3.

Quality Standards
3.1Quality System Standards
3.2 International Organization for Standardization
3.3 Conformance to Specification
3.4 Types of Quality Audits
3.5 Quality assurance
3.6 ISO standards (ISO 9000, 14000 …)
3..7 Nepal Standard (NS)
 What is a standard?
• A standard is a document that provides
requirements, specifications, guidelines or
characteristics that can be used consistently to
ensure that materials, products, processes and
services are fit for their purpose.
 3.1 Quality System Standards
• Quality standards are defined as documents that
provide requirements, specifications, guidelines, or
characteristics that can be used consistently to ensure
that materials, products, processes, and services are fit
for their purpose.
• Standards provide organizations with the shared vision,
understanding, procedures, and vocabulary needed to
meet the expectations of their stakeholders. Because
standards present precise descriptions and
terminology, they offer an objective and authoritative
basis for organizations and consumers around the
world to communicate and conduct business.
 WHO USES QUALITY STANDARDS?

• Organizations turn to standards for guidelines, definitions, and

procedures that help them achieve objectives such as:
• Satisfying their customers’ quality requirements
• Ensuring their products and services are safe
• Complying with regulations
• Meeting environmental objectives
• Protecting products against climatic or other adverse conditions
• Ensuring that internal processes are defined and controlled
Use of quality standards is voluntary, but may be expected by certain
groups of stakeholders. Additionally, some organizations or
government agencies may require suppliers and partners to use a
specific standard as a condition of doing business.
 3.2International Organization for
Standardization
• The International Organization for
Standardization (ISO; /ˈaɪɛsoʊ/) is an international
standard-setting body composed of representatives
from various national standards organizations.
• Founded on 23 February 1947, the organization
promotes worldwide proprietary, industrial, and
commercial standards. It is headquartered in Geneva,
Switzerland,[3] and works in 165 countries.[4]
• It was one of the first organizations granted general
consultative status with the United Nations Economic
and Social Council.
ISO is a quality standard maintained by the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
and is administered by accreditation and certification
bodies.
When an organization is certified and found to be in
conformance with ISO 9001 that organization may
publicly state that it is "ISO 9001 certified" or "ISO
9001 registered". Certification to an ISO 9001 quality
standard does not guarantee quality of end products
and services; however, it certifies that formalized
business processes are being applied
 3.3 Conformance to Specification

Assessing Conformance to Specifications

When a client requires a statement of conformance to
predetermined specifications, there are several cases
where the uncertainty in measurement has an influence on
the statement of conformance. To properly assess
conformance, add(subtract) the estimated expanded
uncertainty to(from) the measurement result and
determine which of the four following scenarios apply.
Afterward, we can properly determine conformance, non-
conformance, or neither. For laboratories that provide
statements of conformance in their testing(calibration)
reports, this is an important assessment that must be made
prior to reporting the results.
1 Compliance (In Tolerance)
The measurement result is within limits, even when the uncertainty in
measurement is taken into consideration. The result complies with
specification.

2 Compliance Undetermined
The measurement result is within limits by a margin less than required to
state compliance by a 95% level of confidence. However the result
indicates that compliance is more probable than non-compliance.

3 Non-Compliance Undetermined
The measurement result is not within limits by a margin less than required to
state non-compliance by a 95% level of confidence. However the result
indicates that non-compliance is more probable than compliance.
4. Non-Compliance (Out-of-Tolerance)
The measurement result is not within limits,
even when the uncertainty in measurement is
taken into consideration. The result does not
comply with the specification.
 3.4 Types of Quality Audits

Quality Audits
• Quality audits are reviews to ensure that a company or
product meets quality standards. Quality standards
used for audit purposes include those set by a
company or by the American Society for Quality or
ASQ, International Standards Organization or ISO,
American National Standards Institute or ANSI, six
sigma quality standards and military specifications or
milspec. Audits can also be divided by the type of
auditor. Audits can also be classified based on what is
being audited: the product, the process, the system.
 Quality Audits

1. Quality to the customer: Is conformance of the product to

established quality standard? Is quality of the
organization’s compared with that of competitor’s
products?
2. Quality costs: Have the cost of quality been measured and
have area for possible cost savings been identified?
3. Design review: Do procedures exist to review designs for
quality ? Are these procedures being carried out?
4. Product qualification: Have procedures been established
and followed to quality new products before any
deliveries to customers?
 Quality Audits

Product liability: Has each product been scrutinized regarding

safety, and are appropriate records kept? Does a written
plan exist for dealing with a major product liability
problem?
6. Process capability: Have the capability of all processes been
measured, and is that information used in product design
and development?
7. Incoming inspection: Are incoming lots inspected in an
efficient manner and are appropriate records kept?
8. Supplier quality: Are suppliers made aware of their quality
responsibilities? Are records kept on non-conformance?
Process control: Has the company developed policies for controlling processes? Have employee been
trained to follow those policies?

