Problem Patterns for Infrastructure Construction Quality Management

Departures from design/construction quality requirements can surface at different stages of the project life. They include problems during the construction process, at the intermediate and end products, and during the operating stage of the project. This paper describes how problem patterns can be identified and analyzed for diagnosing and/or predicting nonconformity of constructed facilities. This will enable appropriate actions to be taken for eradicating the causes of nonconformity, and preventing their recurrence and/or their occurrence. Highway construction has been selected as an application and illustrative domain. Pattern analyses have been directed at deriving root cause classes of problems including: (1) Design, which relates to the assigned specifications, methods, and/or procedures; (2) Execution, which involves errors or the inability to execute tasks; and, (3) External, which includes unforeseen events or accidents. The proposed approach will provide construction personnel with an effective tool to analyze root causes of problems and to better reason about quality-related problems.