Consulting

A construction audit is an in-depth study of your project that will provide an unbiased, honest determination of whether your project quality goals are being achieved and the impact they may have on the long-term viability of the project.

There are many components to a construction audit that can be customized on a client-by-client basis. These components can be generalized under the following tasks:

• • Review of project documents (Project Specifications, CQA Plan, Project Drawings, Manufacturer’s Documents, Installer’s Guidance Documents, etc.)
    • • Cross-checking these documents for uniformity
    • Checking to see if these documents align with current industry standards

• Field observation of construction practices
  • • Review of documentation practices
  • Review of management practices

Owners, Engineers, Contractors, Manufacturers and Installers all should consider a construction audit. The audit can offer peace of mind to the conscientious individual who is too busy to personally perform an inspection, or who may want an expert opinion to substantiate their belief or opinion.

The main goal is to ensure conformance to the clients standards with timely, professional feedback that not only identifies problems others cannot (or they choose to overlook), but allows any such problems to be fixed such that they do not propagate into something larger throughout the course of the project. This can be summarized as follows:

Owner: Detailed information on the performance of each vendor selected for the audit.

Manufacturer: Ensure their material is being installed to their standards and provide vital information on the installation process to ensure it is not doing anything that might compromise the material/warranty.

General Contractor: A general contractor can also obtain detailed information on the performance of each vendor selected for the audit

Installer: Obtain detailed information on whether the crew is meeting the installation standards set forth by the company or even obtain a second opinion on the Engineer/QA firm.

Engineer: Obtain detailed information on their QA crew and whether they are meeting the standards set forth by the company or even obtain a second opinion on the Installer.

We try to review all parties during an audit, including the owner, but again our role is sometimes tailored to meet client needs. Based on client feedback, we have continually heard that the owners appreciate anything that helps them successfully manage a project.

In addition to the document review, the construction audit is geared towards ensuring all parties (namely QA firm, Installer, and General Contractor) are performing their work in accordance with the site-specific guidance documents, and to industry standards. The auditors will also make recommendations to the client on ways to potentially improve efficiencies.

A construction audit can take place anytime during a project, and multiple visits could be necessary in order to evaluate different activities by different vendors. Ideally, an audit would be performed early in each construction phase which allows corrections to any issues to be made moving forward throughout the remainder of the project. Ideally, the audit can be performed when the greatest amount of activities are taking place, including weekly or monthly meetings.

Our pooled resources include industry leaders Glen Toepfer (CQA) and Brent Duganeiro (CQA), who were an instrumental part of the Zero Leak, 493-acre geomembrane installation at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station which occurred from 2009 through 2012.

The results of the construction audit are formally summarized in a written Construction Audit Findings Report. This report summarizes the conditions that were observed during the auditors’ time on site, providing an overall written synopsis of the findings before delving into the specific details that often make or break a project.

All problems are summarized in the findings report. Problems that pose an immediate risk to short or long-term quality are brought to the immediate attention of the parties involved first, then immediately to the owner, such that resolution can occur before the problem propagates into something much larger. An example of an immediate problem would be using the wrong geomembrane or wrong welding rod, whereas using unrounded clamps for liner placement may not be as pressing an issue but still needs to be resolved. The client will be briefed daily on all findings.

This is completely up to the party contracting out the auditing services. Experience has shown that some parties take the audit seriously if given advance notice, and others do not.

The overall cost of the audit obviously varies from site to site and project to project, depending on the level of activity. Overall, the cost is very low in comparison to the overall project construction costs and can prove invaluable when problems that otherwise may have gone unnoticed were caught and remediated.