10. Inspection and test planning: Do inspection and test plans exist for all products and records
maintained on the results? Is all test equipments calibrated regularly?

11. Quality performance indicators: Are quality performance indicators regularly published throughout
the organization and made available to employees?

12. Employee involvement program: Are employees involved in quality improvement through some
process such as quality circle?

13. Multifunctional quality improvement team: Has a quality improvement team covering all functional
areas been established to monitor quality and to work to improve it?

14. Quality business plan: Has quality been inetegrated into the organization’s business plan and from
there into the overall
 3.4 Types of Quality Audits
Internal Audits
Two types of auditing are required to become
registered to the standard:
o Auditing by an external certification body
(external audit)
o Audits by internal staff trained for this process
(internal audits).
The aim is a continual process of review and
assessment, to verify that the system is working as
it's supposed to, find out where it can improve and
to correct or prevent problems identified.
• Also called first party audits
• A first party audit is usually performed by the company
(or a department within the company) upon itself.
• It is an audit of those portions of (the) quality
assurance program that are "retained under its direct
control and within its organizational structure
• A first party audit is usually conducted by an internal
audit group. However, employees within the
department itself may also conduct an assessment
similar to a first party audit.."
 Purpose of Internal Audit
• The purpose of a self assessment is to monitor and
analyze key intradepartmental processes which, if
left unattended, have the potential to degenerate
and negatively affect product quality, safety and
overall system integrity.
• Provide feedback to management that the quality
system is both implemented and effective
• Are excellent tools for gauging the continuous
improvement effort as well as measuring the
return on investment for sustaining that effort
 Types of Quality Audits
External Audits
• External auditors are separate from the company
they are auditing because they are independent.
They may be hired by a supplier or customer to
ensure that the audited company meets their
quality standards. They may be audited by the
government to verify that they meet military
specifications. External audits can be done by
quality consultants specializing in the quality
standards for those organizations. In all of these
cases, the audit is called an external audit
 Types of Quality Audits
• Second Party Audits
External audits done by a company that has a contract with the
audited firm is called a second party audit. The second party quality
audit is done by the company holding the audit.
Third Party Audits
External quality audits done by an organization that has no contract
with the company it is auditing is called a third party audit. A third
party external audit can be done to attain or maintain certification
in a quality standard. A third party audit by an independent auditor
can also be mandated by law to qualify for government contracts. A
third party audit of a company can also be done at the request of a
supplier or customer who would be considered a second party
audit if they performed the quality audit
 Types of Quality Audits
Process Audits
A process audit verifies that a documented process meets
quality standards. This process could be a
manufacturing process or service process.
Product Audits
A product quality audit verifies that a physical product
meets design specifications and other quality
measurements. Product audits may require measuring
physical dimensions, product testing, or destructive
testing. A product audit can involve checking the
calibration and test equipment used to verify that the
product meets quality standards.
 3.5 Quality assurance

Definition of quality assurance

a program for the systematic monitoring and
evaluation of the various aspects of a project,
service, or facility to ensure that standards of
quality are being met
 Quality assurance
A definition of quality assurance is:
The processes that ensure production quality
meets the requirements of customers
This is an approach that aims to achieve quality by
organising every process to get the product 'right
first time' and prevent mistakes ever happening.
This is also known as a 'zero defect' approach.
In quality assurance, there is more emphasis on
'self-checking', rather than checking by
inspectors.
 Quality assurance
Advantages of quality assurance include:
• Costs are reduced because there is less wastage and re-
working of faulty products as the product is checked at
every stage
• It can help improve worker motivation as workers have
more ownership and recognition for their work (see
Herzberg)
• It can help break down 'us and them' barriers between
workers and managers as it eliminates the feeling of being
checked up on
• With all staff responsible for quality, this can help the firm
gain marketing advantages arising from its consistent level
of quality
3.6 ISO standards (ISO 9000, 14000 …)

