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AC291 Quality ManualTable of Contents - Click here for PDF demo - opens in new tab 1.0 Scope This quality manual establishes policies and procedures for accreditation of (your Company name) - a Type A Accredited Special Inspection Agency (SIA). The Company has prepared and maintains a quality system that is compliant with relevant requirements of ISO 17020 and all requirements of IAS AC291. The quality manual is cross-referenced to clause numbers from IAS AC291 to provide ease in review. Documented information that is related to special inspections and quality system policies, procedures and forms are available to all personnel, and the Client according to the Contract. 2.0 Company Vision and Governing Policies ... 2.1 Definitions and Abbreviations Unless otherwise noted, the Company applies the definitions of key terms according to Definitions and Abbreviations Procedure. Subordinate or external documentation is referenced in Bold Italics. 3.1 Responsible Authorities (RA) The Company employs ... Other inspection projects are supervised by individuals with required expertise, experience and familiarity with specific types of construction and fabrication. Designated authorities are detailed in the Responsibilities and Authorities Procedure. 3.2 Management System Documentation7.5.2, 8.2.4, 8.2.5 The Company has prepared and maintains a quality system that is compliant with relevant requirements of ISO 17020 and all requirements of IAS AC291. The quality manual is cross-referenced to clause numbers from IAS AC291 to provide ease in review. Documented information that is related to special inspections and quality system policies, procedures and forms are available to all personnel, and the Client according to the Contract. 3.3.1 Legal Status4.25.1.1, 5.1.3, 5.1.5, 5.2.2, 7.1.2, 8.3.2 The Company's legal business name is: (Your Company Name) Field and Types of Special Inspections The Company is a Type A inspection body that does not impose any contractual conditions for its service. The Company maintains current work instructions for specific fields and types of special inspections (see Table 1). Special inspection operations are performed according to documentation developed by Responsible Authority(s) during the Design and Development process. Special inspection instructions are based upon the content required by the latest revision industry standard(s). The work instruction, drawings and other documents define the inspection steps necessary for the contract. In addition, the Company ... These activities are fully defined in the Inspection Procedure and Design and Development Procedure. ... 3.3.2 Liability Insurance4.35.1.4 The Company's liability insurance policy number is recorded on documents required by the contract, such as the quality manual. Management considers various types of insurance to ensure coverage of its business, employees, subcontractors and clients. 3.3.3 Risk to Impartiality4.44.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.5, 5.2.1, 6.1.11 In all circumstances, the Company strives for... Any employee of the Company that has any financial or other interest in a Client Company, either directly or through any member of his/her immediate family, shall... using the Confidential Financial Disclosure form and Approval of Outside Activity Report. Purchasing imposes impartiality requirements for Contract Inspectors hired by the Company to perform special inspection operations. The acceptance of gifts, gratuities or compensation from Clients or any person with a financial interest in the results of a special inspection program is not permitted. The acceptance of items intended for the purpose of advertisement and bearing the name of the Client is... The Company cooperates with Client-related activities and participates where requested in all necessary meetings with Clients. The Company will not, in any way,... The Company will abide by all Government clauses or other statutory or regulatory requirements as referenced by the order or contract. Employee compensation is not dependent on results or quantity of inspections. Affidavit of Compliance to Industry Standards The Company operates in a transparent manner to avoid any perception of conflict of interest. See Appendix A for Affidavit that attests to the Company's compliance to industry standards. The Company ensures... 3.4 Confidentiality4.54.2.1, 6.1.13 All employees sign the Company's Nondisclosure Agreement form to help protect Client records, which are... 3.5 Organization and Independence4.65.2.3, 6.1.4 The following organizational chart defines the basic management structure of the Company. In all cases, the appropriate person has been granted both the responsibility and authority for their position's duties, which are further defined in the Responsibilities and Authorities Procedure. Responsible Authorities include: 3.5.1 Technical Manager4.6.15.2.5 The Company documents inspection responsibilities for each manager. 3.5.2 Quality Manager4.6.28.2.3 Manages quality system and reports to top management. Manages field inspections. 3.6 Technical Competency of Special Inspectors4.7 The Company strictly conforms to industry standards for qualification requirements of Special Inspectors according to Table 1 in the latest revision release of IAS AC291. For Special Inspectors that... do not have three (3) months of relevant work experience, the Company maintains an Inspector Certifications Matrix that... The Company monitors inspector performance... according to the Quality Plan for Monitoring Special Inspectors. The certification and training matrix is defined in the Training Procedure. The Company maintains a safety program and prepares safety guidelines for each project. All employees receive safety training on physical and chemical hazards that may be encountered on the construction site. The Company assigns a Responsible Authority to:
