At the State Transportation Commission meeting today, MITA President, Steve Mancini, joined with seven other association presidents and agency representatives in signing the Michigan Construction Quality Partnership (CQP) charter. Signing the CQP charter in the presence of the State Transportation Commission, the state’s transportation policy body, was a significant public demonstration of the commitment the eight industry partners maintain to the quality vision and goals of the CQP initiative. The eight industry partners signatory to the CQP charter are:
American Council of Engineering Companies of Michigan (ACEC-M)
Asphalt Pavement Association of Michigan (APAM)
County Road Association of Michigan (CRAM)
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Michigan Concrete Paving Association (MCPA)
Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT)
Michigan Infrastructure & Transportation Association (MITA)
Michigan Road Preservation Association (MRPA)
MITA has been on this CQP journey for well over a year now so everyone should know that the goal of CQP is total and continuous quality process improvement throughout all elements, within all disciplines, and at all corporate and agency levels within the transportation industry. The journey to that goal will involve the implementation of a comprehensive training and skill development initiative that will ultimately affect every aspect of our industry. However, CQP is not just contractor quality; CQP is “construction” quality involving the owner agencies, the contractors, and the consulting engineer community who perform as owner representatives in the industry.
Unlike other traditional quality efforts that tend to focus primarily on materials, the Michigan CQP initiative will focus on skills development and the process strings from project scoping to post-construction feedback. Training people and developing a skilled workforce that maintains a quality focus and a commitment to continuous improvement is the first objective. Ultimately, mandatory personnel and corporate certifications will ensure everyone in the industry (owners, consultants, contractors), in all disciplines and at all levels, attains and maintains the knowledge, skill sets, and commitment needed to deliver the quality transportation products our customers demand.
This CQP initiative involves a significant paradigm shift as it involves a move in focus from end-product inspections and the imposing of post-construction warranties to continual quality process control at all stages (scoping, design, bidding, construction) by all participants involved in the process (MDOT, consultants, contractors).
If you have any questions about the CQP initiative contact Glenn Bukoski at glennbukoski@mi-ita.com, or call him at the MITA office at 517-347-8336.
