How Party A can use construction drawings to manage progress and quality [Weekly Quality Topic 2011-11-21-28]

As a client-side field engineer, those who do not consult the drawings or fail to understand them thoroughly are not qualified representatives of the client; they do not deserve to be called engineers. As a client-side engineer, the focus should be on progress control and optimizing solutions, as quality issues are generally handled by the supervision company. If one doesn’t understand the drawings or even doesn’t bother to look at them, how can they know the function of each component? How can they determine whether the design of a particular component meets the functional requirements, and whether a certain approach or solution is consistent with the positioning of the product being developed? Therefore, the representative of Party A must examine the drawings carefully, doing so with specific questions in mind, and thoroughly understand their contents so as to be fully confident.

1. Provide each on-site engineer with a set of drawings to facilitate their reference, as well as to allow them to note design changes, review comments, results of drawing reviews, and other important issues related to construction on the drawings. 2. Prepare a table of issues that need to be indicated on the construction drawings. The on-site personnel are required to indicate on the construction drawings the actual handling methods and the sequence of events related to these issues during construction. These issues should include significant errors at the site, error corrections, remedial measures, etc. 3. Print the building floor plans (unit-specific floor plans) on A3 paper, and indicate the progress of the work on these sheets on a weekly basis (such as the dates for tasks like wall construction, pipe installation, plastering, as well as information regarding weather conditions, materials used, and the status of workers, along with any corrections made). On this sheet of paper, the test data and visual evaluation must also be recorded in accordance with the requirements for individual unit inspections. 4. Summarize the weekly completion status (the data indicated on the chart) to facilitate progress control and acceleration of construction. 5. Convert daily records into electronic documents and enter them into spreadsheets. This makes it easy to access the daily record data at any time. Provide immediate reports and suggest improvements to progress. 6. Indicate and summarize certain sub-items such as utilities and doors/windows separately. 7. Determine the unit price per square meter for workers by job type (the unit price for machine operators and workers) as well as the hourly wage level. This is how the amount of work completed by the workers is calculated. At the same time, ask about the daily output of the workers. This makes it easier to estimate the construction party’s progress rate. 8. Control and require the contractor to ensure timely completion in line with Party A’s project (milestone) schedule. 9. Approve progress based on the records provided in the drawings. 10. If the issues noted in the drawings are not resolved, progress payments shall be deducted. This can put some pressure on the construction party.

We have never encountered this problem, as we require that work be carried out in accordance with the plans; during daily supervision, we also ensure that everything is done as per the plans. During inspections, we check whether the work was carried out as planned and whether there are any quality issues or potential problems. Those who proceed with construction without following the plans have their payment deducted~

It is absolutely unacceptable for a professional engineer on the client’s side to be unfamiliar with the drawings. Compared to the construction party, the engineer on the client’s side focuses differently on the drawings; they should delve deeper into whether the design meets the client’s requirements in terms of functionality, and whether it fully reflects the developer’s intentions. Regarding the management of project progress and quality, the client should make good use of the supervising party’s role; the supervisor is entrusted by the client to oversee all aspects such as progress, quality, safety, and even investment on site, and should not overstep their authority. Of course, in order to better understand all aspects of the project, it is essential to become familiar with the drawings; this allows for monitoring the roles of all parties involved in the project and helps avoid unnecessary losses for the client. Utilizing construction drawings for management: Having a thorough understanding of the workload, the materials used, the dimensions of major equipment and structures, as well as the key construction methods are several key aspects for using construction drawings to manage progress and quality.

Hehe, it’s hard to imagine completing a project without looking at blueprints. Of course, for very small projects, blueprints might not even be necessary; for things like installing pipes, it’s enough to just figure things out on the spot. For large-scale projects, it is necessary to carefully examine the drawings, optimize the manufacturing processes, review the data, assess the selection and configuration of equipment, and study the positioning of equipment and the layout of pipelines. Based on one’s own experience and knowledge, it is possible to propose changes to any unreasonable aspects. At the same time, comprehensive management of progress, quality, and safety at the construction site is required. Therefore, no matter how many times a similar project has been carried out before, the client must thoroughly verify and oversee the new drawings.

The situation described by the original poster is a very common phenomenon in the engineering field. After all, most experienced engineers come from technical worker backgrounds, have generally low educational levels, limited learning abilities, and there is a serious tendency to rely on their past experience. As a technical manager, drawings are the foundation of management; without drawings, how can there be management? The engineering sector is developing rapidly in every aspect, and many of its fields have already integrated with international standards; relying solely on past achievements is likely not sufficient to keep up with the times.

Only by being familiar with the drawings can one properly manage quality, safety, schedule, and costs; otherwise, how can one become a competent representative of the client side? Indeed, there are still many people on the client side who just go through the motions

It’s possible that Party A hasn’t reviewed the drawings in their entirety, but it’s unlikely that they haven’t seen them at all. Since many projects require preliminary preparation work, such as foundation construction, it is impossible for the client’s engineers to ignore the blueprints. During the construction process, the client acts as the supervisor, and their main role is to oversee the quality of the work; this can be determined quite easily based on experience. The drawings, on the other hand, specify detailed dimensions, so the client believes that this aspect doesn’t hold much importance for them. Since he is not responsible for the installation, even if there are size mismatches during installation, it is not the client’s responsibility. However, as an engineering technician, the first thing one should do is to be meticulous, and it is wrong to act in this way. Furthermore, nowadays, the engineers from Party A often accept bribes from relevant personnel from Party B, which leads them to turn a blind eye to matters related to the project.

It’s sheer fantasy for Party A to expect to manage the progress and quality without reviewing the drawings. Nowadays, projects are carried out in phases, with the drawings being released gradually; there are often errors in the design drawings. If Party A doesn’t examine these drawings, it is Party A itself that will suffer the losses in the end. Furthermore, how can you manage the progress without looking at the blueprints? You say something needs to be done today, but the subcontractor sees that there are no blueprints and no materials ready. Can this situation keep things on track?

The client is not responsible for the quality of the project; the design institute must be accountable for its designs, while the construction company is required to build in strict accordance with the blueprints. The supervision company is responsible for ensuring that both the construction work and the use of materials comply with the design specifications. The client’s engineers need to exercise comprehensive control, coordinating everything from material procurement to the project schedule. Experience is valuable, but it’s also necessary to keep up with changes – otherwise, how can innovation occur? Senior engineers do have extensive experience, but if they insist on using methods from decades ago, they certainly won’t be able to adapt to ongoing developments! ! That’s why it’s necessary to keep up with the times; otherwise, one might not even realize that they have become a old conservative.