How To Prepare A Good Inspection & Test Plan – Part – 2

Continuation of Part – 1

4. Test or Inspection Performed.

Let’s take this Inspection & Test Plan Sample, and see under the Test or Inspection Performed column. You will just write “Approval” for the documents that to be included such as the method statement, material submittal and inspection and test plan.

And write “Visual” for the material and activity to be inspected.

5. Stage or Frequency.

We’ll just jump off to the material to be inspected because there is no certain frequency for the documents or submittal. So we’ll go to the material and define what is the frequency. Once the material arrives on site then you may write the frequency “Every material arrive on site” or just simply “Material Arrival on Site.”

If you have mock-up sample for blockwork activity then your frequency there is going to be “1 wall panel (6 meters).”

In the activity of surface preparation and setting out your frequency there would be “Prior to laying of every course.” The last activity is “Completed blockwork” then your frequency there would be “Every completed panel/area.”

6. Code or Specification.

Under this column you will just write the corresponding code or specification to the “Activity Description” you’ve written. The Clause from the particular area of the specification. Like, for example “Specification Section 07300 Clause 1.0” is where the word “Surface Preparation” activity was written.

7. Acceptance Criteria.

The acceptance criteria are the most important part of your ITP, why? Because this is your basis how you are going to approve or accept the material arrive and work done on site respectively. So think deeply about this item.

In the “Blockwork” activity sample, let us say for example materials. What will be your acceptance criteria? No thinking twice, it would be “Approved Material Submittal as Code A/B or 1/2.” You will then write it in the row of material in your ITP under acceptance criteria column.

How about the “Setting out and surface preparation” activity? In the setting out activity, when you hear “setting out” it can immediately pop-up into your mind that it is made by a surveyor, therefore your acceptance criteria there would be a survey report, make sure the surveyor has signed it off before you submit to the Engineer/Consultant.

The “Surface Preparation” activity, how do you accept that? It could be surface is clean, surface is chipped-off etc. But that sentences are most likely to be written in the Checklist. So, the most general term would be “No unsatisfactory conditions.”

8. Inspection or Verification.

Under the inspection or verification, there are three parties involved which they are Contractor, Consultant or Engineer and Client or Employer.  Now, there are corresponding responsibilities or task these three parties are involved in and to be represented by E as execution, W as witness point and H as hold point. First is Contractor which normally the party who will execute the project. Second, the consultant or engineer who will commonly checked the work or material, the inspection criteria will be either witness or hold.

The client or employer will most commonly have a hold point status which you can see the difference of witness and hold points in this article.

Now! How do you identify the inspection criteria such as witness point, hold point, surveillance and record?

Let’s say for example, we have “mock-up of blockwork/CMU” it is written in the specification you’ve just read this line “Approval of sample panel is for texture, size, colour of masonry units; and other materials and construction qualities specifically approved by Engineer or Consultant.” So you will place H as hold point under the Engineer column and the Employer or Client then would be W as witness point. But sometimes the specification will be superseded when the Employer will decide to check the mock-up sample.

“Surveillance” is usually referred to the Employer, let’s have an example again, if there is “material arrival shall be checked by Engineer” then you will write H as hold point, so the hint are the words “checked by Engineer” and then if it doesn’t mention “checked by Employer” so then you will write S as surveillance.

“Record” is referred to Engineer when it comes to the approval of documents. So therefore you will write R as record under Engineer in the row of preparation of documents (ITP, Method Statement).

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