Building confidence

Plant certification programs can provide assurance that consistent quality products are used on your projects.

By Dean Frank

The competitive bid process is used regularly in the construction industry – it’s the mainstay for many project owners, especially federal, state and local government entities. The process usually works quite well. However, in highly competitive instances, the contractors (and their subcontractors) often are forced to lower their bids in efforts to increase the likelihood of being awarded the job, often at the expense of quality. In turn, the project owners are put into situations where they must police their projects. A prime example is when State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) send field inspectors to precast concrete plants to observe the precaster’s manufacturing process.

Shrinking department and project budgets only compound the problem. Consequently, DOTs and other specifiers are seeking ways to decrease the number of field plant inspections. Wouldn’t it be better if the precast concrete industry policed itself and assumed the burden of quality assurance?

Fortunately, a tool exists that benefits the project owner, the specifier and the precast concrete manufacturer, all at the same time. Plant certification programs – both mandatory and voluntary – have proven very successful in addressing the issue of quality manufacturing while sparing time and resources used for plant inspections.

Good for you
Project owners and specifiers can benefit from requiring that precast used on their projects be produced in certified plants. Such benefits include:

• Greater assurance of quality and durability. Precast concrete components delivered to the job site are produced in a plant that is certified as a high-quality manufacturer. Higher quality leads to greater durability of the precast units, resulting in reduced life cycle costs.

• Reduced field plant inspections by agencies. By pushing responsibility for inspections and quality assurance back to the precast concrete producers and the industry, some DOTs and other agencies have been able to reduce the frequency of their own plant inspections. This allows agencies to either reallocate or reduce manpower, providing greater efficiency or cost savings.

• Industry self-regulation of quality issues. Self-regulation by the industry removes some of the burden and cost from the agencies. This also forces the companies and associations representing the industry to constantly strive to improve in the eyes of the specifying community. As experts in manufacturing precast concrete, the industry should be the best resource for maintaining a certification program.

• Prequalified list of quality producers. By certifying nearly 500 precast concrete plants across the United States and Canada, the various certification programs have built a substantial list of manufacturers that meet stringent quality control programs. This offers specifiers a list of precast plants that have made the conscious effort to be among the best quality producers.

• Greater quality assurance for products received from producers located out of state. Many agencies have problems personally inspecting production facilities that lie outside of their state or region. Certification helps ensure consistent quality regardless of where the product is manufactured.

Good for them
The precast concrete industry benefits from plant certification programs as well. On projects where a plant certification program is required, a single standard of quality is set for all precast concrete manufacturers and their products, effectively leveling the playing field for all plants wishing to supply products to the project.

The program creates additional opportunities for plants and the precast industry as a whole by showing a commitment to produce high-quality precast concrete products. As the level of quality increases, satisfaction from owners and specifiers improves, the reputation of the industry escalates and the number of new opportunities for plants increases.
Plant certification provides recognition for plants that strive for and achieve a high degree of excellence. A certified plant stands out among plants wishing to supply products to a particular project.

A survey conducted by NPCA, the association of the manufactured concrete products industry, polled NPCA certified plants regarding their opinions of the NPCA Plant Certification Program. Ninety-six percent of the respondents reported that the certification program was beneficial to their plants. In addition, 100 percent of the respondents reported that they would recommend other precast concrete plants become certified.

The survey results also showed plants can save a substantial amount of money, often more than the cost of the program, by becoming certified. This is possible because plant employees learn proper manufacturing and quality control procedures, which lead to a reduction of rejections and repairs, greater efficiency and increased new and repeat business.

Adding it up
Plant certification programs generally have three basic components: a quality control manual, a predetermined grading schedule and an inspection process.
Precast concrete-specific plant certification programs generally include minimum requirements in their quality control manuals for anything that can affect the quality of the final product, including:

• Plant quality control procedures and management policies
• Raw materials such as admixtures, aggregates and cement
• Concrete mixes
• Batching and mixing
• Production practices
• Fabrication of reinforcement and blockouts
• Prepour, casting, curing, stripping and repair operations
• Postpour and final inspections
• Product handling, storage and shipment
• Concrete and aggregate testing
• Quality control record-keeping

Plants are scored on the degree of compliance with the requirements in the quality control manual using a predetermined grading schedule. All plants must attain a minimum passing score in order to be certified.

Plant certification inspections are typically performed by an independent engineering firm, ensuring an unbiased opinion of the plant. Additionally, since the inspectors have usually been in many other plants, they can offer tips to an individual plant on improving operations, efficiency and quality. By specifying that precast concrete manufacturers supplying products to a particular project must be certified, the minimum level of quality is set for all producers who bid on that project.

The precast concrete industry helps build confidence and ensures quality in the projects of owners and specifiers while benefiting the industry as a whole. Precast concrete-specific plant certification programs reinforce the inherent characteristics of all precast concrete products – namely quality, value and permanence.

Dean Frank is NPCA’s Director of Technical Services.

For more information regarding the NPCA Plant Certification Program, please call Rich Krolewski at (800) 322-7731 or visit www.precast.org.