‘worst face of QA’) are cited as strong evidence against its acceptance. Site management is by tradition
autonomous with complete authority over many functions, which in factory situations would report through
separate lines of responsibility. This situation has evolved historically because the penalties for delay either
in the final construction stage of a project, or in an on-stream plant down for repair, can be severe and the
work programme tends to be more sacrosanct than ever. In the preparatory phases of a contract from design
through fabrication, some delays may be tolerable and even necessary, in order to avoid later problems. The
inevitable consequence, however, is to compress the site construction phase, which itself does not have the
luxury of a following phase against which delays may be cushioned. The pressure on site management to
avoid delays from any source is considerable. There is, therefore, a reluctance to introduce any independent
system which could prejudice the authority of site management and have a potential for causing what may
be considered to be uncontrollable delays.
Generally, construction site management skills are based on hard won experience gained against a
background of itinerant labour, frequently in remote areas with associated communications and access
problems. This background tends to develop forceful, independent management which is particularly skilled
in ensuring progress, whatever the means. This approach can be detrimental to effective independent
technical and quality management, particularly in the area of welding and fabrication where the technology
of design, materials and production has advanced so rapidly in recent years. Consequently, there is an everpresent
threat that site construction management will take expedient measures based on limited and possibly
out-dated knowledge and experience, which may appear to offer the least complicated and perhaps quicker
solution, without recognising the potential risks. These factors, together with the contemporary reward
systems which recognise the immediate benefits of a ‘job on time’ rather than a ‘job done well’, are among
the factors which can place the technical and quality management on a construction site under considerable
pressure.
It is therefore essential to ensure that the construction site QA/QC function is independent of the local site
management organisation in quality and technical matters. It is also equally important to recognise that the
level of technical supervision on a construction site, which operates through a system of discipline or area
engineers in addition to QC inspectors, may be more intense than on the shop floor, and that some of the
control systems which operate satisfactorily against a relatively comfortable background of that environment
may not be necessary and could even be detrimental to both progress and quality on site. This is not to say
that essential contols should be relaxed on site. On the contrary, there may even be a case for increased
caution in an exposed or dirty site environment but, essentially, basic principles of technical control in
welding should be the same on site as in the shop.