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Calvin, Giordano 8 Associates, Inc. E S C E P T 1 0 N A L S O L U T I O N S It has been found that even the best component peer review process, though effective within the particular discipline being reviewed, may miss the big picture and result in a lack of congruence in the overall prod- uct. It is for this reason that CGA has instituted the pol- icy of a multi - disciplined review of the product before it is released to the client. By involving the whole team in the entire project quality process, a sense of owner- ship can develop which keeps team members focused on quality throughout the design process. CGA's philosophy and corresponding process to assure quality in all of our designs and work products inte- grates the following key components: • Initial Quality of Design • Multi discipline Peer Review • Design Decision Documentation • Constructibility Review • Value Engineering • "Community Engineering" • Post- Construction Re- Examination Each of these components is described in detail below: Initial Quality of Design - The first step of the QA/ QC process is to ensure that the plan document is of "high initial quality". In other words, the preliminary plan document is one that has been carefully thought through and comprehensively analyzed by a qualified engineer with expertise specific to the demands of the project. Design tasks are not assigned to engineers that do not have sufficient expertise in the areas required, or that do not have sufficient experience to be able to make competent key decisions early in the design pro- cess. A preliminary design must be able to stand alone on its own merits, and it is an unacceptable practice at CGA to allow engineers to omit "pieces' of the design presuming agency reviewers or others will fill in the gaps. Multi- discipline Peer Review: The next step in the QA /QC process is the performance of a multidisci- pline peer review This phase of review is undertaken by a committee of designers from various disciplines within the firm (or "core team" when teaming with others) so that potential improvements or innovative ideas can be introduced to further improve the initial design. This process is important to ensure that relat- ed design elements from the various disciplines work cohesively so that one discipline's component does not cause problems for another discipline's portion of the design. A perfect example is in the design of a divided roadway with median landscaping in which the roadway engineer, traffic engineer and landscape architect mast make sure that all sight distances and clear zones are maintained for the project. This peer review group therefore may consist of the following: • Roadway Engineers • Civil Engineers • Utilities /Drainage Engineers • Traffic Engineers /Transportation Planners • Land Planners • Surveyors • Urban Designers • Landscape /Streetscape Architects • Electrical Engineers • Environmental Scientists • Construction Management Personnel / CE) • Structural Engineers This peer review is typically conducted in a "work- shop" or "charette" type setting in which participants sit around a large conference table with the plans and have easels and /or white boards available to sketch out concepts or revisions. The participants trouble- shoot for fatal flaws, provide critiques, and generally toss around, and often debate ideas and possible inno- vations to the plans. Design- Decision Documentation - Although docu- mentation is an important part of all projects, it is crit- ically important to fully document the assumptions, reasoning, calculations, etc. leading up to any key de- sign decisions made on a project, particularly if safety issues are involved. The process of documentation not only provides good records, but it provides another opportunity for the decision makers to examine the logic of the decisions made, as things often become more apparent when a written record of the process is made. This inherently leads to better decision - making, RFQ No. 14 -07 -02 1 Continuing Professional Services 58