American Association of
State Highway and Transportation Officials
Special Committee on
Research and Innovation
FY2023 NCHRP PROBLEM
STATEMENT TEMPLATE
Problem Number:
2023-D-03
Problem Title
Recommended
Minimum Qualifications for Transportation Project Quality Management Roles
Background Information and Need For Research
Effective
management of quality during the design and construction of public
transportation projects is a critical, yet often overlooked part of the
successful delivery of these projects. Owner agencies, designers, contractors
and material suppliers all require specific quality roles and functions to
assure that the project meets design requirements and long-term performance
expectations. Typical quality roles include owner quality assurance
engineers/managers; design quality managers; construction quality managers;
quality control plan administrators and quality control managers. These roles
and functions will vary depending on project delivery method specified by the
owner or their organizational structure. While the minimum qualifications for
roles such as lead designer, project manager or construction engineer are
usually well-defined to include specific levels of education, experience and
professional licensure, minimum requirements for quality-related roles often do
not include specific training or certification in quality management
principles. This may be due to an assumption that education and experience in a
particular design or construction discipline provides the skills necessary to
provide effective quality management; this ignores the fact that quality
management is itself a specialized discipline that requires training and
experience. It is also critical that individuals in these roles understand the
overall project quality efforts and how their functions support those
efforts. The pervasive lack of training
in quality management principles leads to compromised overall short and
long-term quality of projects.
Some
owner agencies specify or recommend minimum qualifications for personnel
filling key management roles focused on quality engaged on public construction
projects. For example, the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and U.S. Naval
Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) require QC managers/administrators
working on their projects to hold a certificate in Construction Quality
Management for Contractors, that is offered as a partnership between those
agencies and two national contractor associations. The Federal Transit
Authority (FTA) “Quality Management System Guidelines” recommends that certain
project personnel hold certifications through the American Society for Quality
including Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence; Quality Engineer; and
Quality Auditor. Several state DOTs in the northeast require QC plan
administrators to hold the Quality Assurance Technologist certification
administered by the NorthEast Transportation Training and Certification Program
(NETTCP). However, most agencies do not require certification for quality
management roles. Instead they rely on minimum educational and experience
levels that may or may not include training on or experience with quality
management principles.
Increased
knowledge of quality management principles will lead to improved outcomes on
transportation projects, including well defined and understood roles, less
rework, shorter project completion times, extended facility life, reduced
operating costs, and fewer traffic delays.
This
relates to AASHTO Committee on Materials and Pavement’s (COMP’s) Strategic Plan
- Goal 1.1 – Update Materials Standards and Goal 3 – Develop and Champion
Research for COMP.
LITERATURE
SEARCH SUMMARY
Several
published reports and articles discuss quality management approaches on public
transportation projects (many specific to design-build contracting). However,
none discuss in detail the qualifications needed to effectively conduct various
quality roles.
Kraft, E.
and Molenaar, K.: “Fundamental Project Quality Assurance Organizations in
Highway Design and Construction” – ASCE Journal of Management in Engineering,
July 2014.
Gransberg,
D., Molenaar, K.: “Analysis of Owner's Design and Construction Quality
Management Approaches In Design/Build Projects” – American Society of Civil
Engineers, 2004.
Baabak
Ashuri, Ph. D., Yashovardhan Jallan, Jung Hyun Lee: “Materials Quality
Management for Alternative Project Delivery” - Georgia Department of
Transportation, May 2018.
Ghada M.
Gad, Simon A. Adamtey, Douglas D. Gransberg: “Trends in Quality Management
Approaches to Design–Build Transportation Projects” - Transportation Research
Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2504, Transportation
Research Board, Washington, D.C., 2015, pp. 87–92.
Gransberg,
D., and K. Molenaar: “Analysis of Owner’s Design and Construction Quality
Management Approaches in Design/Build Projects” - Journal of Management in
Engineering, Vol. 20, No. 4, 2004, pp. 162–168.
Gransberg,
D., Datin, J., and Molenaar, K. (2008). NCHRP Synthesis 376: Quality Assurance
in Design-Build Projects, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC.
RESEARCH
OBJECTIVE
Develop
recommended minimum qualifications for design and construction quality
management roles on public transportation projects.
Possible
tasks include:
Task 1 –
Literature review. Include public transportation agency specifications related
to quality management for design and construction.
Task 2 –
Survey of public transportation agencies to determine current requirements for
quality management roles (including agency, designer and contractor roles), for
both traditional delivery and alternative delivery projects.
Task 3 -
Identify existing training/certification programs for quality management roles
that are related to transportation project delivery, or other related industry
sectors. Review the prerequisites, course content, intended audience
guidelines, examination process, and recertification requirements.
Task 4 –
Develop suggested minimum qualifications for various quality management roles ,
including education, certification, and experience requirements. Consider both
traditional and alternative project delivery methods.
Task 5 –
Publish a guide for agencies to use to develop minimum
qualification/certification requirements for various quality management roles
for public transportation projects.
Urgency and Potential Benefits
Ineffective
quality management in the transportation project delivery process can lead to
project delays and cost escalation due to constructability problems, rework,
and disputes, as well as reduced service life and increased maintenance costs
of completed facilities. Published reports have estimated that rework on
construction projects can account for as much as 25 percent of total project cost.
Given the total cost of delivering public transportation projects in the United
States, improved quality management in design and construction could result in
millions of dollars in annual savings to taxpayers.
Implementation Considerations and Supporters
Implementation
of the guidelines will be accomplished through presentations at the AASHTO
Committee on Materials and Pavements, AASHTO Committee on Construction, and
through presentation at various regional and national meetings and conferences
(including the TRB annual meeting), as well as a TRB webinar. Potential
challenges will be similar to those encountered when organizations worked to
improve safety. It will require a shift in cultural beliefs for agencies and
industry to invest in additional training and/or certification of quality
management staff. Inconsistent terminology related to QA will present
challenges by inhibiting effective communication at the national level.
AASHTO
Committee on Materials and Pavements (COMP) – Ranked #4
AASHTO Committee
on Construction
TRB
Committee AKC30 – Quality Assurance Management
Recommended Research Funding and Research
Period
Recommended
Funding: $300,000
Research
Period: 24 months
Problem Statement Author(S): For each author,
provide their name, affiliation, email address and phone.
Rick
Bradbury, Maine Department of Transportation, Tel: 207-624-3482,
Richard.bradbury@maine.gov
Robert
Lauzon, Connecticut Department of Transportation, Tel: 860-258-0312,
Robert.Lauzon@ct.gov
Adam
Hand, University of Nevada Reno, Tel: 775-784-1439, adamhand@unr.edu
Potential Panel Members: For each panel
member, provide their name, affiliation, email address and phone.
Members
of AASHTO COMP Technical Subcommittee 5c – Quality Assurance and Environmental,
Curt Turgeon (Chair), 651-366-5535, curt.turgeon@state.mn.us.
Rick
Bradbury, Maine Department of Transportation, 207-624-3482,
Richard.bradbury@maine.gov
Person Submitting The Problem Statement: Name, affiliation,
email address and phone.
Mark E.
Felag, AASHTO COMP Secretary on behalf of AASHTO COMP, 401-245-1327,
mfelag@hotmail.com