A brief introduction
Quality Assurance
What it is
Quality assurance refers to a third-party representative overseeing a project for an owner or end user.
This work is done to ensure compliance throughout the fabrication or manufacturing process. The representative will take the proper steps to confirm the product is made conform the design drawings, and meets the codes and regulatory requirements. Quality assurance not only ensures conformance to the requirements but also checks whether the project is on schedule and that delivery times are met.
Quality Assurance may also be called Third Party Witnessing, Surveillance, Expediting, or Owner’s representative.
What quality assurance means
Quality
Assurance faq
What are some examples of when third party witnessing would be required?
Quality assurance or third-party witnessing is common practice for bridge and structural steel fabrication and erection. It is also utilized for many industrial products, including tanks, pressure vessels, transformers, pumps, and impellers.
Quality assurance is essential for any owner who requires compliance verification before the product reaches the destination.
What is welding surveillance and what is an example of when this type of surveillance would be needed?
We offer welding surveillance. This means that one of our qualified inspectors will monitor a welder during welding.
The surveillance is done to ensure the quality and correctness of the welding process. The inspector will ensure that the welding procedure provided by the welding engineer is followed and that each weld pass is acceptable and performed within the procedure parameters.
An example when this may be necessary would be a business owner who is about to buy pumps based on a new design directly from the manufacturer.
How do you determine what is required for a structural steel inspection?
For many years, determining the requirements for structural steel had been at the discretion of the engineer, owner, general contractor or inspector. In 2019, the CSA Code Committee for the Design of Steel Structures (CSA S16) released an Annex which provides "guidance for specifying third-party inspection of steel structures" (CSA S16:19 Annex P)
This guide outlines the recommendation for the visual inspection and non-destructive test requirements for each of the four inspection classes that structural steel is designed within. The inspection and NDT requirements for fabrication and field erection are clearly outlined.
CSA S16 Annex P provides an objective guideline for our clients' structural steel inspection requirements.
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