1.7.19 A Few Quality Tips for Field Supervisors

• Inspect for quality on every walkthrough and, at a bare minimum, once a week.
• Promptly notify a subcontractor or vendor of any unacceptable work, material, or equipment, and set a date for replacement or rework. Just as important, follow up and if that date is not met, call the subcontractor or vendor and notify them.
• If substandard work or repeated lack of quality continues, call the subcontractor’s owner, request they come to the site, observe the poor quality, and obtain a verbal commitment to improve. Follow up with a written memorandum of the meeting. If a change in crew supervision is deemed necessary, make the request. The sample letter in Section 1.7.20 can be used for both purposes.
• With respect to materials and equipment purchased by the General Contractor, if deliveries include damaged or substandard products, notify the vendor, verbally or by e-mail, and request a visit to the site by its representative to inspect the poor-quality items.
• Prior to a subcontractor demobilizing from the site, conduct a walkthrough with its foreman and send a copy of the results of that walkthrough to the subcontractor’s office. Advise that any punchlist developed during this inspection must be completed prior to demobilization, and let them know that future payments may be jeopardized if the remedial work is not done promptly. Also mention that this does not preclude the issuance of a punchlist by the architect, but is in addition to that document. The sample letter in Section 1.7.21 can be used for that purpose.

The quest for quality is unrelenting and requires the full backing of top management and the daily attention of both Project Manager and the Field Supervisors, but the concept of “Do it Right the First Time” is the essence of QCQA.