A.01.30_PWS_Attachment_4_-_QASP.pdf

ATTACHMENT 4

QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN (QASP)

This plan is provided for information purposes only. This Quality Assurance Plan is not part of the Quotation Request, nor will it be made part of any resulting contract. The Government has the right to change or modify inspection methods at its discretion.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION

A. QASP CONTENTS

B. QAE TRAINING

C. QAE STAFFING

IL DEFINITIONS

III. METHODS OF SURVEILLANCE

IV. SAMPLING GUIDE

EXHIBITS: A. CUSTOMER COMPLAINT RECORD

B. CONTRACT DISCREPANCY REPORT

C. SAMPLING GUIDE

QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN

Debris Removal and Roadway/Campsite Sweeping- Norfork Lake

I.INTRODUCTIQN: Quality Assurance (QA) is a program undertaken by the Government to ensure that the Contractor offers for acceptance products and services which conform to contract requirements. In this case, the Government is contracting for debris removal/cleanup. This Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) will assist the Quality Assurance Evaluator (QAE) or others in monitoring the Contractor's performance in a systematic way. This QASP provides a written plan that details what is to be evaluated, how evaluations are to be accomplished, frequency of evaluations, and evaluation parameters. It includes a Sampling Guide, Surveillance Checklists, and other information that the QAE should have to provide effective QA.

A.QASP CONTENTS: The QASP consists of two parts: the general information that describes the overall requirements, procedures, surveillance methods, and other data that applies to the Sampling Guide. The Sampling Guide may cover one or more contract line item numbers (CLINs). This QASP contains a Sampling Guide which may be used itself, or serve as an example in preparation of guides specific to individual contract schedules. The Sampling Guide contains the information needed to perform surveillance of specific contract requirements. It contains a description of the contract requirements;

identifies the primary method of surveillance, maximum allowable degree of deviation from requirement, the lot description or lot size, the level of surveillance, sample size, sampling procedures, inspection procedures, analysis procedures, suggested actions, payment computation examples, and related attachments.

B.QAE TRAINING: Personnel tasked with monitoring the Contractor's performance of mowing, leaf removal, and herbicide services must be adequately trained in QA methods and procedures in order to effectively implement the activity's QA program. If this training has not been received, the a9tivity should take steps to have the QAE(s) attend the next available course and in the meantime should develop a local training program. In addition to being intimately familiar with the requirements of the mowing, leaf removal, and herbicide services contract specifications, QAEs must also familiarize themselves with the details of this QASP, the procedures which will be used to notify the contractor of deficiencies to be corrected, and how to respond to customer complaints.

C.QAE STAFFING: Ideally QAE staffing should be based on a pre-determined number of contract inspections (Sampling Guide) and related work requirements rather than on the availability of QAEs. If other Sampling Guides are developed, determining accurate QAE staffing levels to implement the plan is a relatively simple task involving an analysis of each plan's requirements. This analysis involves determining the average time needed to complete each of the inspections required (sample size or quantity of work) by each plan including travel time requirements, time required to prepare monthly reports and perform other administrative duties, time to perform any non-surveillance duties, etc.

II. DEFINITIONS: The following definitions are applicable to this QASP and are consistent with the definitions provided in the specifications.

1. ATTRIBUTE: A characteristic or performance indicator of a service or product that can be observed or measured for conformance with a specified standard or tolerance. An attribute of an item is either within the specified requirements or it is not.

A. ATTRIBUTE SAMPLING: A form of acceptance sampling that grades a service as defective or not defective.

B. CONTRACT DISCREPANCY REPORT (CDR): A formal, written description of a Contractor nonconformance or lack of performance for contracted work. A CDR, when issued by the government, requires a formal response by the Contractor.

C. CONTRACT LINE ITEM NUMBER (CLIN): Identifies the services for which the Contractor will receive compensation. The unit price of a CLIN represents the value of service delivery which is the basis for payment for satisfactory service delivery and the basis for deduction for unsatisfactory service delivery.

D. CONTRACTOR QUALITY CONTROL PLAN (CQCP): The Contractor's written plan to control equipment, systems, or services to ensure that requirements of the contract are performed satisfactorily.

E. CUSTOMER COMPLAINT RECORD: A means of documenting certain kinds of contract service problems. A supplemental surveillance method used to evaluate a contractor's performance.

F. CRITICAL ELEMENT: A task, procedure, or operation which has been determined to be mandatory to fulfill the condition, value, or measure comprising a standard.

G. NON-CRITICAL ELEMENT: A task, procedure, or operation which has been determined to be essential to the overall condition, value, or measure comprising a standard, but will not constitute a substantial deviation (major defect) from the standard unless viewed in the context of repeated unsatisfactory performance or non-performance.

H. DEFECT: An instance of noncompliance with a service requirement. A defect may be caused by either non-performance or unsatisfactory performance.

I. MAJOR DEFECT: A defect that is likely to reduce materially the usability of the unit of service for its intended purpose. A major defect is a defect that judgment and experience indicate would result in hazardous or unsafe conditions for individuals using, maintaining, or depending upon the service delivery, or a defect that judgment and experience indicate requires corrective action to achieve substantial compliance with an established standard. A major defect is also classified as a collection of 2 or more minor defects in the same general area, both close to each other or more than the maximum allowable deviation.

J. MINOR DEFECT: A defect that is not likely to reduce materially the usability of the unit of service for its intended purpose, or is a departure from the established standards having little bearing on the effectiveness of the unit of service. A minor defect is a defect that judgment and experience indicated is not a substantial deviation from requirements and generally does not require re-performance for overall performance to be considered as satisfactory.

