West Bengal Corridor Development Project

Package B [Km 193 to Km 297] Baharampur to Farakka

1.0 QUALITY ASSURANCE AND CONTROL PROGRAMME

1.1 GENERAL

The background to quality assurance is the client-contractor (in our case) relationship. The
ultimate purpose of any quality system is to ensure complete satisfaction by the customer
(client) with the products or services provided by the supplier (contractor). As such, quality
assurance requires the total integration and control of all elements within a particular area of
operation so that none is subservient to the other. In this project the elements we are
concerned are design, procurement (both material and subcontractors works), manufacture
(both on site and off site), installation and commissioning.

All activities and processes in the above elements need to be identified, planned,
implemented, monitored and controlled. Activities and processes that have quality
implication need to be verified at each stage of production and the results documented as
objective evidence. Similarly, incoming material that has quality implication need to be
accepted on a pre determined basis (i.e. inspection, test, manufacturer’s mill certificates, size,
grade, etc.). Subcontracted work at off site shall be accepted on established procedures (i.e.
manufacture’s certificate, random witnessing their test / inspection or random independent
test / inspection, etc).

To achieve the above requirements, an organization (project team) shall be established to

meet the various task anticipated. Staff with the appropriate skill and knowledge shall be
utilized. Terms of responsibilities and authority shall be clearly defined. Appropriate
resources shall be provided to meet all the challenges. The work must be within the expertise
of the personnel who will implement them. The processes and procedures to achieve the
product must be clearly outlined. All the requirements (quality system) mentioned shall be
described in this Project Quality Plan (PQP), together with the appropriate tools like Quality
Control (QC) and Quality Assurance (QA) to be implemented to achieve client’s
requirements. Thus, the PQP is intended to improve communication, productivity and quality
of work and consequently getting the job done on time.

1.2 QUALITY SYSTEM

The organization shall implement a Quality System that can effectively provide detailed
procedures for managing the quality of design, procurement (both material and services),
construction, commissioning. As such, it is the responsibility of the organization to perform
inspection and test to verify that performance and progress meet the contractual requirements.
During the inspection and test, the Resident Engineer (RE) may participate and it is the duty
of the organization to provide all the necessary assistance required. In activities (hold points)
where the RE is involved, the work can only proceed on the approval of the RE himself. All
nonconformances must be made good before proceeding to the next stage. Annexure ‘A’
shows the organization framework for the Quality Assurance.

In order to monitor and control the above requirements, each project shall have its own
quality plan which called “Project Quality Plan.” The Project Quality Plan (PQP) itself needs
the approval of the client prior to its implementation. The PQP must be submitted at different
stages as called for in the contract for approval. The PQP shall be project specific and shall
include all the vital elements that need to be monitored and controlled to accomplish the
project successfully. Annexure ‘B’ gives the content of the PQP.

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West Bengal Corridor Development Project
Package B [Km 193 to Km 297] Baharampur to Farakka

1.3 STANDARDS

The industry standards referred in the contract document (eg; MOST, PWD Spec, IRC, etc)
shall apply to all work under this contract and all such standards shall refer only to the current
editions of the industry standard, unless otherwise indicated.

Whenever it is specified, the production and or installation methods shall be approved by the
RE prior to implementation.

All workmanship and the quality level of each product shall be accepted as specified in these
standards.

1.4 ACCESS TO THE WORK BY RE

The RE shall at all time have access to the work and work records whether on or off site.

Any work upon examination found not in accordance with the requirements of the contract
document, shall be made good by the organization.

1.5 WORKMANSHIP

All work shall be executed in accordance with the standards and specifications. In these
respects the workers are expected to be skilled and they shall be supervised by competent
supervisors.

All material, equipment and appliances shall be handled, used and installed as per the
manufacturer’s directions.

1.6 INSPECTION AND TESTING

The organization shall provide labour and facilities to undertake the inspection and testing of
material and work whether on site or off site.

An Inspection and Test Plan shall be produced to identify the witness points, the nature of
inspection or test required as per the contract. The plan shall also detail, the standard used,
the acceptance criteria, and the witnesses required. Checklist shall be made available for the
purpose. Annexure ‘C’ gives a brief summary of tests to be conducted during construction
stage.

