✅ What is Quality?
- Definition: Quality refers to the minimum requirements set by the client or the degree of excellence that a product, system, or service must meet.
- Purpose: Ensures that the outcome fulfills its intended function effectively and meets customer satisfaction.
🛠️ Quality Assurance (QA)
- Definition: QA is the systematic process of setting standards, procedures, and parameters to ensure the quality of a project from the start.
- Focus: It is process-based, emphasizing prevention of defects rather than correction.
- Timing: Done before Quality Control (QC).
- Approach: It is a proactive tool aimed at improving work processes.
- Involvement: Requires teamwork and planning.
🔍 Key QA Activities:
- Defining project standards and specifications.
- Providing training and instructions to team members.
- Monitoring work processes.
- Conducting inspections during the work process, not after.
- Ensuring compliance with regulations and industry standards.
🧰 Example of QA in Construction:
- Setting wiring standards before installation:
- Type and size of wires to be used.
- Proper installation procedures.
- Training electricians to follow these standards.
- Goal: Prevent issues like incorrect wire sizes or poor connections before they happen.
🔧 Quality Control (QC)
- Definition: QC is the process of identifying, checking, and correcting defects in the final product or output.
- Focus: It is product-based, ensuring the finished product meets set standards.
- Timing: Done after QA, during or after work completion.
- Approach: It is a corrective tool used to detect and fix mistakes.
🔍 Key QC Activities:
- Visual inspections of the finished work.
- Testing using tools (e.g., multimeters) to verify performance.
- Checking compliance with codes and safety regulations.
- Creating checklists and test reports to verify outcomes.
🧰 Example of QC in Construction:
- After wiring is installed, the QC team:
- Inspects the installation for visible defects.
- Tests circuits to ensure they function correctly.
- Ensures grounding and protection are done according to code.
- If issues are found, they are corrected before project handover.
🆚 Difference Between QA and QC at a Glance
| Feature | Quality Assurance (QA) | Quality Control (QC) |
|---|---|---|
| Orientation | Process-based | Product-based |
| Timing | Before execution | After execution |
| Focus | Preventing defects | Detecting and fixing defects |
| Approach | Proactive | Reactive |
| Responsibility | Standard setting and process design | Inspection and testing |
Role of a QC Inspector During Shutdown in Saudi Aramco Projects
During a project shutdown, the Quality Control (QC) Inspector plays a critical role in ensuring that all project documentation and inspections meet Saudi Aramco’s stringent quality standards. Below is a detailed breakdown of responsibilities and procedures:
✅ Role of QC Inspector During Shutdown
- Handover of Documentation:
The QC Inspector must hand over all completed project documents to the client (Saudi Aramco) during the shutdown phase. - Ensure Compliance:
Confirm that all project activities and materials have been inspected, documented, and approved in accordance with Aramco’s standards.
📊 Levels of Inspection in Aramco Projects
There are five levels of inspection, each with a specific scope:
- Level 0 – Document Review
- Reviewing and revising all technical and quality documents.
- Level 1 – Pre-Shipment Inspection
- Inspection conducted before the material is dispatched from the supplier.
- Level 2 – Random Inspection / Surveillance
- Occasional or surprise checks during project activities.
- Level 3 – Periodic Inspections
- Includes daily, weekly, or monthly inspections on-site.
- Level 4 – Resident Inspection
- Full-time inspection by QC personnel stationed on-site.
📦 Material Receiving Inspection – Key Checks
- ✅ Ensure that material suppliers are Saudi Aramco-approved.
- ✅ Delivery Note must match the Purchase Order (PO).
- ✅ Verify the presence of a Certificate of Material Handling, duly stamped by the manufacturer.
- ✅ Ensure the material itself is stamped and identifiable.
- ✅ Check for the Material Test Report (MTR) and validate its accuracy.
