Project Description
A large west coast utility required a Quality Control and Assurance Program for internally constructed projects. The varied size and scope of projects, as well as dynamic project scheduling, made traditional craft inspection cumbersome, and the company wanted to emphasize ownership of quality by the internal workforce.

GTS Involvement
GTS Quality Experts facilitated internal subject matter experts in identifying the construction processes that affected the quality of the finished product. These issues were ranked for frequency and impact to determine the Pareto distribution. Results were vetted against regulatory findings and processes used by similar companies. GTS developed QA and QC processes for the top-ranking issues, and compiled the information into a functional field manual. The program was then piloted for 12 months in one geographic area of the company’s service territory to determine its long-term, system-wide feasibility. During the pilot, GTS quality assurance technicians performed weekly QA visits to each project, gathered relevant data, and reported the quality findings. GTS quality experts also facilitated Quality Focus Team meetings with internal subject matter experts to resolve the quality issues encountered during the field visits.

Based on the results of the pilot, and the potential benefits of the program, the company has decided to implement the program across its entire service territory. GTS will facilitate the implementation phase, scheduled to begin in 2011, as well as provide ongoing QA services.