Rest Assured with Quality Assurance in the Construction Industry

What Is Quality Assurance?

Quality Assurance or QA in the construction industry is a methodology to mitigate mistakes or defects in products and processes, and avert problems when delivering a product or service to construction industry clients and the construction supply chain. As defined in ISO 9000, QA is a "part of quality management focused on providing confidence that quality requirements will be fulfilled". Don’t confuse Quality Assurance / QA with Quality Control / QC. Whilst the two are closely related, they differ slightly in that QA focuses on quality much earlier in the process, assuring everything is being done correctly, while QC focuses on defect detection and rejection of a product or service later on in the process.

Quality assurance in construction comprises administrative and procedural activities implemented in a quality system which to ensure that the main requirements and goals for a product or service will be fulfilled.

To bring some relevance to the industry, “Quality” within construction is governed by a Quality Control Plan or QCP. This document outlines the:

• Responsibilities and duties of staff
• Qualifications required of all staff, contractors, and suppliers
• Details of quality training, project-specific quality standards that need to be met
• Policies, procedures, and specifications to be used for quality inspections and tests
• Actions required to remedy defects, such as replacing or repairing defective work
• Quality records that need to be kept, including who is responsible for them and how they should be stored
• Project completion inspections and post-completion review procedures

As part of the QCP, Inspection and Test Plans ITPs are required to manage and track the inspections and tests needed to control quality on a project. It tells the client what inspections and tests will be carried out, while also acting as a checklist and log of the results.

Three Lines of Defence:

Across Industries and time, “three lines of defence” has been a cornerstone of making operational risk management programs. The model provides structure around risk management and internal controls and defines roles and responsibilities in different areas and the relationship between them.

First Line of Defence

This lies with business owners or the operational team which is responsible for maintaining effective internal controls and executing risk and control procedures on a day-to-day basis.

Second Line of Defence

This line, e.g. the quality management team, supports line management to help ensure risk and controls are effectively managed.

Third Line of Defence

This line, e.g.  internal audit team, provides assurance to senior management and the board that the first and second lines’ efforts are consistent with expectations. This line has a high level of organisational independence and objectivity.

Quality Assurance Governance Framework

 This sounds like rocket science however let’s break it down. What is the difference between “assurance” and “governance”?

Governance is the framework of authority and accountability that defines and controls the outputs, outcomes and benefits from construction projects, programmes and portfolios. It includes the processes, customs, interactions, policies, procedures, and practices used by staff and stakeholders in the way the organization is directed, administered, and controlled.

Assurance is defined as a positive declaration aiming to build confidence through objective and effective assurance activities. It provides confidence to the governance board (the board) that the project, programme or portfolio is on track to deliver the intended benefits. Assurance enables an organisation to see whether their procedures are effective, being followed, or if any changes are necessary. In many cases this is done through an audit function.

Career Opportunities in Quality Assurance

If you are a Quality Management professional and you aspire to make that next step in your career or indeed have the aspiration to live and work in Hong Kong, then please take a look at our current live vacancies.

In particular the following jobs are urgently seeking good applicants:

Chief Corporate Quality Manager Hong Kong

Chief Quality Manager Corporate Mainland China and International

At Maxim we offer a wide range of Quality Assurance roles in Hong Kong as well as in the UK and worldwide.

If you’re an employer struggling to fill your Quality Assurance vacancies, we are here to help and the Maxim team can offer premium Quality Assurance and Quality Control recruitment services. Our recruitment consultants will be happy to help you advertise your Quality Assurance vacancy and to find you the best QA, QC and Audit Specialists.

Richard Poulter
Construction Recruitment Director, Hong Kong
Maxim Recruitment
LinkedIn

Richard has successfully recruited for the construction industry for the past 13 years following 15 years as a civil engineer and construction project manager. He is based in Hong Kong and responsible for Maxim Recruitment operations in Hong Kong, Asia, Australia and the Middle East.