History of ISO 9000

• Quality assurance originally came from the Defense
Industry to supply the Ministry of Defense (MoD).
• The idea of quality assurance spread beyond the military
and in 1966, the UK Government led the first national
campaign for quality and reliability with the slogan "Quality
is everyone's business”.
• Progress was finally made in 1969 by UK Government that
suppliers' methods should be assessed against a generic
standard of quality assurance.
• In 1971, the British Standards Institute (BSI) published the
first UK standard for quality assurance (BS 9000), which was
developed for the electronics industry.
• Then, in 1974, the BSI published BS 5179;
Guidelines for Quality Assurance. This led to a
shift in the burden of inspection from the
customer to the supplier, as quality assurance
could be guaranteed by the supplier to the
customer through third-party inspection.
• BSI organized meetings with industry to set a
common standard, which culminated in the BS
5750 standard in 1979. Key industry bodies
agreed to drop their own standards and use BS
5750 instead.
• The First ISO 9000:1987 had the same structure as the UK
Standard BS 5750.The language of this first version of the
Standard was influenced by existing US and other Defense
Military Standards, so it was more accessible to
manufacturing and was well suited to the demands of a
rigorous, stable, factory-floor manufacturing process.
• ‘The 1994 version (ISO 9000:1994) was an attempt to break
from the practices which had somewhat clouded the use of
the 1987 standard. It also emphasized quality assurance via
preventive actions and continued to require evidence of
compliance with documented procedures.
 What are ISO 9000 and ISO 14000?

• The International Organization of Standardization (ISO) is a

worldwide federation consisting of member bodies from 91
countries, which promotes the development of international
manufacturing, trade and communication standards.
• ISO 9000 refers to a generic series of standards published by the
ISO that provide quality assurance requirements and quality
management guidance. ISO 9000 is a quality system standard, not a
technical product standard. The ISO 9000 series currently contains
four standards - ISO 9001, ISO 9002, ISO 9003 and ISO 9004. Firms
select the standard that is most relevant to their business activities.
However, these four standards will be revised in late 2000. More
information is provided later in this paper under ISO 9000:2000.
• ISO 14000 refers to a series of standards on environmental
management tools and systems. ISO 14000 deals with a company's
system for managing its day-to-day operations and how they impact
the environment. The Environmental Management System and
Environmental Auditing address a wide range of issues to include
the following:
• Top management commitment to continuous improvement,
compliance, and pollution prevention.
• Creating and implementing environmental policies, including setting
and meeting appropriate targets.
• Integrating environmental considerations in operating procedures.
• Training employees in regard to their environmental obligations.
• Conducting audits of the environmental management system.
• ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 are tools to assist
business and government to insure the quality of
their products and services, and to manage the
impact of their activities on the environment. Like
all ISO standards, their use is voluntary unless a
business sector makes them a market
requirement or a government issues regulations
making their use obligatory. Organizations that
implement ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 voluntarily do
so to improve operations and provide real
benefits.
3..7 Nepal Standard (NS)
Supplementary slides
 ISO 9000
• ISO is International Organization for
Standardization.
• A worldwide revolution occurred in 1987
in the management of quality when ISO
(Geneva) brought out a set of standards.
• Set of standard is not quality assurance
system rather it is a system for managing
all activities to practice quality assurance
in organization
• Today, more than 100 countries recognize
and adopted these standards for
benchmark quality practices.
• ISO 9000 is neither a mandatory system,
nor a government regulation; however it is
very important customer regulation.
• ISO help companies to access new markets,
and facilitate free and fair global trade.
• ISO 9000 quality system standards have
gained universal acceptance.
• It has a membership of 160 national
standards institutes in all regions of the
world.
• ISO standards ensure vital features such
as quality, conformity, safety, economy,
reliability, and effectiveness.
• ISO 9000 series of standards consists of
requirements and guidance for its
implementation
Basic requirements of ISO 9000 are:
• Improved quality with less variation.
• Reduced costs.
• Greater productivity.
• Greater involvement and satisfaction of employees.
• Enhanced customer satisfaction.
• Better supplier relations.
• Improved leadership from top management.
• ISO 9000 is the ‘system’ to deliver quality.
• ISO 9000 aim at assisting in planning,
design, control, and improvement in
quality system.
• Requirements of ISO 9000 are basic and
specific.
• Experts also opine that ISO 9000 is the
first step towards TQM.
• ISO 9000 form foundation of total quality
system.
• ISO 9000 requirements for internal audit
and corrective action address to
continually find and eliminate problems.
• ISO 9000 series of standards addresses
various aspects of quality management.