Inspection and Test are basically divided into three categories namely, incoming inspection,
in process inspection and final inspection.

1.6.1 Organization’s Acceptance Services During Procurement (Incoming Inspection)

Reliance solely on well-defined procurement documents, cautions selection of

suppliers and careful evaluation of offers to obtain satisfactory services from a
supplier may not assure a quality product. The organization also needs to verify that
the services being furnished by a supplier are acceptable, that is, comply with the
procurement document requirements.

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West Bengal Corridor Development Project
Package B [Km 193 to Km 297] Baharampur to Farakka

There are a number of methods which can be used to determine their acceptability.
Some of these methods are supplier certification of conformance, receiving,
inspection, surveillance, post-installation testing, or combinations of these.
1.6.1.1 Certificate of Conformance Method

In certain cases where there is no direct inspection by the organization, the

organization may accept based on a supplier’s certificate of conformance. A
certificate of this type states that the specified requirements have been met.
This certificate would be in addition to specific documentation, such as
material certificates or reports of tests performed which may be required by
procurement documents. Even though the supplier is obligated to furnish
acceptable items in accordance with contract requirements, the certificate of
conformance would further motivate the supplier to furnish an acceptable
item.

The certificate should identify the following:

1.6.1.1.1 The item or service;

1.6.1.1.2 The acceptance requirements and a statement that the items or

service conforms to these requirements;

1.6.1.1.3 The responsible person attesting to the authenticity of the certificate

and that person’s signature.

Acceptance by this method is usually satisfactory when the item or service is

of a simple design and involves standard materials, processes, and tests. This
method may be used for nuts, bolts, flanges, gages, thermometers, etc.

1.6.1.2 Receiving Inspection Method

The organization may accept an item or service solely by receiving inspection

when the completed items or services are as follows:

1.6.1.2.1 Relatively simple or standard in design, manufacture, and test;

1.6.1.2.2 Adaptable to standard receiving inspections and/or tests to verify

quality characteristics;

1.6.1.2.3 Not adversely affected in integrity, function, or cleanliness during

receiving inspection operations.

Receiving inspections should be specified in written instructions which state

those features to be inspected. The features include identification;
dimensional, physical, and other characteristics; freedom from shipping
damage and cleanliness.

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West Bengal Corridor Development Project
Package B [Km 193 to Km 297] Baharampur to Farakka

1.6.2 In Process Inspection

In process inspection are conducted during installation and construction of items

providing assurance that the required quality is being obtained in accordance with
approved procedures or standards. It also assures that deficient items or systems are
found and removed from further processing, early in the construction thus reducing
the cost of rework and delays. As such, in process inspection verifies that items are
installed, assembled and constructed in compliance with the contract and latest
approved specifications, drawing, installation procedures, codes and standards.
The in process inspection method also covers the monitoring, witnessing, or
observing of subcontractor activities at their facilities to obtain assurance that the
item or service meets contract document requirements.

Acceptance by the in process inspection method may be most desirable when the item
or service:

1.6.2.1 Is vital to project reliability;

1.6.2.2 Has quality characteristics that are difficult to verify after delivery.

1.6.2.3 Is complex in design, manufacture, and test.

The in process inspection method may not be warranted when the quality of the item
can be verified by review of tests reports, inspections upon receipt, or other means.

When the in process inspection method is used, it should be performed at intervals

consistent with the importance and complexity of the item or service.

The in process inspection method activities may include checking that the following
has been accomplished:

1.6.2.4 Documentation on materials, inspections, and tests have been complied with
and that the applicable qualifications, process records, and certifications are
available;

1.6.2.5 Fabrication procedures and processes have been complied with and that the
applicable qualifications, process records, and certifications are available.

1.6.2.6 Components and assemblies have been inspected, examined and tested as
required and applicable inspection, test and certification records are
available;

1.6.2.7 Nonconformances have been corrected as required;

1.6.2.8 Components and assemblies are cleaned, preserved, packed, and identified in
accordance with specified requirements.

1.6.3 Final Inspection

Final inspection verifies that the completed systems and items are in conformance
with specified requirements. Thus it verifies the operational readiness of the systems
and items.

