Program Quality Management Best Practices: Home

Project: The objective of this synthesis is to document the various QC requirements used by DOTs, including how QC plans are reviewed, accepted, and monitored to achieve project specifications and what actions are being taken by an agency when QC plans are not being followed. Information gathered should include (but is not limited to): (1) Requirements of contractors regarding QC plans for various project delivery methods (2) Guidance and/or templates provided by DOTs for QC plans (3) Minimum certifications/qualifications for QC personnel required by agencies (4) QC plan review and approval/acceptance processes used by DOTs (5) DOT compliance monitoring and inspection of contractor implementation of QC plans (6) Incentives that DOTs are using to encourage effective and/or innovative QC (7) Actions that an agency takes when QC plans are not followed (8) Innovative efforts in construction quality control (9) Consideration of risk in oversight of QC plans Information will be collected through literature review, a survey of DOTs, and follow-up interviews with selected agencies for the development of case examples. Information gaps and suggestions for research to address those gaps will be identified.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's website describing their Quality Assurance Branch, and the three programs the branch administers: Value Engineering, Constructability Review and Post Construction Review..

From Colorado DOT's 2021 Field Materials Manual.

NJDOT has developed a Quality Management (QM) process that is used to document the structure, responsibilities and procedures required to achieve and deliver a quality project.

ASCE conference paper. Achieving exemplary quality standards on delivered projects is essential for the State DOTs as this presents a direct reflection of the agency’s performance. The main objective of this study is to provide a synthesis of quality assurance (QA) practices in different state DOTs for alternative delivery projects. Can be downloaded from ODOT computers.

This project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the quality measures employed by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to influence the in-service performance of flexible pavements. The study involved creating a relational geo-referenced database connecting production, placement, and routine in-service performance data collected over the years for Wisconsin Projects.

ASCE. This work presents a decision support tool developed for TxDOT. The tool was created based on literature review findings as well as the agency’s specific needs, experiences, and legal authority.
Can be downloaded from ODOT computers.

FHWA: References Laws, regulations, policy and guidance related to topic

Prepared for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Background. In 2016, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation developed and implemented a project to obtain and evaluate data related to construction quality management. Walling Consulting Services, LLC (WCS) assisted Department staff with the development of a scalable construction quality management (CQM) process.

NCHRP Report 808: This guidebook provides recommendations and tools to assist in developing quality management systems (QMSs) and assistance in creating a better definition of quality management in the context of alternative project delivery.

This paper presents the results of a multiple-case study, designed to explore, reveal, and consider evolving techniques used for managing quality assurance systems, especially in cases of alternative forms of delivery, such as construction manager/general contractor (CMGC), Design-Build (DB), and Pubic Private Partnerships (PPP) forms.

The assignment of project quality roles and responsibilities in the highway industry makes up a project quality assurance organization (QAO). Historically, all project quality roles and responsibilities have been assigned to the state highway agency (SHA), an accepted and well-understood practice in the industry. However, increasing use of alternative project delivery methods and reductions in SHA staffing are having an impact on traditional QAO practices. In response, SHAs are increasingly selecting QAOs in an informal manner because of time constraints, limited staff knowledge and experience, and a lack of guidance from the research community. Can be downloaded on ODOT computers.

Minnesota DOT. The intent of Mn/DOT’s Quality Management Process (QMP) is to assure that a statewide standard of quality is accomplished for the development of final plans on design-bid-build projects.

FHWA. State and Local Departments of Transportation (DOTs) need to deliver quality, timely construction projects under constrained budgets and high expectations from the traveling public. A strength of the private sector is applying new and innovative techniques to solve problems. However, in highway construction, a contractor’s ability to innovate is usually constrained by the project design, detailed standard specifications, and a low bid environment, all of which are in place to protect the agency and to ensure quality. Performance contracting is an alternative contracting technique, under which DOTs specify performance goals (desired outcomes), and contractors receive the flexibility to propose and apply innovations to meet those goals. It is designed to enhance cooperation and problem solving between the owner agency and contractor as partners, and to ensure that the owner agency achieves its desired outcomes for the project.