The Company maintains the safety of their employees, subcontractor employees and others in their work area in cooperation with... The Company's safety program is defined in Safety Program. 3.8 Measuring and Monitoring Resources4.96.2.2 All measuring and test equipment instruments and devices used to determine special inspection conformance are... defined in the Calibration Procedure. Maintenance of Equipment Used to Perform Inspections in the Field The Company maintains equipment according to... Maintenance of Equipment Used to Verify Inspections in the Field The Company maintains equipment according to... 3.8.1 Test and Measuring Equipment List4.9.1 The Company maintains a list of test and measuring equipment according to the Calibration Procedure. 3.8.2 Handling Defective Equipment4.9.2 The controls for handling defective equipment are defined in the Calibration Procedure.3.8.3 3.8.3 Sorting of Test and Measurement Equipment4.9.3 The Company categorizes measuring equipment according to the Calibration Procedure.3.8.3.1 External Calibration4.9.3.1 The Company maintains traceability to external resources that perform equipment calibrations according to the Calibration Procedure.3.8.3.2 Internal Calibration4.9.3.2 The Company maintains traceability to internal resources that perform equipment calibrations according to the Calibration Procedure.3.8.3.3. Verification Before Use4.9.3.3 Non-calibrated measurement devices may be used to accept or reject quality characteristics when... according to the Calibration Procedure.3.9 Record and Document Control4.107.3.1, 8.3.1, 8.3.2, 8.4.1, 8.4.2 Records are maintained in secure area(s) for seven years or for the time specified by contract. Records are controlled... according to the Control of Documented Information Procedure. Documents are reviewed and approved prior to release and only the latest versions are available to users according to the Company's Master List of Controlled QMS Documents. Invalid and obsolete documents are... The control of documents is defined in the Control of Documented Information Procedure. Security and Backup of Stored Data4.10.20 The Company has assigned a Responsible Authority to create duplicate original backups of electronic data by... 3.9.1 Legal Entity Status4.10.1 – see 3.3.1 3.9.2 Confidentiality, Impartiality and Conflict of Interest4.10.14.1.4, 4.1.5, 5.2.1 Special inspection operations are independent to enable impartiality and elimination of perceived conflicts of interest (see 3.3). Risks to Inspector impartiality, such as... are eliminated or minimized according to the Control of Nonconformities Procedure. See the Management Process Procedure for guidance regarding... 3.9.3 Liability Insurance4.10.3 – see 3.3.2 3.9.4 Quotation and Contract Review/Risk Analysis4.10.44.2.1, 6.1.2, 6.2.1, 7.1.5, 8.2.2 The Company captures all contractual and special requirements... as part of the Proposal Development & Contract Review Procedure4.11.3 thru 4.11.11.2. The Company coordinates document changes with Customers and/or regulatory authorities according to... Configuration Management Procedure. Contract documents are maintained as proprietary and confidential according to the Control of Documented Information Procedure. The Management Process Procedure is used to address... The Company integrates and implements these actions into quality management system processes and... Area of Expertise4.11.1 Prior to formal contract review, the Company... Capabilities and Resources4.11.1. The Company determines capabilities and required resources to meet Customer requirements... Inspection Approval4.11, 4.11.2 The Company performs inspections according... 3.9.5 Signed Quotes/Contracts4.10.5 – see 3.9.4 3.9.6 Inspection Schedules/Dispatch Records4.10.6 – see 3.18 3.9.7 Inspector Competency Matrix4.10.7 – see 3.6 3.9.8 Externally Provided Inspection Services/Purchasing and Control of Subcontractors4.10.8, 4.136.1.12, 6.2.11, 6.3.1 Purchasing is treated as a process within the Company's quality management system. The purchasing process ensures... The Supplier approval and purchasing process is fully defined in the Purchasing Procedure. Incoming materials are inspected to... The verification process is defined in the Receiving Procedure. Subcontracted special inspection agencies and qualified individuals are reviewed and approved according to the Purchasing Procedure and are listed on the Company's Approved Suppliers List. Special inspection activities are monitored according to... and the Quality Plan for Monitoring Special Inspectors. 3.9.9 Special Inspection Reports4.10.9 – see 3.18 3.9.10 Calibration Records4.10.10 – see 3.8 3.9.11 Sample Handling/Preparation, Acquisition, Handling, Storage and Transportation of Samples or Field Prepared Specimens4.127.2.1, 7.2.2, 7.2.4 The Company has assigned qualified Responsible Authorities to prepare Special Inspection Instructions that describe... 3.9.12 List of Controlled Documents4.10.12 – see 3.9 3.9.13 Internal Audit4.10.138.2.2, 8.6.1, 8.6.4, 8.6.5 Internal audits are conducted to ensure ongoing compliance with requirements and to determine the effectiveness of the Company's policies and procedures. This is accomplished by... Audit requirements include those of IAS AC291, ISO 17020 and the Company's Quality Manual as well as... 3.9.14 Customer Complaints4.10.14 – see 3.13 3.9.15 Customer Satisfaction4.10.15 The Company collects feedback from Customers and regulatory agencies using one or more of the following methods to...