K. DEFECTIVE S E R V I C E : A service output or unit (sample) of service which contains one or more defects or nonconformance with specified requirements.

L. SURVEILLANCE CHECKLIST: A form in the QA Plan used for recording inspection results for a unit of service delivery.

M. STANDARD: A standard is a desired condition, value, or measure by which a service or product is judged to meet a specification or requirement.

N. INSPECTION: The examination and testing of supplies or services (including, when appropriate, raw materials, components, and intermediate assemblies) to determine whether the supplies or services conform to contract requirements. Inspection is the process of measuring, examining, testing, or otherwise comparing the unit of service with the requirements. In this contract the term "inspection" also includes actions by the Contractor to observe existing conditions in all parcels to be maintained to determine the need for service delivery.

0. INSPECTION BY ATTRIBUTES: Inspection by attributes is inspection whereby either the unit of service is classified simply as defective (unsatisfactory) or non-defective (satisfactory), or the number of defects in the unit of service is counted, with respect to a given requirement of set of requirements.

P. LOT: A collection of se1vice outputs from which a sample is drawn and inspected to determine conformance with the standards.

Q. LOT SIZE: The number of service outputs in a lot.

R. PERFORMANCE INDICATOR: A characteristic or attribute of an output of a work process that can be measured.

S. PLANNED SAMPLING: A sampling method in which work outputs are selected in accordance with subjective criteria established in the surveillance plan. Planned sampling is a method of looking at a subjectively determined collection of attributes or items in a lot, to form general conclusions about the quality of that lot against a standard.

T. QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA): Action by the Government to verify that the quality of purchased goods and services received are acceptable in accordance with the Government standards and requirements of this contract. Those actions taken by the Government to evaluate service delivery to determine conformance to the requirements of the contract.

U. QUALITY CONTROL (QC): Action by the Contractor to ensure that products and services offered for delivery conform to the requirements of the contract. Contractor methods and actions including performing tests and inspections of work performed.

V. SAMPLING GUIDE: The part of the QASP which contains the information needed to perform surveillance of a specific contract requirement. It contains a description of the contract requirement; identifies the primary method of surveillance, maximum allowable degree of deviation from requirement, quantity of work, level of surveillance, sample size, sampling procedures, a Surveillance Checklist, evaluation procedures, analysis procedures, suggested actions, payment computation examples, and related attachments.

W. SAMPLE: A sample consists of one or more service outputs drawn from a lot. The number of outputs in the sample is the sample size.

X. SAMPLING PLAN: A Government plan indicating the number of units of service output from each lot which are to be inspected and the criteria for determining the acceptability of the lot as a whole.

Y. SURVEILLANCE: Actions taken by the Government to monitor contractor performance of contract requirements; observations of the timeliness, accuracy, completeness, and quality of services performed.

III. METHODS OF Surveillance: There are three methods of surveillance that are normally applied in this contract:

• Planned sampling

• Validated customer complaints

• Unscheduled inspections

The first method is the primary method of inspection under this contract. The latter two methods are complementary to the first. That is, ordinarily the QASP will require application of planned sampling for each performance task in the specifications, while the latter two methods will be used on an occasional basis to support planned sampling. The Government has the unilateral right under the terms of the contract to change the method of surveillance used at any time. In the event of such a change, the QASP shall be revised to include the appropriate surveillance method

A. PLANNED SAMPLING. Planned sampling is an approach that anticipates surveillance of subjectively selected tasks. The sample size is usually based on QAE time availability.

Typically, the sample selected for surveillance is heavily slanted toward areas perceived as user critical. There is, therefore, no basis to assume that the conditions found in the sample inspected accurately represent the balance of the uninspected work.

B. CUSTOMER Complaints. Customer complaints stimulate another type of surveillance. It is reasonable to anticipate receipt of such complaints no matter how good the services provided. Upon investigation by the surveillance staff, some of the complaints will be validated as actions (or inactions) in violation of contract requirements. Others will not, usually because the complainant was anticipating something not required by the specifications. As a result, customer complaints shall be investigated within 24 hours of receipt of the report, and if verified, will be used as appropriate for selection of an area for further inspection in future planned samples, or as a basis for deduction in payment. In order for the customer complaint to be used as a basis for deduction, the complaint must be received on the day that the alleged unsatisfactory services were provided, investigated by the QA staff and verified, and the Contractor notified in accordance with the procedures stated in the contract.

If the required corrective action is not made in the specified time period, a deduction may be made in accordance with the provisions of the payment deductions clauses. In each instance of a customer complaint, a Customer Complaint Record (Exhibit A) shall be completed and maintained in the QA files.

C. UNSCHEDULED INSPECTIONS. This approach is used with planned sampling, particularly if there has been a pattern of performance deficiencies that need special attention. The QA Manager, Field Office Manager, Operations Manager, or other managers directly responsible for maintenance and services may initiate unscheduled inspections. Those unscheduled inspections initiated due to patterns of performance deficiencies noted during planned sampling shall be conducted using the normal inspection checklists. Such inspections shall be in addition to planned sampling inspections. Unscheduled inspections also include happenstance events which are noticed during planned surveillance or non-surveillance activities. In these cases, discrepancies noted by non-QA personnel shall be reported for verification as with customer complaints. Discrepancies noted by QA personnel during planned sampling of other areas shall be investigated and reported to the Contractor for correction as appropriate. Such discrepancies shall then be handled the same as those noted during planned sampling.