• ISO 9000 may prove to be an opportunity

for industries in developing countries to
maintain acceptable quality level and to
enter worldwide market.
Six Standards of ISO 9000
• Standards provide guidance and tools for
companies and organizations who want to
ensure that their products and services
consistently meet customer’s requirements,
and that quality is consistently improving.
• Six standards of ISO 9000 series of quality
management system are - ISO 8402, ISO
9000, ISO 9001, ISO 9002, ISO 9003, and
ISO 9004.
Six Standards of ISO 9000
i. ISO 8402 - Terminology standard: It
provides definition of all terms.
ii. ISO 9000 - Quality management: ISO
9000 standards are only “guidelines” for
managing quality, it ensures that products
and services meet customers' needs
Six Standards of ISO 9000
iii. ISO 9001 - Quality system
requirement: It aims at preventing non-
conformities at all steps.
iv. ISO 9002 - System requirement: It
aims at preventing and detecting non-
conformities.
Six Standards of ISO 9000
v. ISO 9003 - Quality system: It aims at to
detect and control non-conformance
during final inspection and tests.
vi. ISO 9004 - Non-contractual situations:
It aims at to develop and implement
quality management system.
 6.7 ISO 9000
. Standards and Guides in ISO 9000 Family
ISO 9000 series of standards

ISO 9000

Guides Conformance models

ISO 9000 ISO 9001
ISO 9001 ISO 9002
ISO 9003

Figure: Relationship of ISO 9000 series of standards

44
Standards and Guides in ISO 9000 Family
• ISO 9000 provides guidelines for selection
and use of standards for quality
management, quality system elements, and
quality assurance.
• Most countries have now accepted five basic
ISO 9000 documents as their national quality
system.
• ISO builds baseline system for managing
quality.
Standards & Guides in ISO 9000 Family
• ISO 9001 is most complete set of quality
system, for quality assurance in design,
developments, production, installation, and
servicing.
• ISO 9002 is a quality system model for
companies that have production,
installation and services.
 6.7 ISO 9000
Structure of ISO 9000
ISO 9001
ISO 9002
ISO 9003
Three Quality
Management
ISO 8402 ISO 9000 System The
Definitions Selection Models Organization’s
of of use of Quality
concepts standards Management
System
ISO 9004
Quality
Management
and Quality System
Guidelines
(Non-contractual
Standard)

Fig: ISO 9000 standards structure 47

Standards and Guides in ISO 9000 Family
• ISO 9003 is for companies that solely
perform final inspection and test, it is a
quality system model for quality assurance
in installation, and servicing.
• ISO 9004 provides guidelines for quality
management system elements.
6.7 ISO 9000

Design Production Inspection & Installation &

Development Test Services

ISO 9003

ISO 9002

ISO 9001

Figure: ISO 9001/9002/9003 relationship

49
Standards and Guides in ISO 9000 Family
• Company is not registered to ISO 9000,
or 9004, which both provide guidelines
only.
• Company is normally certified to ISO
9001, ISO 9002, or ISO 9003 quality
assurance standards.
Popular ISO standards
• ISO 9000 - Quality management:
Ensure that products and services meet
customers' needs with this family of
standards.
• ISO 14000 - Environmental
management: Improve environmental
performance with this family of standards.
ISO quality conformance models in
construction
• ISO 9000 standard specifies in general
terms only requirements or work activities to
be included in quality systems.
• One of aims of ISO 9000 is to prevent
problems and errors by ensuring methods of
working, formalized with written procedures.
ISO quality conformance models in
construction
• ISO 9001 is most comprehensive
standard, which covers ‘design’.
• ISO 9001 applies to design consultants,
architects, and large building and civil
companies carrying out their own design.
• ISO 9001 addresses total of 20 quality
system elements
 ISO 14000

