Who we are: Facilities Planning and Construction Project Inspections and Control
Role
of Project Inspections and Control
The University of Houston�s Facilities Project Inspectors (FPI)
provide assurance to Facilities Planning and Construction
Department management that contractors working on all UH capital
projects comply with quality assurance requirements of their
contract and have met expectations regarding the quality of the
final work product.
Processes of Project Inspections and Control
The inspectors are responsible for observing the contractor�s
quality management plan to assure the contractor remains
up-to-date and current with as-built record documentation and
deficiency resolution throughout the construction, commissioning
and close-out phases of a project. The objective is to verify
that all work installed by contractors is in conformance with
all applicable project requirements throughout the construction
phase. It is the responsibility of the FPI to monitor the
contractor�s deficiency issues tracking logs. The FPI will
verify that when the contractor removes a deficiency from the
active list, the removal of the issue was done with a written
authorization to do so from the original reporting stakeholder.
Gary Alley, Principal Project Manager
Gary has spent 39 years in construction, with 30 of those years
as a manager of large industrial and commercial construction
projects from $20 million to $300 million. Gary received his AS-CET
(Civil Engineering Technology) from the University of Maine at
Orono and his BS-CET from the University of Houston. He was
hired by UH in July 2010 in order to define and then develop
quality assurance processes and procedures for the University of
Houston System. Using his broad range of construction
experience, he developed the control processes, forms, and
documentation procedures used by the FPIs to monitor and
document contractor conformance. He supervises and provides
technical assistance and support to a staff of FPIs.
Jeff Brown, Facilities Project Inspector
Jeff has 18 years of experience with the University of Houston.
He assists with ongoing refinements of design standards and
technical campus specifications and assists fire marshals with
life safety interpretations and inspections. Jeff works closely
with senior and principal project managers on site
construction/renovation inspections and act as a liaison with
contractors and Facility Management staff. He also ensures that
plans and specifications are followed and the university does
not pay more than intended on projects.
Larkin Buechmann, Facilities Project Inspector
Larkin has 40-plus years of experience in
commercial/institutional construction and facilities
maintenance. He worked for the University of Houston from 1992
to 1999 as building services supervisor, followed by 11 years as
senior construction inspector for the University of Texas Office
of Facilities Planning and Construction on the UT Houston Heath
Science Center campus and the UT M.D. Anderson campus. He
returned to UH on Aug. 1, 2010 as a facilities project
inspector. He has many certifications in all aspects of
construction including concrete, rebar, post tension, structural
welding and bolting, NFPA, OSHA, ICC Combination Plumbing
Inspector, etc., and holds a current State of Texas Master
Plumbing license.
Stephen Dehart, Facilities Project Inspector
Stephen has been a member of the Construction Projects
Inspection team since May 2011 and is currently working on the
Sophomore Housing/ Cougar Place Replacement Project. He works to
ensure project delivery per the contract requirements. He is a
University of Houston Civil Engineering graduate with a
background in structures with 12 years of quality assurance
experience on projects including medical research buildings,
hospitals, and radiology facilities, as well as parking garages
and dining halls.
James Regan, Facilities Project Inspector
James has over 30 years of experience in construction and has
been a University of Houston employee since August 2010. His job
is to assure contractors install work per OSHA and project
contract documents. He also assures that work put in place
complies with federal, state and local building codes and
manufacturer�s installation recommendations. He is currently
working on the Health and Biomedical Science, Cougar Village II,
University Center Transformation, and 1A Parking Garage
projects.
In addition to other work activities, the FPI�s primary job
responsibilities are:
1) Pre-Construction Verification Records: Documentation
of existing site conditions before a contractor has mobilized.
The intent is to document the existing improvements surrounding
a project in the event damage is caused to those improvements by
the construction.
2) FPI�s Daily Field Report (�FPI-FR�): FPIs create a
record of construction activities on each of their assigned
projects. It is a job requirement that each FPI write a minimum
of one (1) FPI-Daily Field Report per week for each assigned
project. Types of information reported by the FPI are:
a) Document in general terms the construction
activities and areas of the project being worked on. Of
critical importance is documenting the start of new work
activities as they occur for the SPM�s use when
reviewing a contractor�s published construction
schedule.
b) Document weather or other influences that may affect
the construction schedule.
c) Document safety concerns, safety problems, or
accidents involving the contractor, FPI, architect,
engineer, or the public.
d) Document the size of the contractor�s work force on
the project.
e) Document the equipment being used by the contractor
as well as the equipment the contractor has on site but
is not actually using.
f) Document the delivery of key materials and/or
equipment delivered to the site.
g) Identify issues that could potentially become a delay
to the schedule and/or claim by the contractor. |
3) Contractor Requested Verifications (�CRV�):
Throughout construction there are certain tests and inspections
that are required. Using the CRV procedures the FPI provides
assurance that the contractors fulfill their contractual
obligations for documentation of in process inspections and
testing.
4) Report of Findings (�ROF�): The FPI will issue an ROF
to a contractor to identify unacceptable quality of work, unsafe
site conditions, or any other type of non-conformance with
contractual requirements.
5) Notices of Non-Compliance (�NNC�): The FPI will issue
an NNC to a contractor through the SPM as a written directive to
correct any failure to adhere to the requirements of the
contract drawings, contract specifications, or applicable laws
and/or codes.
6) Jobsite Interference Report (�JIR�): The FPI will
issue a JIR to document the circumstances of an unforeseen or
changed condition which interferes with the ability of the
contractor to prosecute the work per the contract requirements.
7) Materials Testing Records: The FPI assures that all
tests required by the contract documents are performed by the
appropriate entity. Observation to assure that tests performed
by the various entities do not deviate from the standards
stipulated in the contract documents.
8) Shop Inspection Records: FPI should review and verify
that shop inspections required by the contract documents have
been performed by the contractor and/or the university�s third
party testing laboratory.
9) Shop Verification Records: FPI should review materials
and quality control documents submitted by the contractor to
verify that materials furnished to the project have been
inspected and are in compliance with the requirements of the
contract documents.
10) Claims Resolution Support: When requested, the FPI
shall provide claim resolution support to the SPM.
11) Monthly Progress Payments: At the request of the SPM,
the FPI will assist with the review/verification of a
contractor�s monthly progress payment request and report the
results of their review to the SPM. The results of an FPI�s
review shall only be communicated to the contractor by the SPM.
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