Overview

Building owners want to be sure that they are getting what they pay for in terms of the quality of the building s construction. Quality assurance programs and quality control procedures are used toward that end.

Quality is defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs. In most construction projects, the particular standard of quality that will apply in a given case is established by and measured in terms of the contract document requirements. The owner initially establishes a general standard of quality, which is then developed by the architect/engineer into specific terms and incorporated into the contract documents. The standard of quality required on a given project will vary depending on the needs of the owner, the project type, and the established schedule and budget.

What is the difference between the terms quality assurance and quality control? ASTM defines quality assurance as all planned and systematic actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that an item or a facility will perform satisfactorily in service and quality control as those quality assurance actions which provide a means to control and measure the characteristics of an item, process, or facility to established requirements. In specification language, to assure means to give confidence to, and to ensure means to make certain in a way that eliminates the possibility of error. Quality assurance in construction could therefore be considered...