Records of Customer feedback and corrective actions are maintained according to the Control of Documented Information Procedure. 3.9.16 Training and Supervision/Monitoring of Inspectors4.10.165.2.7, 6.1.1, 6.1.3, 6.1.5, 6.1.6 All Special Inspectors are... Subsequent training is performed according to the Training Procedure to achieve... Management conducts periodic reviews of employee performance according to the Quality Plan for Monitoring Special Inspectors. The internal auditing process evaluates... Inspector Training The Company trains Inspectors... according to the Training Procedure. Supervision/Monitoring of Inspectors The Company monitors Inspectors according to the Training Procedure and the Quality Plan for Monitoring Special Inspectors. 3.9.17 Supervision/Monitoring Logs4.10.176.1.8 The Supervisor reviews Inspector performance and inspection reports according to the Training Procedure and the Quality Plan for Monitoring Special Inspectors. Six Month Review The Company reviews Inspector performance according to the Training Procedure and the Quality Plan for Monitoring Special Inspectors. Field Monitoring The Company monitors Inspector field performance according to the Training Procedure and the Quality Plan for Monitoring Special Inspectors. Field Identification Requirements for Special Inspectors The Company prepares an identification badge for Inspectors that includes... 3.9.18 Standardized Document Content4.10.18 Management system documents contain the following content:
Changes to hardcopy and electronic documents are controlled according to the Configuration Management Procedure. 3.9.20 Retain Records4.10.20 – see 3.9 3.10 Quotation and Contract4.11 – see 3.9.4 3.11 Sample Handling4.12 – see 3.9.11 3.12 Externally Provided Inspection Services4.13 – see 3.9.8 3.13 Complaints and Appeal4.147.5.3, 7.6.3, 7.6.4, 7.6.5 Complaints and appeals from Customers and Regulatory Agencies are... The Company acknowledges receipt of the C&A and provides the applicable Client with... 3.14 Feedback Collection4.15 – see 3.9.15 3.15 Internal Audit4.16 – see 3.9.13 3.16 Management Review4.174.1.5, 8.5.1.1 The following agenda items are required for management review meetings:
Improvements in the quality system The frequency and required attendees for management review meetings is defined in the Management Process Procedure. Additional inputs for management review are defined in the Management Process Procedure. Management review meeting minutes are... 3.17 Status Review and Notification/Reporting Discrepancy4.188.7.1 thru 8.8.3 When a nonconformance occurs, including complaints, the Company reacts to the nonconformance and, as applicable, takes action to control and correct it and deal with the consequences according to the Corrective Action Procedure and Control of Nonconformities Procedure. The Company evaluates the need for action to eliminate the cause of each nonconformance to... Management direction for processing unresolved corrective actions is defined in the Management Process Procedure. 3.18 Dispatching Daily, Intermediate and Final Reports4.194.2.1, 4.2.2, 7.4 Daily, intermediate and final reports are not... When required, unless prohibited by law, a Responsible Authority notifies Clients in advance of any release of information to the public. Corrections or additions to an inspection report or inspection certificate after issue are... INSPECTION REPORTS4.10.9 The Company prepares inspection reports that contain information required by applicable regulatory authorities, which includes, but are not limited to:
APPENDIX A: AFFIDAVIT of COMPLIANCE to INDUSTRY STANDARDS4.1.6 The Company operates in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner. The Company and its inspection staff do not have... The Company and its staff do not... The Company strictly applies criteria from AC291 to establish minimum qualifications for personnel that perform special inspections. Signature of Company Official: __________________ Date: __________________ NOTARY: (if desired to affirm/swear to above assertions) 4.0 REVISION HISTORY AND APPROVAL RECORD Quality System Procedure Copyright © JnF Specialties, LLC. All rights reserved worldwide. PROPRIETARY INFORMATION - UNCONTROLLED IF PRINTED UNLESS OTHERWISE MARKED |