📁 Material Receiving Inspection – Required Attachments
- 📄 Delivery Notes
- 📄 Purchase Order
- 📄 Request for Technical Approval (RTA)
- 📄 Material Test Certificate (MTC)
- 📄 SATIP (Saudi Aramco Typical Inspection Plan)
- 📄 SAIC (Saudi Aramco Inspection Checklist)
🗂️ Complete List of Material Receiving Documents
- 📌 Purchase Order (PO)
- 📌 Delivery Notes (DN)
- 📌 Material Test Certificate (MTC)
- 📌 Material Technical Approval (MTA)
- 📌 Inspection Release Certificate (IRC)
- 📌 Vendor Approval for Level 0
- 📌 Material Request (MR) or MTA for Level 1
📄 Schedule “Q” – Quality Contract Document
- Definition: A contractual quality document between client and contractor, specifying all QA/QC requirements.
✍️ Contents of Schedule Q
- General Documents
- Quality Management System Requirements (QMSR)
- Documentation Requirements (DR)
- Management Responsibility (MR)
- Resource Management (RM)
- Project Realization / Erection (PR/EM)
- Measurement, Analysis & Improvement (MA/I)
📎 Attachments of Schedule Q
- Attachment 1: Contractor & Subcontractor Personnel Quality Qualification Requirements
- Attachment 2: Saudi Aramco Standards & Procedures Containing Quality Requirements
- Attachment 3: QA & QC Requirements for the Construction Phase
- Attachment 4: QA & QC Requirements for Contractor-Supplied Material
- Attachment 5: Summary of Quality System Deliverables
- Attachment 6: Project-Specific Quality Requirements
📂 Documentation Chart
- You are the GE Supervisor → Reporting to De Manager & his Manager.
- You submit QC documents to the Project Manager.
- Teams under your supervision:
- Construction Department (under your field of QC)
- Procurement Department:
- Responsible for acquiring materials, goods, and services.
🏗️ Site Preparation – Know the Scope
- Understand:
- What is the project?
- The project’s purpose
- Project content
- Civil scope of work
📐 IFC Drawings vs. Shop Drawings
- IFC (Issued for Construction):
- Defines “what to do”
- Must be stamped and collected from QC/Document Control
- Shop Drawings:
- Shows “how to do it”
📆 Cut-off Date
- Defines:
- Project announcement year
- Applicable standard of that year
📋 Important QA/QC Documents
- SATIP: Saudi Aramco Typical Inspection Plan
- SAIC: Saudi Aramco Inspection Checklist
- SATTP: Sequence of QC inspection activities in 4 phases:
- Document Review
- Material Receiving
- Installation
- Pre-commissioning / Handover
🔍 SATIP Inspection Points
- Hold Point: Activity cannot proceed without PID approval
- Witness Point: PID is informed, but if absent, QC may proceed
- Surveillance Point: For record only (RFI is raised)
✅ SAIC – Inspection Checklist Includes
- Surveillance
- Witness
- Hold
- Review / Review & Hold
- Result Types: Pass / Fail / N.A.
- Refers to: SAES, SAMSS
🧾 RFI (Request for Inspection)
- Raised by QC Inspector → To inform PID for inspection
- Must be submitted 24–48 hours before inspection with specific time/date
- RFI Includes:
- Description, Time, Activity
- SATIP, SAIC, IFC Drawings
❌ NCR (Non-Conformance Report)
- Issued via SAPQM System by Aramco
- Definition: A report that identifies mismatch between actual condition and standards
🔍 4 Parts of an NCR
- Description: Location, issue, data
- Root Cause: Reason for deviation (e.g., damaged material scanner)
- Corrective Action: Action to fix the violation
- Preventive Action: Steps to prevent future occurrences
- ACD (Agreed Completion Date): Time given to construction team to resolve NCR
⚠️ Types of Violations
- Minor Violation
- Small standard breaches (e.g., concrete dropped from 1.5m instead of 1m)
- Moderate Violation
- Repeated minor violation within 6 months
- Violation of Schedule Q
- QC absence from site
- Violation affecting another activity (e.g., coating on uncured concrete)
- Major Violation
- Company Integrity Violation (e.g., wrong materials installed)
- Forgery (Fake Documentation)
- Can result in injury, damage, or project failure
- Escalation: A minor violation that becomes moderate due to repeated failure or missed ACD
👥 PIM – Pre-Inspection Meeting
- Held before starting major construction activity
📘 Key Saudi Aramco Standards
- SAEP-1150: Records of QC inspections, RFIs, NCRs
- SAEP-381: Types and escalation of violations
- MSAERB: Mandatory Saudi Aramco Engineering Requirements