• ISO 14000 is a series of environmental

management standards.
• ISO 14000 provides practical tools for
organizations looking to identify and
control their environmental impact and
constantly improve their environmental
performance
• ISO 14001 standard is the most important
standard within ISO 14000 series.
• Requirements of ISO 14001 are integral
part of European Union’s Eco-
Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS).
• ISO 14001 specifies requirements of
environmental management system (EMS)
for small to large organizations.
• ISO 14001 standard is based on Plan-
Check-Do-Review-Improve cycle.
• Plan cycle deals with beginning stages of
organization becoming ISO 14001-
compliant.
• Check cycle deals with checking and correcting
errors.
• Do cycle is implementation and operation of ISO
14001 standard within organization.
• Review cycle is a review of entire process by
organization's top management.
• Improve cycle is a cycle that organization
continually finds ways to improve their EMS.
 Objective of ISO 14000 series is:
• ”To promote more effective and efficient
environmental management in organizations.
• “To provide useful and usable tools - that are
cost-effective, system-based, flexible, and
reflect best organizations and best
organizational practices available for
gathering, interpreting, and communicating
environmentally relevant information
ISO 14000 helps organizations:
• To minimize how their operations
(processes, etc.) negatively affect
environment.
• To comply with applicable laws, regulations,
and other environmentally oriented
requirements.
• To continually improve on the above.
ISO 14000 Series
• Prior to development of ISO 14000 series,
organizations voluntarily constructed their
own EMS systems.
• But this made comparison of environmental
effects between companies difficult.
• Therefore, universal ISO 14000 series was
developed.
ISO 14000 Series
• ISO 14000 was based on voluntary
approach to environmental regulation.
• ISO 14000 family includes, most notably the
ISO 14001 standard.
• ISO 14001 standard provides guidelines for
establishment or improvement of
environmental management system.
 ISO 14000 Series
• EMS is defined by ISO as: “part of the overall management
system that includes organizational structure, planning
activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes,
and resources for developing, implementing, achieving, and
maintaining environmental policy”.

• ISO 14004 gives additional guidelines for good

environmental management system, and more specialized
standards dealing with specific aspects of environmental
management.
 ISO 14000 Series
• ISO 14001: 2000 provides requirements with
guidance for use in environmental management
systems.
• ISO 14004: 2000 provides general guidelines on
principles, systems & support techniques to
environmental management system.
• ISO 14006: 2011 provides guidelines for
incorporating Eco design to environmental
management systems
 ISO 14000 Series
• ISO 14015: discusses environmental assessment
of sites and organizations.
• ISO 14020 series (14020 to 14025): addresses
range of different approaches to environmental
labels and declarations, including eco-labels
(seals of approval), self-declared environmental
claims, and quantified environmental information
about products and services.
 ISO 14000 Series
• ISO 14030: discusses post-production
environmental assessment.
• ISO 14031: Environmental performance
evaluation guidelines provides guidance
on how organization can evaluate its
environmental performance
ISO 14040 series (14040 to 14049): provides
guidance on principles and conduct of life cycle
assessment studies that provide organization with
information about how to reduce overall
environmental impact of its products and
services.
• ISO 14050: provides fundamental background
information and establishes definitions of key
terms used in standard.
 ISO 14000 Series
• ISO 14062: discusses making improvements to
environmental impact goals.
• ISO 14063: provides environmental communication
guidelines and examples that help companies to
make important link to external stakeholders.
• ISO 14064: provides set of clear and verifiable
requirements to measuring, quantifying, and reducing
greenhouse gas emissions.
 ISO 14000 Series
• ISO 19011: is equally useful for EMS & quality
management system audits for both ISO 9000 and
ISO 14000 series standards.
• It provides guidance on principles of auditing,
managing audit programs, conduct of audits and on
competence of auditors.
• Environmental audits are important tools for
assessing whether an EMS is properly implemented
and maintained.
 Abbreviations of Standards
NS: Nepal standards.
IS: Indian standards.
ASTM: American society of testing and
materials.
BS: British standards
• BSCP: British Standards Code of Practice.
• EN: European Norm.
• NFP: French Norm.
• NIS: Nepal Institute of Standards.
• NBC: National Building Code of Nepal
• NBS: Nepal Bureau of Standards.
• NBSM: Nepal Bureau of Standards and
Metrology.
• NCS: Nepal Council for Standards.
• QSTM: Quality, Standards, Testing and Metrology.
 Background of Quality
Standards
• Nepal Institute of Standards (NIS) was
established in 1976 (2031 BS).
• NIS worked to develop national
standards, and also to formulate
concerned acts and rules.
• In 1981, Nepal Institute of Standards
(NIS) was renamed and restructured into
Nepal Bureau of Standards (NBS).
• In 1988, Department of Weights and
Measures was merged with Nepal Bureau
of Standards and was again restructured
into Nepal Bureau of Standards and
Metrology (NBSM
• Nepal Bureau of Standards and
Metrology is the National Standards Body
of Nepal.
• Under "Nepal Standard Act 2037", Nepal
Council for Standards was formed as
governing body for Quality, Standards,
Testing and Metrology activities in Nepal.
• NBSM is to act as secretariat to this
council.
• NBC 101:1994 is Nepal Standard for
materials and specification.
• NBC 101:1994 deals with requisite quality
and effectiveness of building construction
materials.
• NBC 101:1994 standards of some
materials for which NS do not exist are
included from Indian Standards.
• NBC 101:1994 spells out that - all building
materials shall be stored in such a
manner that no deterioration or loss or
impairment of their structural and other
inherent properties takes place.
• Building materials are used in construction industry to
create buildings structures.
and

