The document outlines the differences between Quality Control (QC) inspections and commissioning inspections in construction quality management. QC focuses on ensuring installations meet client and regulatory standards, while commissioning verifies that systems function optimally and correctly after installation. Key processes include inspection test plans, mechanical completion checklists, and pre-commissioning checklists to ensure smooth transitions and functionality of equipment.

1. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN QC
INSPECTIONS AND
COMMISSIONING INSPECTIONS
COMMISSIONING MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION

2. Understanding Construction Quality
Control
• Construction quality control is a type of management
system that aims to ensure that the deliverable fulfils the
guidelines and standards laid by the client.
• These may include completion of the project within the
scope of predefined work as well as avoiding disputes
throughout the project’s life cycle.
• Quality is established by the client and regulatory
agencies, and is usually based on regulatory and
environmental guidelines.
• All the quality assurance procedures and requirements
are recorded in the construction quality management
plan.

3. • There are two major facets of quality in construction:
quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC).
• While quality assurance describes the quality
management-specific expectations and how to attain
quality, quality control explains the plan to achieve the
same.
• The construction quality control manager oversees this
plan throughout different phases of the project.

4. Understanding Construction
Commissioning
• Building commissioning is a methodical process of
balances and checks to ensure that building equipment
and systems are constructed, designed, and operated for
optimal performance.
• The commissioning management company brings an all-
encompassing approach to the process of design, and is
accountable for thoroughly reviewing construction-specific
documentation, testing and validating the specific
equipment post installation, and checking if building staff
are trained properly to operate and maintain the installed
equipment.

5. • Apart from ensuring that building components, including
cooling, heating, refrigeration and water systems, and air
handling work as they are expected to be, commissioning
companies in the UK also aim to lower maintenance and
operational costs as well as improve the building’s energy
usage.
• Although installation contractors and design professionals
are eventually accountable for testing building systems
and ensuring the quality of the installation, the
commissioning team provides a second pair of ears and
eyes throughout the entire construction process –
checking for any deficiencies as well as preventing and
resolving possible issues before the building becomes
fully operational.

6. QC Inspections vs. Commissioning
Inspections
• Commissioning is a complex process, particularly the
phase of transition to commissioning from construction.
• However, with the proper documentation, it can be
simplified substantially.
• This is where the documents for QC and Commissioning
Inspections comes in.
• There are basically 3 types of documents that have to be
defined during the transition.
 Inspection Test Plans (ITPs)
 Mechanical Completion Checklists
 Pre-commissioning Checklists.
• Let’s look at these three types of documents in detail.

7. Inspection and Test Plans
• Primarily, these are part of the construction-specific
quality control documents.
• Inspection and test plans, acronymed as ITPs, list the
quality inspections to be done in order to confirm
appropriate installation, once the systems are installed.
• For instance, a mechanical ITP is a checklist that includes
the torque values that need to be confirmed after
equipment installation.
• Every bolt is torque-checked to see if they are torqued
appropriately.

8. • Another ITP example can be a checklist to verify and confirm if
equipment is installed correctly, including flushing of pipes to
confirm they contain no debris, pressure or leak testing to verify
that the piping has no leaks – and as part of the QC inspection
documentation, it confirms that piping has been installed
correctly.
• An example of electrical ITPs can be a checklist, comprising all
the inspections that need be done on all cables after being
pulled.
• This may include point-to-point testing and Megger checking.
Megger testing confirms that there is no damage to the cables,
with its dielectric properties being maintained well post
installation.
• Point-to-point testing confirms that the cable has been
terminated appropriately to the right terminal blocks in the
automation cubicle.
• All ITPs are specific to individual subsystems. Once all ITPs
are done, the mechanical completion documentation begins.

9. Mechanical Completion
• Mechanical completion is the process of formal handover
to the commissioning team from the construction team.
• Every mechanical completion contains all the ITPs
associated with a specific subsystem, and the mechanical
completion checklist will include the documentation, which
is needed as part of that specific handover.
• Once all the items listed in the mechanical completion
checklist is completed, the checklist is verified and signed
off, indicating handover to the commissioning team, which
can then start with the pre-commissioning testing.

10. Commissioning Inspections
• Commissioning inspections are specified in pre-
commissioning checklists. An example of a pre-
commissioning mechanical checklist can be a pump and a
motor that need startup for the very first time.
• In such a checklist, a bump test will be performed to verify
rotation, an uncoupled run will be done to see there are
no issues, a coupled run will be done to verify current
draw, and an initial run-in will be done to check flow and
pressure rates.
• An example of a pre-commissioning electrical checklist
can be powering up an automation cubicle for the very
first time.

11. • Such a checklist will include primary communication
checks, set-point and alarm checks, monitoring and
control checks, loop checks, and so forth.
• Once all pre-commissioning inspections are done, the
systems can further be tested during the commissioning
testing phase.
• To make their entire commissioning inspection process
faster, smoother and more efficient, most commissioning
management companies rely on advanced commissioning
management software like Cobia that helps ensure clear
tracking, traceability and accountability for every stage of
the commissioning process.

12. Conclusion
• With the discussion above, the major difference between
QC inspections and commissioning inspections is quite
clear.
• Hence, it can be concluded that while QC inspections
confirm that the equipment has been installed
appropriately, commissioning inspections verifies that the
equipment is functioning correctly.

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