Quality control (QC): A procedure or set of procedures intended to ensure that a manufactured product or performed service adheres to a defined set of quality criteria or meets the requirements of the client or customer.
That’s a fairly straightforward definition for a not so straightforward task. Achieving and maintaining the quality of your work output should be of paramount importance to anyone in business today. Separating your shop from the pack is a difficult and delicate job. Zeroing in to the one thing that can put you out in front is quality control.
Quality control comes into play at all levels; from prospecting, to estimating, to contract award, to pre-job preparedness, to the jobsite and through the final stages of the project. With new materials coming into the marketplace almost daily and the labor market mercurial at best, it is beyond doubt that establishing and maintaining a good quality control program is essential to the success of your business. How to go about it is not rocket science; you know the desired results, you know what needs to happen to achieve those results.
Quality control starts at the very beginning of a project, not just in the field. Consistency of procedure will, usually, ensure consistency of results. Start at the beginning and work the sequence the same way, every time, taking into account variations as they come up. Making a Boolean logic flow chart with simple YES/NO answers can give you a good amount of insight into what you are doing that is working, and what isn’t. It’s simplistic and basic, but it’s effective.
Start with how you prospect for new work. How do you canvas? Is your canvas effective (Y/N). If YES, then keep doing it, if NO, make adjustments or changes. Once you are in a bid situation, your flow of Y/N choices continues. Does your estimator have full set of plans and specs? If Y get to work, if N, why not? What can you do to correct that? This type of thinking should run through everything you do.
Moving ahead to estimating; does your estimator do a takeoff in the same way each time, regardless of the complexity or simplicity of the project, such as sanitary soil, DWV, roof drains, condensate drains, domestic water, natural gas, etc.)? If so, it is less likely that important items will be missed. Reading through the full set of plans and specifications, every time, rather than just the M or P sheets likewise makes it less likely that something you should have included in your number, but didn’t will get accounted for. Do you make sure that the drawings and specifications are returned to the general? (Y/N)
You are awarded a project; do you read and review all the contract documents before signing? (Y/N). Once you’ve read, signed and agreed to a contract, do you diligently provide all the necessary paperwork to the general contractor? (Insurance certificates, special certifications, etc.) (Y/N). Do you set up a job file? Is it consistent from one job to the next (same tabs, same chapter headings)? Do you copy and provide the start package to your foreman?
You’ve got the job; all of your Q/C to this point has been involved with the administrative aspects. What’s next? Meeting with your foreman and crew to “pass the baton” to the people who will do the actual work. Making sure that everyone understands the project, the schedules and the phasing of the work is very important. Arranging for pre-construction work to be done, like underground utility location, jobsite storage areas, ingress and egress for your men and equipment are all things that need to be done at this juncture.
Controlling your materials is like controlling your profits. Setting up a job account, complete with who can and who cannot order material, with your supplier is next on the important things to do list. Some shops will forward a materials takeoff to the supplier. The supplier will provide pricing on the materials and, if you set it up correctly, will provide phased deliveries to the jobsite on a schedule that you set. Do not underestimate the importance of keeping track of your material purchases. Do it by the job in every case except service work.
Now your Q/C gets down to the area where you have the least control. In many cases, if the work is being done on time, municipal inspections are passed and the GC is happy, everybody is happy. I am suggesting that you take the time to either personally inspect the work your people are doing, or have a trusted, knowledgeable management person do so. Hitting all the deadlines and dotting the i’s and crossing t’s doesn’t count for much if the work is not done to your standards. You can get a job done, or you can get a job done right. The choice is yours. Quality control, in the field, depends on quality workmanship. That’s where you win or lose your reputation.
The Brooklyn, N.Y.-born author is a retired third generation master plumber. He founded Sunflower Plumbing & Heating in Shirley, N.Y., in 1975 and A Professional Commercial Plumbing Inc. in Phoenix in 1980. He holds residential, commercial, industrial and solar plumbing licenses and is certified in welding, clean rooms, polypropylene gas fusion and medical gas piping. He can be reached at [email protected].