Development of a contract quality assurance program within the Department of Transportation

To assure the quality of construction products and processes, the Virginia Department of Transportation has established three levels of construction control. First, contractors themselves provide oversight and quality control as set out in the Department's Road and Bridge Specifications and in their contract stipulations. Second, the Department's construction inspectors provide quality acceptance by determining whether contractors are adhering to specifications and either accepting or rejecting the work in progress. Finally, the Department's quality assurance program examines the methods for inspecting projects and determines where new procedures are necessary to keep the construction process under departmental control. In 1987, the quality assurance effort for highway construction in Virgina was redesigned and retitled the Contract Quality Assurance Program, and steps were taken to put the program on a sound statistical footing.