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QUALITY AND PRACTICES FOR ITS ASSURANCE 8 systematic approach to the search for excellence." Another committee of the BRB found it impossible to devise a concise, complete, and generally acceptable definition of design quality and for working purposes referred to quality buildings as those "whose characteristics create an environment where the occupant or user can accomplish his purpose effectively, efficiently, and comfortably."11 DEFINING CONSTRUCTION QUALITY, ASSURANCE, AND CONTROL12 Within the limited context of the design and construction stage of a facility, quality can be more readily defined, and the committee accepted a definition that quality is conformance to adequately developed requirements. This definition indicates that a quality constructed facility will result provided that several conditions are met: 1. The contract documents comprise a clear, complete, and accurate description of the facility to be constructed, correctly conveying the intent of the owner regarding the characteristics of a facility needed to serve his or her purposes. 2. The contract documents define a constructed facility considered acceptable under applicable regulatory codes and standards of professional practice, in terms of its reliability, the ease with which maintenance and repairs can be performed, the durability of its materials and operating systems, and the life safety afforded its users. 3. The facility is constructed in accordance with those documents. 11 Building Research Board, 1989. Improving the Design Quality of Federal Buildings, National Academy Press, Washington, DC. 12 Refer to Appendix B for definition of terms.
QUALITY AND PRACTICES FOR ITS ASSURANCE 9 In other words, quality in construction dictates both that the requirements are met and that the requirements be right. The committee's deliberations focused on the first aspect of qualityâmeeting the requirementsâbut unavoidably addressed some of the concerns for getting the requirements right in the planning and design that precede construction. Purchasers of constructionâbuilding owners, developers, and their representativesâuse a variety of methods to assure that the construction and resulting facility meet their requirements. Planned and systematically organized, these methods comprise a quality assurance (QA) program. Providers of construction services and manufacturers of construction products and building systems also use a variety of methods to make sure that their productsâincluding entire facilitiesâmeet the requirements. Quality control (QC) is accomplished through these various methods, which may be formally organized into a control system or informally undertaken by managers and workers. One other term is important: quality management. Quality management is the process of optimization of quality activities, and includes problem prevention and quality appraisal activities. As such, it involves both quality assurance and quality control. There are no generally accepted definitions of the terms quality assurance and quality control, and the two are used interchangeably by many people. The committee adopted a distinction that quality control is what a construction contractor does to determine that the products of his or her workâthe completed facilityâconform to the requirements stated in contract documents. Quality assurance is what the purchaser of construction does to determine that contractor's quality control system is functioning adequately and that the product consequently will meet the purchaser's needs.13 13 This statement presumes that the requirements given to the constructor are an adequate statement of the purchaser's needs. When this is not true, quality assurance efforts may involve reprogramming and redesign, and loss of quality.
