Factors, Metrics and Tips on Quality Management for the Non Conformance Report Process
| On a recent bridge project, the infiltration of water through the decking to the roadway underneath was obvious. A field visitor to the bridge after a heavy rain expressed dissatisfaction and suggested the bridge was like a car wash. Another stakeholder sent a terse Email indicating an inspection was wasting people’s time because the waterproofing non-conformance was not corrected. Here is a project manager’s perspective on the three primary steps in the non-conformance process: Opening: At this step, the contractor and quality group determined there is a non-conformance of the product/deliverables to meet the contract requirements. A Non-Conformance Report (NCR) is created and distributed for engineer and quality group review. (This can be preceded by an Observation, which is reviewed and confirmed to be a non-conforming condition.) Pending: At this step, the contractor, engineer and quality groups agree on the required corrective action to resolve the described non-conformance. Procedures and as needed, updated drawings or sketches are approved and ready for execution. Closing: At this step, the contractor and construction manager agree the corrective action is completed and after testing, it is confirmed the work product/deliverables meet the contract. Quality records are available to substantiate closing the NCR. The NCR is an output for controlling non-conforming conditions on projects, which are based on contract requirements as well as industry standards by International Organization for Standards (ISO) and Project Management Institute (PMI). The NCR is an integral part of a Project Quality Management System Plan (QMS) and the project approved Quality Manual from each consultant, contractor, vendor, manufacturer and independent testing agency. A sample contract might include the following QMS attributes, which can be customized to the contract scope such as design, construction, construction management and testing agency:
While an NCR was written and the corrective action was agreed upon by the Engineer and product manufacturer regarding the bridge, there were delays in arranging the required work conditions for completing the corrective action. Subsequently, the repair to the bridge waterproofing was not successful in resolving the drainage problem. As a result, the same repair was scheduled for the future, which further increased the overall process duration. There were no contract requirements or project level plans containing performance goals/durations for each step. However, management for the contractor and PM oversight were questioning the number of open NCRs and the durations to closure. Management perceived the durations for the NCRs were much too long. The NCR process durations are a function of the work hours and conditions for each contract in a project. As a result, each project and each contract may have different durations for the optimum project processes including NCRs. Factors affecting NCR durations:
Management of NCR performance should be based on historical data from previous experience with the process lifecycle provided by the Buyer’s organization on completed projects similar in scope, cost, schedule, complexity, contract types, and document control methodology. Without prior experience, performance metrics may need to go through several trial periods based on the best estimate of the NCR work flow. The estimated work flow should be developed, vetted and tested by the Buyer and Seller before implementing performance management/measurement of NCR durations. An example for the NCR work flow and optimum activity timeframes for a rail transit project is below. The process includes Field personnel identifying variances to requirements and overseeing site work, Engineer to evaluate the NCR/Observation and determine the corrective action, Contractor to perform the corrective action and the Field personnel to confirm the corrective action meet requirements. This example may be a useful framework across several industries. Opening: The activities in this phase are:
Pending: The activities in this phase are:
Closing: The activities in this phase are:
Accounting for the established review goals, processing time for document control, and the limited access to site locations, the optimum duration for NCR process = 122 days from initial Observation. The potential metrics for monitoring performance are: OPENING = 21 days from Observation. PENDING = 51 days from NCR start. CLOSING = 50 days from approval of NCR corrective action. TIP: PM should balance the work flow and activity timeframe to the specific project scope and durations common to the industry, the Buyer’s standard organization processes, and the review duration goals for document control/production. TIP: PM should evaluate the managerial and administrate effort by the Buyer and contractor to explain performance variances to goal durations, which may already be monitored and measurable by other means such as achieving contract and forecast milestones. Typical milestones, including Substantial Completion, Construction Completion and Final Completion/Acceptance are dependent on closing NCRs and Observations. TIP: Metrics and dashboards are proven management tools for monitoring project performance as well as organizational silos. PM should assess the totality of the management dashboards so that the team, stakeholders, funding partners, community and political influencers remain focused on critical goals without distraction to tie up managerial resources explaining variances to goals on items that do not directly affect progress and achieving goals. TIP: The performance on NCRs may not be as critical as other key indicators that more directly affect interdependencies on achieving operational use and final acceptance of the project product/deliverable by hard schedule dates and milestones. TIP: Project QMS and contractor/consultant Quality Manuals should clearly define the attributes for an Observation and Non Conformance. Both work flows should provide checkpoints to eliminate nuisance and trivial items identified during routine in-progress inspections of work. These items should be resolved by the Buyer’s and Seller’s supervision on-site. |