• During transportation care should be taken not to impair

inherent properties of all building materials.
• Testing of materials shall be carried out in accordance
with procedures laid down by NS or IS.
 Standards for Building
Materials
• ISO 9000 is excellent tool of quality process,
because it helps to identify gold mines for
improvement.
• Joseph Juran said ‘there’s Gold in the Mine’
to capture the notion that problems and
mistakes should be viewed positively
because problems are opportunities for
improvement.
• Building materials to be used in sites
should comply in accordance with
specifications.
• Test certificate of materials from supplier
or manufacturer should be submitted to
Engineer.
• Such certificate shall certify that materials
have been tested in accordance with the
specifications.
• Final inspection and acceptance should
be made only at construction site.
• Materials not conforming to specifications
should be rejected and removed
immediately from construction site.
• Building materials manufactured,
produced or fabricated outside of Nepal
should be delivered at a point in Nepal,
and should be retained for sufficient time
to permit inspection and testing.
• Sampling and testing on concrete shall be
carried out in accordance with BS 1881.
 Concrete

• Famous concrete structures include

Hoover Dam, Panama Canal and Roman
Pantheon (world's largest unreinforced
concrete dome).
• Earliest large-scale users of concrete
technology were ancient Romans.
• Rome was built largely of concrete.
• Concrete is composite material composed of
water, cement, fine aggregate and coarse
aggregate that fills space between
aggregate particles and glues them together.
• Today, concrete is most widely used man-
made material.
• Sampling and testing on concrete shall be
carried out in accordance with BS 1881.
• Water cement ratio shall be minimum and
consistent with adequate workability.
• Slump of concrete shall be determined for
each batch.
• Workability shall be consistent with ease of
placing.
• Proper compaction is important with respect
to presence of reinforcement & other
obstruction.
• Slump of concrete in any batch shall not
differ from the value established by trial
mixes by more than 25mm or one third of
value whichever is less.
• Six cubes shall be cast from each batch to
determine compressive strength.
• Three cubes shall be tested at seven days
and remaining three at 28 days.
 Water
• Test specimen shall be cured at temperature of
27⁰C ± 2⁰C.
• Water shall be clean & free from harmful matter
and shall comply with requirements of IS 456.
• Salty water containing more than 1000 ppm
chloride, sulfate ion shall not be used for mixing
or curing concrete.
• Water to be used in concrete shall be tested as
specified in BS 3148.
 Cement
• Ordinary & High Strength Portland
Cement, Portland Cement, Portland Slag
Cement, Portland Pozzolana Cement
shall be sampled according to IS 3535,
and tested according to NS 4031.
• Cement shall be free flowing and free of
lumps.
• Cement in bags shall be stored in suitable
weatherproof structure of which interior
shall be dry and well ventilated at all
times.
• Floor shall be raised above surrounding
ground level not less than 30 cm.
• Bags shall be closely stacked so as to
reduce air circulation with minimum gap of
500mm from outside wall.
• Stack of cement bags shall not exceed 8
bags in height.
• Cement from broken bags shall not be
used in works.
• Cement in bags shall be used in order in
which it is delivered.
• Cement which has become hardened or
lumpy or fails to comply with specifications in
any way shall be removed from site.
• All cement used in works shall be tested by
manufacturer and shall provide results of
tests.
• Cement which is stored on site longer than
one month shall be tested in laboratory for
every 200 tons or part thereof and at
monthly intervals.
 Lime
• Hydrated Calcium Lime or Quick Lime
shall be sampled and tested in accordance
with BS 890, and shall comply with
requirements of specification.
 Fine Aggregates
• Fine aggregates shall be clean, hard,
durable, and shall be of natural sand,
crushed gravel, sand or crushed rock
sand complying with IS 383.
• Deviation from initial fineness modulus
shall be no more than ± 0.30 for ordinary
concrete and ± 0.20 for high quality
concrete.
• Fine aggregates shall not contain iron
pyrites, iron oxides, mica, silica, coal or
organic materials so that presence of
such materials does not affect properties
of concrete.
