actual quantity survey must be carried out on a quantity survey sheet.
If quantities are determined from drawings respectively plans, a traceable calculation must include the item number, the item text, the drawing respectively plan number as well as information on finding individual dimensions and dimensional chains. All dimensions used in the quantity survey must be easy to find in the drawings and be traceable for the checker.
If quantities are determined from daily wage slips, these daily wage slips must also be numbered and must include the precise description of the work performed. The quantity survey can be carried out directly on the daily wage slip or on a quantity survey sheet.
However, the establishment of measurements is basically indispensable for any type of contract as the basis for the monthly internal performance assessment and generation of PLANNED/ACTUAL comparisons as well as potential claims.
PLANNED/ACTUAL comparison of performance target
An important factor for a cost-effective construction process is planned and controlled the use of personnel and equipment resources.
For this purpose, clear performance targets are generated for the significant internal own work performed as part of work planning by the Construction/Project Management on the basis from the assumptions of Work Estimate and, where necessary, from further findings of Work Estimate. These must be communicated to the responsible management personnel (site manager, foreman, etc.) and specified for implementation.
These targets must be monitored and documented in the course of execution by means of a periodic (daily, where necessary) PLANNED/ACTUAL comparison. If the estimation-based performance targets are not reached, the causes must be determined and analyzed by the Construction/Project Management as well as appropriate measures initiated.
Where necessary, the ongoing Work Estimate and the time schedule must be adapted accordingly and the responsible management informed.
PLANNED/ACTUAL comparison of dates
During project execution, a regular PLANNED/ACTUAL comparison of dates must be carried, starting from the time schedule generated on the basis of the estimation, as part of work planning. If the date and performance level are in accordance with the time schedule, this is an important indication for construction execution in correspondence with the planning.
In the course of project execution, the time schedule must be adjusted to any newly gained findings or requirements. Thus, possible schedule deviations shall be detected in time and the consequences respectively repercussions related with them assessed for the further project progression and counteracted where necessary. This makes the updated time schedule an important basis for successful project control.
Updating of the construction period schedule always takes place if important findings concerning deviations arise, which can considerably alter the present time schedule.
Amongst others, important deviations can result through:
• Extension of scheduled processes due to, for example, disruptions by the client, by subcontractors or suppliers as well as self-caused construction delays
• Shortening of scheduled processes due to, for example, acceleration measures arranged by the client or initiated by oneself as well as due to the cancellation of not required buffer times
• Carrying out changes in the construction process on the order of the client or from own initiation
• Claims and variation orders, additional works performed or significant increases or decreases of quantities
Deviations determined as part of the monthly PLANNED/ACTUAL date comparison must be documented in a transparent manner and analyzed. The consequent tracking and documentation of the construction process is an important basis for possible claims of the contractor against the client concerning disruptions of the construction process.
The updated time schedule must be given to the client together with information on any determined deviation of dates and deviations from scope of work scope of services.
Possible additional costs from a disrupted construction process include, amongst others:
• Construction time Extension of construction period
• Changes in the construction process
• Acceleration measures
Special attention must therefore be placed on immediate and traceable updating of the time schedule in the event of disruptions in the construction process. This shall also ensure an orderly and resource-saving continuation of the construction execution.
Project Report
The project report provides standardized information on the current project status and the anticipated progression up to the completion for the Construction/Project Management as well as for the management and is intended to support the ongoing monitoring regarding possible undesirable developments.
Amongst others, the main contents of a project report include:
• Development of important key figures such as contract volume, output volume, result, costs, receivable and dates
• A brief report on the status of the construction site such as date situation, particularities concerning the client, subcontractor situation or special events
• Tracking the development of identified, valuated (i.e. contained in the ongoing Work Estimate for instance) and non-valuated opportunities and risks
Project Completion
Organizing internal determination of condition of works for quality control
Before the actual acceptance by the client, an internal determination of condition for quality control must be carried out in the form of a construction site inspection by the Construction/Project Management.
This inspection is intended to detect possible defects that could jeopardize acceptance by the client. If such defects are determined, these must be remedied either by the applicable operating organizational unit prior to the scheduled acceptance with the client. The internal determination of condition must be scheduled in due time so there is still sufficient time available to remedy any defects determined.
In the event that the works performed are no longer accessible at a later point in time, the internal determination of condition must be carried out after completion of the respective work performed and must be documented.
Organizing and documenting acceptance with the client
If the structure work is built in compliance with the contract and no significant defects were determined as part of a preceding internal determination of condition via a construction site inspection, there is a basic entitlement for acceptance by the client of the works performed. With the acceptance, the client declares that he accepts the structure work to be handed over.
The acceptance of the works performed is associated with the following important consequences:
• Start of the limitation period for warranty claims
• Start of a contract- and country-specific period up to reversal of the burden of proof (i.e. only until the expiry of this period it is up to the contractor to prove that the structure work built by him has no defects)
• Transfer of the risk assumption of incidental loss of the structure work through e.g. fire, explosion, burst pipe or collapse to the client
• Omission of the entitlement for contractually on the side of the client if no other regulation is agreed in the contract
The requirements on acceptance by the client are basically regulated by the provisions of the respective contract.
In the case of a requisition by the contractor to carry out the acceptance after completion of the structure work, where necessary, already before expiry of the agreed execution deadline, the client must carry out the acceptance within the contractually agreed period. In principle, for an acceptance, the structure work need not necessarily be free of defects, but only must be free of significant defects. A significant defect exists if the functional use of the structure work is clearly impaired or a number of insignificant defects together constitute a substantial impairment of operation or use. The client can refuse acceptance upon determination of significant deficiencies until these are remedied.
Determining customer satisfaction
Satisfied clients are an essential component for the company success. For company planning, the knowledge to which degree the requirements and expectations of our clients have been fulfilled is significantly important. Customer satisfaction must therefore be ascertained with a standardized questionnaire by the Construction/Project Management.
If several contracts are handled each year for a client (e.g. municipalities), one inquiry per year is sufficient. The return must be forwarded to the IQM.
The feedback from the individual customer surveys must be discussed and evaluated in the affected operating organizational units. If required, corresponding measures must be determined for future heeding of the findings gained from the customer surveys.
Further evaluations are prepared by the responsible IQM staff for the respective country or used by the management as the basis for evaluations and improvement measures.
Process Description
The archiving of all project-related documents after the end of the project must be carried out in accordance with the standardized project filing system. This also applies to our Consortium. The type of archiving is carried out according to the respectively defined organization-related provisions, where the statutory regulations must be observed with regard to the retention periods.
The following types of data storage are to be distinguished:
• Paper documents
• Documents in the file storage on the file server
• Mails in the own mailbox
• External platforms for data exchange with the client and subcontractors