Close on the heels of a three-tier monitoring system, the Public Works Department has rolled out a quality control manual to further streamline quality assurance and quality control in its projects.
The manual detail the steps to be followed while undertaking construction of roads, buildings and bridges, the specifications, quality of materials to be used, and the testing procedures to be carried out.
Besides, workmanship to be followed and methods to be adopted for ensuring quality have been listed out in detail. Geo-synthetics, traffic signages, and road markings have also found place in the manual.
Allowing stringent norms
With this, the PWD can enforce stringent quality norms for the construction and maintenance of national highways, State highways, major district roads, bridges, culverts, and the majority of government buildings undertaken by it. The need for a comprehensive quality control manual was felt after the PWD made quality control certificate based on tests done as per the guidelines of the Bureau of Indian Standards and the Indian Road Congress mandatory for preparing and clearing bills of the contractors.
Official sources said the manual would come in handy for the PWD personnel and for the 13 quality control laboratories and the Kerala Highway Research Institute that had been entrusted with the testing. The manual had already been officially notified.
The specifications followed by the CPWD, National Building Code of India, BIS, Indian Standard Codes, American Society for Testing Materials, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, British Standards, American Association of Highway and Transportation, and the Indian Roads Congress had been incorporated. The working group headed by the Chief Engineer (Design and Administration), PWD, that drafted and finalised the manual held workshops and consultations with the stakeholders, including contractors.
