Koester Expectations: Quality Control

Objective: 

Clarify expectations of field staff for quality control during on-site operations as well as identify mandatory and recommended measures. 

Background: 

Quality control is a major component of every employee’s job responsibility. Field staff are the first line of defense when it comes to managing quality control on a job site.  

Things to Consider: 

Quality control is often the first aspect of a project to fall behind when schedule and financial issues put pressure on the project. “Just get it done” quickly and cheaply generally leads to poor workmanship which in turn leads to rework and warranty issues down the line. You cannot escape poor quality work, only push the consequences later down the line.  

Koester has put effort into making quality control a main focus for field staff with investments in tools and software to make QC monitoring an easier part of your generally hectic day. It is up to individual field staff team members to help ensure that we utilize the tools available to meet the QC expectations outlined below. 

Prerequisites 

Project Startup Meetings 

3 Week Lookahead Schedules 

Procore- Inspections 

Procore- Observations 

Procore- Daily Logs 

QC Project Startup Meeting- Koester Internal 

Total Station Trainings 

Matterport Trainings 

Steps 

1. Plan. Use the tools provided and trained on to plan ahead. This is the single most effective way to manage quality. Planning starts prior to mobilization, with the Project Startup and QC Project Startup Meetings where QC plans for each project begin. Utilize the 3 Week Lookahead during the project to schedule in a way that allows for proper workmanship.  

2. Procore Inspections. QC inspections in Procore are mandatory and need to be completed as the project progresses. These inspections serve two important functions. First to verify that we are inspecting work before or during its placement to catch mistakes before it’s too late. Secondly, they document the fact that we have done them. Inspections are determined and planned at the QC Startup Meeting. 

3. Daily Log. Documentation is essential. As stated above, QC is documented during inspections in Procore but the Daily Log helps identify other key factors that add to the story if questions arise later.  

4. Total Station. Utilize Total Station to verify and document. Plan for Total Station use during the QC Project Startup Meeting. 

5. Matterport/3D scanning. 3D scanning is a simple and effective tool that creates a 360 degree view of your project. Document rough ins as much as possible. It is often stated that you wish you had a picture of what is behind that drywall. 3D scanning accomplishes this. 

6. Take pictures. It is never said that there were too many pictures taken during a job.  

7. If you don’t know, ask. No one knows everything and on some occasions quality is subjective. If you have concerns about the quality of something on the job, just ask the question. It is better to get the owner or architects opinion on the drywall finish long before punch list and pushing to get the building turned over. We might still have time to resolve an issue before it’s an emergency by simply asking the question before it’s too late. 

8. Take pride in your work. Do you want to be known as the person who consistently turns over poor work or is constantly having to redo work due to poor quality? 

See Also