• Test on fine aggregates shall be
performed for each separate source in
accordance with IS 2386, and set of test
shall represent not more than 100 tons.
• Storage of fine aggregates shall be
arranged in such a way that water can
drain sufficiently before use in order to
prevent fluctuations in water content of
concrete.
 Coarse Aggregates
• Coarse aggregates shall be clean, hard, &
durable, crushed rock, crushed gravel or
natural gravel.
• Class-A aggregates shall consist of
crushed igneous or quartzite rock from
approved source.
• Class-B aggregates shall consist of
crushed quarry rock from approved
source.
• Class-C aggregates shall consist of
natural or partly crushed gravel, pebbles
obtained from approved gravel deposit.
• Class-D aggregates shall consist of
entirely crushed gravel
• Coarse aggregates shall be of grading as
single sized aggregate, or graded
aggregate of nominal size 40mm, 20mm,
12.5mm, and 10mm in accordance with IS
383.
• Aggregates should be of uniform quality.
• Content of organic impurities such as silt
and clay, and grading shall be in
accordance with IS 2386.
• Test on stone aggregates shall be
performed for each separate source in
accordance with IS 2386, and set of test
shall represent not more than 250 tons
• Flakiness index of aggregates shall be not
more than 25 for ordinary concrete, and
not more than 15 for high quality
concrete.
• Aggregates shall not have more than 2%
water absorption.
• Aggregates shall have Los Angeles
Abrasion not more than 45% for ordinary
concrete, and not more than 35% for high
quality concrete.
• Aggregates shall have crushing value not
more than 30% for pavement structures,
and not more than 45% for other
structures.
• Each type or size of aggregates shall be
stored in separate bin or compartment to
prevent mixing of aggregates.
• Dividing walls between bins shall be
substantial and continuous to prevent
mixing of types or sizes.
 Reinforcement
• Reinforcement shall have no crack, scale
or rust or foreign particles that will reduce
bond.
• Reinforcement shall be thoroughly
cleaned; all dirt, scale, loose rust, oil and
other contaminants shall be removed
before placing it in position.
• No reinforcement shall be accepted in
long lengths which have been transported
bent over double.
• Bars shall be accurately bent and formed
to dimension indicated in drawings.
• Bars shall be bent mechanically using
appropriate bar benders.
• Binding wire used to bind reinforcements
shall be annealed galvanized binding wire
of 20 gauges.
• Reinforcement shall be rigidly fixed so that it
remains intact during placing of concrete.
• Spacer blocks shall be used to ensure that
correct cover is maintained on
reinforcement.
• All reinforcement for use in works shall be
tested in accordance with NS 84-2042 and
NS 191-2045
• Reinforcement shall be stored at least
150mm above ground in clean area free
of mud and dirt and sorted out according
to category, quality, and diameter.
• Reinforcement which is likely to remain in
storage for long period shall be protected
from weather so as to avoid corrosion.
 Quality Assurance
Objectives of quality assurance in
construction are:
1. Fit for purpose: i.e. construction should be
suitable for intended purpose.
2. Right first time: i.e. mistakes in
construction work should be eliminated.
• Quality assurance is a system of activities
whose purpose is to provide assurance that
overall quality control is in fact being done
effectively.
• Quality assurance includes quality control as
one of its elements.
• Quality control is the responsibility of
contractor, while quality assurance also
includes acceptance.
• Acceptance involves sampling, testing, &
assessment of test results to determine
whether or not quality of construction is
acceptable in terms of specifications.
• Construction planning is complex dynamic
process, it must be kept up-to-date.
• During construction unforeseen events
occurs as a result of which number of
schedule changes.
• Schedule changes into construction plans
should be well developed & consistently
followed.
• Failure to keep construction planning
dynamic & up-to-date can create
confusion & delays.
• Quality assurance efforts in construction
must be continuously monitored &
changes in construction plan must be
communicated quickly to concerned
personnel.
• Quality assurance is concerned with many
quality-related activities such as quality
planning, quality control, quality
improvement, quality audit, & reliability.