FHWA. A majority of State transportation agencies use the design-build (DB) contracting method to deliver some transportation projects. Documented benefits of DB include faster project delivery, improved constructability, less cost growth, early cost certainty, and fewer claims. One area of DB contracting that requires closer examination is construction quality assurance (QA). DB is believed to provide a level of project quality equal to design-bid-build (DBB), as outlined in the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Design-Build Effectiveness Study. However, a recent examination of State agency DB procurement packages showed that roles and responsibilities for construction quality are not clearly defined in many instances.

Recent Transportation Research Board-sponsored studies on project delivery methods in airport, highway, and transit agencies found that many agencies have gained experience with alternative project delivery methods (PDM) and now consciously pair a transportation project’s requirements with an appropriate delivery method. These agencies have experienced successful projects using traditional Design-Bid-Build (DBB), as well as the integrated methods, Construction Manager-at-Risk (CMR), and Design-Build (DB). This paper combines the results of the studies in the three modes and seeks to differentiate experienced practitioners’ perceptions in 19 agencies of how project delivery method choice impacts design and construction quality. Paper can be provided by the ODOT Library.

Kansas DOT. From KSDOT Construction Manual

TRB Circular E-C137. Highway quality assurance (QA), like many other specialized subject areas, has its own unique language containing numerous technical terms or expressions having very specific meanings. Some of these terms are not well understood, and their use is subject to a variety of different interpretations. The highway QA language, moreover, is continually changing to keep pace with advances in QA. As new terms come into general use, older terms must often be perceived in a new light.

NCHRP Synthesis 346. This synthesis describes the current quality assurance (QA) practices of state and federal departments of transportation with regard to highway materials and construction, including soils and embankments, aggregate base and subbase, hot-mix asphalt, portland cement concrete paving, and portland cement concrete structures. The report focuses on the strategies and practices used by agencies to ensure quality.

NCHRP Research Results Digest. This study examines the state of the practice of quality assurance (QA) related to critical structural materials and components: those for which failure poses a threat to public safety or to the integrity of the transportation system (e.g., bridge girders, bridge columns, and sign/signal/luminaire supports).

AASHTO. This guide is intended to be a reference for agencies to use in furthering their quality improvement programs by providing information on possible approaches for developing, measuring, and achieving quality in their preconstruction programs. Hard copy available in ODOT Library.

FHWA. This manual is a comprehensive guide that a highway agency can use when developing new, or modifying existing, acceptance plans and quality assurance specifications. It provides necessary instruction and illustrative examples to lead the agency through the entire process of acceptance plan development, including: setting up the initial data collection/experimentation to determine typical parameters of current construction; establishing the desired level of quality to be specified; designing the actual acceptance plan itself, including selecting quality characteristics, statistical quality measure, buyer's and seller's risks, lot size, number of samples (sample size), specification and/or acceptance limits, and payment-adjustment provisions; monitoring how the acceptance plan is performing; and making necessary adjustments.

Transportation Research Records. Although the concepts of quality management have been successfully applied in many industries, primarily manufacturing, and are equally applicable to the construction industry, highway megaprojects, especially those delivered through private-public partnership (P3) arrangements, present new challenges. Can be downloaded from ODOT computer.

AASHTO. This report along with its companion report, "Implementation Manual for Quality Assurance" include quality control requirements for the contractor and or supplier and quality assurance requirements for the agency. These reports consider the all encompassing concept of quality control, quality acceptance, independent assurance (I.A.) laboratory accreditation, technician training and certification, and contractor quality control plans. Hard copy available from ODOT Library.

AASHTO. This report, along with a separate companion report " Quality Assurance Guide Specification" include quality control requirements for the contractor and or supplier and quality assurance requirements for the agency. This report covers program implementation, laboratory accreditation, sampling and testing personnel, quality control, acceptance program, independent assurance, and dispute resolution. Hard copy available at ODOT Library

Good technical practices or good business practices by themselves are not sufficient to produce and deliver good products or services quickly and at a low cost. This paper discusses ingredients of good technical practices and good business practices and presents a framework for integrating them through good project management to achieve better product or service delivery. Can be downloaded from ODOT computers.