How to Write an ITP (Inspection and Test Plan) for Construction?

As someone new to the quality control field, this might be your first encounter with ITP’s, and you are wondering how you can create an Inspection and Test Plan for each construction activity.

This is an important process that can literally affect the satisfaction levels and can affect the success of the project in hand.

And by following a clear approach, you can make these ITP’s that would help you keep everything under control when performing the construction activities and before handing over final works to the owner.

How to Write an Inspection & Test Plan for Construction?

Here’s a step-by-step procedure for writing and Inspection and Test Plan for Construction works:

1 – Start with a Template

Creating an ITP for construction activities from the scratch takes lots of time and energy that could be spent elsewhere.

In addition to that, it might be easy to miss important elements of the Inspection and Test Plan when you start it from the scratch.

Having a generalized template for each ITP could guide you and save you lots of time and help you create a professional ITP to use and ensure quality works.

The standardized templates can be customized to fit your own project based on its specific procedure in a short period of time and less hassle.

In case that you don’t have ITP templates in hand, you might be able to purchase them online for a low cost of each one, like the different Electrical, Mechanical, Civil and Instrumentation ITP Templates we offer on this website, where the cost of each one would be less than the cost of two hours of your time.

In case that you don’t want to use generalized templates and still want to start from scratch, then at first, you need to create the table that would be used in each ITP, like the one in the screenshot blow, but without the content inside the fields as this will be different from one ITP to another based on each system and its components.

2 – Refer to Owner/Consultant’s Inspection & Testing Requirements

For each activity, such as installing power cables, constructing asphalt roads, or installing HVAC equipment, in addition to the standard I&T activities, the owner and their consultant might have additional inspection points or tests to be performed, and the acceptance criteria might be stricter than the normal standards.

You need to study the owner’s requirements and specifications in order to make sure that your ITP’s fulfill these requirements in order to avoid unpleasant results during the inspection phase.

3 – Refer to Vendor’s Testing Requirements & Procedures

Like in the previous section, the vendor that supplied certain items or systems might have certain procedures for off-loading, unpacking, installing, inspecting and testing their products.

Also, they might request that these equipments and systems be off-loaded and installed under their direct supervision, and they might require that they do the testing by themselves and following their procedures, especially when these equipments and systems come with the vendor’s warranty.

Make sure to align these requirements and procedures with your ITP and to ensure that the owner’s ITP requirements are all covered under the vendor’s I&T requirements and procedures.

4 – Specify the Acceptance Criteria

On the ITP table, specify the acceptance criteria that would be required for each inspection and testing activity result to be accepted.

For example, for power cables’ IR test, their are minimum acceptable resistance value depending on the cable type, size, installation conditions, owner’s requirements, …etc.

For installing HVAC equipment and ducts, there are minimum and maximum acceptable values for clearances from the ceiling and from other equipment and systems.

Include the acceptable values in the ITP table, or refer to a separate document that would be attached to the ITP where all these values are specified.

5 – Make Reference of Necessary Documents

Inspection would be performed in order to ensure the correctness of the construction works when compared to a reference document, or a group of documents.

For example, installing power cables would require following specific “Approved for Construction” drawings, while testing their IR value would require following a specific set of DC voltage levels, which would be specified in a specific table or datasheet.

Make sure to mention the required document, or set of documents, that should be referred to when performing any inspection and testing activity.

6 – Determine the Role of Each Party during the I&T Phase

Each personnel might have a different role during every specific inspection and testing activity, depending on the significance of the activity, and on the system size.

For example, for power cable installation underground, the contractor’s QC engineer might need to inspect all the cables before they are covered by the backfilling process, and the inspection must be on Hold (H) until he/she attends the inspection.

However, the owner’s engineer (consultant) might not need to attend the full inspection, but rather, do a partial Surveillance or Review the inspection reports provided by the contractor’s QC engineer, and therefore, the code (S) or (R) would be used on the ITP table for the owner’s engineer for that specific activity.

And the same applies to third party personnel in some cases such as the vendor or a specific testing company or lab.

7 – Create and Attach the Checklists & Reference Documents to the ITP

The ITP table is the reference you need to follow when inspecting and testing certain activities, but where are you going to record the results of these I&T activities?

That’s where the checklists come to use.

Each ITP document should be accompanied with Quality Inspection & Testing Checklists, and each activity on the ITP table should be referred to on one of these checklists, with fields to record the I&T results.

And each one checklist might be used more than once when inspecting a certain system or item.

For example, if you have a hundred MV power cables that need to be tested for IR value, then you might do this test over the span of several days, and the testing result of each group of cables would be recorded on one copy of the same checklist or form.

And when visually inspecting an HVAC unit, then you need to use the same checklist several times, once for each HVAC unit.

Remember to leave a space on every checklist or inspection and testing form to fill in the area, zone, or part of the system to be inspected when using that checklist or form.

Remember also to attach the necessary tables and datasheets that will be used to specify the acceptance criteria for the I&T activity.

8 – Submit the ITP for Approval

Before commencing to do the I&T activities, you need to have the approval on the Inspection and Test Plans to be used.

And this is why you need to submit them to the owner’s engineer for approval.

The owner’s engineer might approve the ITP after reviewing the first version, or they might come back with comments or inquiries.

Make sure to update the ITP based on the engineer’s requests when necessary, and clarify any misunderstanding or misinterpretation that might have been the reason for not approving the ITP, and then re-submit the ITP.

The Inspection and Test Plan should be going under the process of submission and reviewing until it is finally approved without comments.

Remember though, that when the owner’s engineer comments on I&T activities that might be related to items that go under the vendor’s warranty, or might be requested to be performed by a third part, you may need to consult the vendor or the third party before updating the ITP based on the comments you received from the consultant.

Conclusion

Preparing Inspection and Test Plans for engineering projects and construction works is an iterative process that requires you to have a starting point (the ITP templates), working on it to specify it to your project, asking for the engineer’s approval, and modifying the ITP documents when necessary, until you have the final approved ITP’s for each activity.

You can start from the scratch when creating Inspection and Test Plans and quality control procedures, but that would take lots time that could be spared when starting with generalized templates that you can customize based on the needs of your project.