Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd

Creating a quality trail from the very start

Quality documentation created in advance of construction work is proving invaluable on BBCEL's M1 widening project - as attested by independent auditors from our certification authority DNV.

Previously, quality completion documents were usually compiled once construction was well advanced. This often created difficulties in collating the information needed.

Our M1 quality and environmental management team cultivated a hotbed of practical ideas which are becoming standard procedures on later projects. One such idea was a new way to compile completion document packages.

The team explain: "The usual problem with document completion at the end of the project is insufficient recorded history. Staff move onto other projects, and relying on memory is costly and unreliable.

"In our case, documentation is done as the project progresses, and everyone is responsible for their own completion package.

"A completion package is therefore submitted to the client at each phase of construction, not waiting until the end of the whole project. We found this boosts the client's confidence by making the packages easy to audit, fosters early close-out, and ultimately saves time and money".

Visiting external auditors from DNV complimented our completion packages and our system for managing these files.

During 2006, an index of packages was evolved. Files were set up, split into segments reflecting the project programme. The aim was speedy sign-off as soon as the specified activities were completed.

Quality staff worked hard to prepare and launch the system, introducing it to engineers as part of formal HSEQ inductions at the start of the project.

Daily monitoring ensures issues are flagged and dealt with as they arise. This discipline enables us to chart progress while scanning the records, and check for any irregularities.

Overall quality of the project is improved as a direct result. This method of collating quality records ensures any issues are flagged as they happen and dealt with straight away.

The system aids document retrieval and cross-referencing, and simplifies uploading electronic copies into the project database.

Good housekeeping helps compile the health & safety file required at the end of the project. It cuts costs by making this job less labour intensive and far more manageable.

Our file-as-we-go approach minimises the chance of overrun due to a last-minute paperchase - which again cuts costs.

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