Written by Zach Hansen
Quality control is essential for anyone who runs a business, and that includes contractors. In fact, without good quality control, you can quickly destroy your reputation in the contracting world. The goal of quality control is to ensure that a business produces high-quality products. Management and employees alike must work together towards perfection to ensure proper quality control. The establishment of well-defined rules is an essential part of quality control. Both production of a product or service and the way quality control issues are handled are also important components.
Tips to Ensure Good Quality Control
Hire Qualified Workers
Hiring qualified workers is critical but is also much easier said than done. There tends to be a shortage of qualified workers in the construction industry. In general, contractors have difficulty finding skilled workers, which is problematic for ensuring high-quality work. Make sure you have the most qualified members of your team when you begin any project. Additionally, make sure your supervisors or foremen know the quality expectations and assign the right people to the right jobs.
You should also make sure that the construction team understands any project quality requirements. Your workers should understand that poor quality isn’t acceptable. Set high-quality standards at the beginning of every project with your workers, and make sure to hold them to those standards.
Pay Attention to Materials
Compromising on the quality of materials is a sure-fire way to end up with quality control issues. A quality product should perform well, be reliable, and last for a long time. Make sure you know what your customers expect, and be sure that all materials used for the structures and buildings comply with any particular specifications and quality requirements. Check all materials when they arrive to ensure that they’re in good condition and meet your specifications. Items that are damaged or incorrect should be immediately rejected, and you should ensure you notify the supplier of material issues. If you buy high-quality materials, you can improve your business’ quality control and ensure that your customers are satisfied enough to leave positive reviews.
Avoid Scope Creep
Unfortunately, within the construction industry, scope creep is inevitable at times. Before you realize it, the project’s scope has ballooned to an unreasonable level, and you end up cutting corners to make up for it. This is certain to affect the quality of work negatively. Make sure everyone, your team included, understands the scope of the project and is on board. Understanding the client’s requirements and quality standards is imperative for preventing scope creep.
Check and Double-Check
You can’t be too careful about checking work and materials when it comes to quality control. If you’re unsure about anything, check, check, and check again. The best way to keep on top of all the requirements and demands of a project is to keep a checklist. A job site checklist will help your employees remember anything important, such as preparation, safety checks, and project work. Your checklist needs to include every step your employees need to take to ensure the project’s success. You should also make sure to conduct any necessary quality assurance tests throughout the project.
Promote Safety
Safety is of the utmost importance in the world of construction. A safe environment is imperative for quality control. What’s more, a safe work site will help your employees perform better work. Being thoroughly committed to safety also works wonders in preventing damage to work materials and reducing the risk of costly injuries. You should ensure that workers, whether they are employees or subcontractors, are aware of all hazards before stepping foot on any job site.
Make sure workers wear personal protective equipment at all times when they arrive on the job site. This should not be compromisable and should be readily enforced to ensure safety. When necessary, workers should also wear hearing protection and goggles. Having the right tools and equipment on hand will help keep workers safe and increase their productivity. This means that you should make sure any equipment purchased for a job is high-quality, even if it’s more expensive. Cheap, insufficiently made equipment could compromise your quality control by causing accidents and safety hazards. Ensuring that the quality of the work you and your team produce is essential to an excellent contracting business. Without adequate and carefully managed quality control procedures, it’s all too easy for you to gain a bad reputation when work or materials are subpar.