The AMP Contractor Certification Programs (e.g., AMPP-QP 1) and many project specifications prepared by public agencies and private companies require the painting contractor to control the quality of their work by providing a full time trained/certified quality control (QC) inspector on a coatings project. The role of the quality control inspector is to verify conformance to the governing specification using in-process inspection procedures, visual guides, test kits, and instrumentation, including documentation. Additionally, the facility owner may elect to contract with a third-party coating inspection firm to perform quality assurance (QA) inspection on the same coatings project (or assign a member of their staff to assure quality). The QA inspector often conducts the same inspections as the QC inspector. This paper and presentation will explore whether the roles of a QC and QA inspector on the same project are redundant or complementary. Examples of how, together, these roles have thwarted potential coating performance issues in the Chemical Processing environment will be cited.
Everyone wants a quality project; the word quality means different things to different people. Owners have unique perspectives on quality and risk tolerance which often differs across industries. The owner of a trash recycling center looking to paint the walls of his loading dock has a different perspective than the owner of a nuclear power plant, looking at the coating systems applied on the interior of his primary containment walls. Performance, aesthetics, time, and money tend to be the four major drivers behind quality projects. There are many more, such as access, materials, etc., but we’ll focus on the key drivers.
Applicators are motivated to perform quality work for a variety of reasons: the possibility of repeat business, establishing a base of customers that are willing to provide testimonials or references, a sense of pride by the contractor and field supervisor that their name is on the finished work, and reducing the need for rework or repair. Overall, performance of quality work is the driving factor that establishes their reputation in the marketplace and sets contractors apart from their competition. We have yet to meet a contractor that does not want to perform quality workmanship. Moreover, it needs to be completed efficiently and profitably, doing things correctly the first time is more cost effective than having to re-mobilize to perform rework or make repairs.