5_Importance of QA QC on DHA OM Contract_Billy Ruhland_23Aug23_.pdf

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“The views, opinions and findings contained in this report are those of the authors(s) and should not be construed as an official Department of the Army position, policy or decision, unless so designated by other official documentation.”

Surveillance

Quality Assurance / Quality Control

OBJECTIVES

• Describe the methods of surveillance using a class exercise

• Discuss surveillance of contractor performance

Surveillance

PRE-PERFORMANCE PLANS

QUALITY CONTROL (QC) VS. QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA)

– QC is a product of the Contractor functions – The Primary job of QC is to ensure that work done complies with the required Quality Standards.

– QA is a Government oversight function and is a process – The Primary job of QA is to ensure that the Contractor’s QC Plan works effectively.

– Contractor Quality Control Reports are the first place to look for info regarding compliance questions and should address what was checked, what the standard was, and if test results proved it to be in or out of compliance.

– Government QA Reports should identify which QC reports it covers, address what QA actions were taken, what the standard for that action was, and if the it confirmed the QC Reports to be correct or not.

QC is a product; QA is a process Review & Acceptance

PRE-PERFORMANCE PLANS

POST-AWARD KEY ROLES`

Review & Acceptance

QC Inspector Site Specific Safety & Health Officer

Superintendent Property Manager

Quality Assurance Representative

(QAR)

Resident Engineer (RE)

Project Engineer

(PE)

Project Manager

(PM)

Procuring Contracting Officer (PCO)

Industrial Property Manager/Plant Clearance

Contractor Roles Government Roles

MONITOR QUALITY CONTROL (QC)

The primary function of the Quality Assurance (QA) process is to ensure the Contractor’s QC Plan works!

– Contractor required to control and manage the quality of work performed/services provided

– QC Plan outlines the contractor’s process for doing so

– QA should review the contractor’s QC reports to ensure the contractor is monitoring and controlling quality

– Government should NOT be performing quality control in lieu of, or in addition to, what the Contractor said they were going to do in their QC Plan

Oversight

PERFORM SURVEILLANCE OF CONTRACTOR IAW THE

QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN (QASP)

Surveillance

The Government will use a QASP and associated checklists developed to perform surveillance of the Contractor’s performance of the work/effort required for the individual Performance Work Statement (PWS) deliverables and/or requirements.

External influences (e.g., mission, personal preferences, etc.) can cause us to direct the Contractor outside the scope without meaning to – be careful to bring any such instances to the Contracting Officer’s attention immediately.

PERFORM SURVEILLANCE IAW THE QASP

The level of surveillance described in the QASP should be commensurate with the dollar value, risk, complexity, and criticality of the services required.

The four elements of Technical Compliance that should always be surveyed are:

Surveillance

Quality Timeliness Safety

– Cost

One other element could include: Management of Subcontractors, if any are used in performance of the effort

INSPECTION OF SERVICES – FAR 52.246-4, 5, 6, OR 7

The Government always has the right to inspect all contract deliverables at anytime prior to acceptance.

Inspections may be announced or unannounced, but they must not unduly delay work, nor must they include directions that would change the terms and conditions of the contract (including price).

Surveillance

The Government also has the right to reject any deliverables that do not meet minimum contract requirements.

INSPECTION/ASSESSMENT METHODS

The Government can monitor contract performance using a variety of inspection methods such as:

– Random or Stratified Sampling

Surveillance

– 100 Percent Inspection – VERY EXPENSIVE!

– Periodic Inspection or Planned Sampling

– User/Customer Feedback

– Trend Analysis

– Third-party audits

Note: The method of surveillance is normally defined in the QASP.

RANDOM OR STRATIFIED SAMPLING

Random Sampling

▪ Statistically based method

▪ Assumes receipt of acceptable performance if a given percentage or number of scheduled assessments is found to be acceptable

▪ Most appropriate method for frequently recurring tasks

▪ Works best when the number of instances is very large and a statistically valid sample can be obtained

Stratified Sampling

▪ method of sampling from a population

▪ by dividing piece of the population into homogeneous subgroups before taking a random sampling of each subgroup

100 PERCENT INSPECTION

Method is too expensive for most cases – thus should not be a proposed method in the QASP unless absolutely required.

All deliverables and services must be physically observed by the inspector.

100% inspection may be used for stringent performance requirements concerning health and safety.

Cost is in labor hours and Dollars

PERIODIC INSPECTION OR PLANNED SAMPLING

Used by the Government to validate the Contractor’s Quality Control System is effectively meeting the Government’s quality and performance requirements. If the Contractor’s QC System is effective, it will identify and correct quality or performance issues as they arise.

Work process outputs are selected in accordance with subjective criteria established in the QASP.

Inspectors can focus their attention on known problem areas when necessary.

USER FEEDBACK

Requires documentation for record:

• Generally, in form of written or telephonic compliments or complaints

Used to supplement other forms of evaluations:

• Random or Stratified Sampling

• Periodic Inspections

PCO/COR must determine VALIDITY of any complaints through investigation of the facts. If valid, COR will document it as a Contractor performance deficiency and provide it to the Contractor for corrective action.

TREND

ANALYSIS

Requires documentation (thru past inspections or assessments)

Build database to store and analyze the data over time

Assess ongoing performance regularly (monthly at a minimum)

Consider contractor-managed metrics

OBJECTIVES SUMMARY

Students should be able to:

• Describe the methods of surveillance

QUESTIONS?

POST-AWARD KEY ROLES`