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West Bengal Corridor Development Project
Package B [Km 193 to Km 297] Baharampur to Farakka

1.7 CONTROL OF NONCONFORMANCES AND CORRECTIVE ACTION

1.7.1 Nonconformances

Nonconformances are deviations from contractual requirements or established

practices. It is essential to correct these nonconformances to prevent further
processing, and completion or delivery of power plant items to incorrect procurement
requirements. This may be accomplished by documenting the methods for the
identification, control, and disposition of nonconformances. Nonconformances to the
procurement requirements which fall into the categories listed below should be
submitted to the organization for approval of the recommended disposition:

7.1.1.1 A technical or material requirement has been violated;

1.7.1.2 A requirement in a subcontractor’s document, which has been approved by

the organization, is violated;

1.7.1.3 The non-conformance cannot be corrected by the subcontractor, that is, the
item cannot be reworked so that it will meet requirements.

The nonconformance and control methods should contain provisions for the
following:

1.7.1.4 Subcontractor notification to the organization. The nonconformance

notification should include the subcontractor’s recommended disposition
(such as use-as-is or repair and rework) and the technical justification for the
recommendation;

1.7.1.5 The organization’s disposition of subcontractor’s recommendation;

1.7.1.6 The subcontractor’s verification that the nonconformance has been corrected;

1.7.1.7 Requirements for the maintenance of records for each nonconformance.

1.7.2 Corrective Action

The organization should verify that the subcontractor has in fact implemented the
corrective action approved by the organization. This may be done by verifying that
corrective action has been taken. Another method is to review and approve the
subcontractor’s written procedures for processing of nonconformances. The
organization would then verify implementation of the subcontractor’s
nonconformance system to obtain assurance that the subcontractor’s nonconformance
system is effective.

1.8 ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE

The organization shall implement an Environmental Mitigation Plan (EMP) that can
effectively provide compliance to the EIA already completed for the project. It is also the
responsibility of the organization to perform inspection and monitoring during the
construction and maintenance phase to verify the effectiveness of the EMP.

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West Bengal Corridor Development Project
Package B [Km 193 to Km 297] Baharampur to Farakka

1.9 TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT

During the entire duration of the project, the organization shall maintain a proper traffic
management plan to provide safe travel to the drivers of vehicles plying on the Project Road
at all times of the day, throughout the year and provide protection to the Project workers when
they are on the project site.

1.10 RECORDS

Certain records generated during the project cycle should be maintained by the organization
to provide evidence that the subcontractor complied with the contract documents and to track
nonconforming items. If the methods used to control and retain these records are specified in
written procedures, this work can be done more effectively. The records fall into two
categories, subcontractor-generated records and organization-generated records.

Subcontractor-generated records include those that are required to be submitted to the

organization, such as code data reports, material certifications, and NDE and test reports.
They also include those that the supplier is required to retain for its own files, such as
radiographs, welding procedure qualifications, and welder qualifications.

Organization-generated records include receiving inspection reports, source verification

reports, post-installation test reports, contracts, and procurement documents. Reports which
relate to the acceptance of the item or service and the subcontractor’s nonconformance are
valuable for developing a history of the subcontractor’s performance to guide future
organizations.

The records retained should be legible, identifiable, and retrievable to be of future value. The
record control methods should address these requirements.

1.11 AUDITS

The management should perform audits to verify compliance with the quality management
program and to measure the effectiveness of the program during all phases of the procurement
process. Typically, the essential steps of the audit are:

1.11.1. Planning the audit by means of a document which defines the organizations
and activities to be audited and the frequency of the audits;

1.11.2. Providing audit personnel who are familiar with the types of activities to be
audited and who do not have direct responsibilities in the areas being audited;

1.11.3. Performing the audit in accordance with guidelines which identify those
activities that affect quality;

1.11.4. Preparing the audit report which summarizes the audit results and details the
nonconformances observed;

1.11.5. Submitting the audit report to management responsible for the area audited
for review and corrective action for the nonconformances;

1.11.6. Re-auditing of nonconforming areas when it is considered necessary to verify

implementation of required corrective action.

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