• Quality assurance emphasizes in prevention

rather than cure so that job is done correctly,
the very first time & every time.
Utmost result of QA program is zero
defects.
Quality assurance aims:
• To impart confidence to clients, assuring
that their needs will be consistently met
(external QA).
• To achieve quality through systematic &
planned actions avoiding fire-fighting or
crisis management (internal QA).
• Quality assurance is concerned with
anticipating problems & with creating
attitudes & controls that prevent problems
arising.
• Quality assurance system should be
established to meet requirements of
fitness for use, & needs of customer’s
satisfaction
 QA system should include:
1. Formal quality plan spells out how fitness
for use & needs of owner’s satisfaction will
be achieved?
2. System of quality training to enhance skills
& knowledge of employees to assure
quality in construction.
 QA system should include:
3. System of quality circles for continuous
improvement in construction & services.
4. System of benchmarking quality to
compete & increase market share.
QA system should include:
5. System of corporate culture in company.

6. System of quality monitoring & control to

assure conformance to requirements.
7. System of inspection of incoming
materials & equipment.
 QA system should include:
8. System of in process quality inspection &
test.
9. System of reviews to verify, if quality plan
are being followed, that will result in fitness
for use.
10. System of independent audits to verify that
quality plans are being followed.
QA system should include:
11. System to provide data on quality
achieved.
12. System of re-engineering for dramatic
improvement & achievement in quality.
 Quality Assurance System
• Complete set of all project documents such
as related contract documents,
specifications, drawings etc. required for
proper execution of work shall be maintained
at project site.
• Project documents & all information
generated during life of project shall be
maintained in “project job file”.
• Project manager has overall responsibility
to ensure that all materials & services
purchased are in accordance with
established QA/QC procedures, project
specifications & drawings.
• All subcontractors shall be selected based
on their ability to meet established quality
requirements & should be examined
carefully during construction phase of
project.
• Qualified & experienced personnel can
plan & perform systematic steps
necessary for quality assurance in
construction.
• Construction activities should be
monitored closely to ensure that
specifications are being met throughout
construction process that meets needs &
expectations of owner
Quality Audit
• Quality audit is necessary to maintain
continuous improvement in team
performance and product quality.
• Objective of quality audit is to identify
measures that can improve performance
of project.
Quality Audit
Scope of quality audit is:
• To check availability and implementation
of quality system element.
• To review process and sequence of
operation.
• To verify goods and products to standard.
Quality Audit
• Audit implementation involves collection,
analysis, and evaluation of factual
information and drawing of conclusions
from these facts.
• Independent audit provides unbiased
picture of performance
Quality Audit
• Quality audit is systematic, independent
examination and evaluation to determine
whether quality activities and results
comply with planned arrangements.
• Whether planned arrangements are
implemented effectively and are suitable
for achieving objectives.
Quality Audit
Purpose of quality audits is to provide
assurance that:
• Plans for attaining quality are such that, if
followed, intended quality will, in fact, be
attained.
• Products are fit for use and safe for user.
Quality Audit
• Standards and regulations defined by
government agencies, industry
associations, and professional societies
are being followed.
• There is conformance to specifications.
• Procedures are adequate and are being
followed.
Quality Audit
• Quality audits may be scheduled and
carried out by properly trained in house
auditors or by registered third parties.
• Opportunities for improvement are
identified and appropriate personnel
alerted.