Haryana’s quality control body to get more teeth

The Haryana government will enact legislation to provide Quality Assurance Authority (QAA), a body constituted in 2023 by the state government for establishing standards for quality and management in engineering works, more teeth. The body thus will have the backing of a statute that will lend weight to its enforcement measures.

Chairman QAA, Rajeev Arora said that quality assurance involves a process driven and systematic framework to ensure that quality standards are integrated right from the inception of the project up to the entire project life cycle.

“It involved a proactive approach aiming to eliminate defects before they occur by addressing root causes, focuses on preventive measures by establishing policies and processes aligning with best practices and ensure that quality control is a subset of quality assurance,” Arora, a former IAS officer, said on Tuesday during an interaction. The QAA oversees and monitors departmental quality control mechanisms for consistency, accountability, and improvement.

The QAA chairman said the authority has been entrusted with a multifaceted set of roles and responsibilities for quality assurance in engineering works.

This included streamlining and enforcing existing quality protocols, technical quality audit of engineering projects, developing standard operating methods and procedures, empanelment of third-party monitoring agencies and design consultants, strengthen infrastructure of quality testing labs, adopt latest technologies and digital tools and carry out training and capacity building, he said.

Explaining the quality control process, Arora said that it focuses on detecting and correcting defects in a product or service, identifying quality issues and taking corrective actions to resolve them. “The QAA will also act as a deterrent as it has the power to make recommendations to the state government with regards to any deficiency or lack of quality in a project. However, we are more keyed up in bringing improvements and ensuring quality control,’’ the chairman said.

Arora said that QAA has framed technical quality assurance parameters outlining indicators and sub-indicators required for quality assurance of the projects throughout their life cycle.

The chairman said that Authority will formulate model tender documents to ensure standardization and consistency and reduce contractual and legal complications. Arora said that Authority will also review and improve contract management practices to reduce delays, disputes, and costly arbitrations in infrastructure projects. “Model contract clauses and pre-dispute resolution mechanisms will also be introduced to ensure greater clarity and accountability. We will work closely with accrediting agencies and executing departments to assess, upgrade, and accredit testing labs,’’ Arora said.