Inspection on your project should consist of a combination of quality control and quality assurance. This process is on-going and the end result is a project completed to specification with an acceptable level of quality.

Owners are increasingly considering alternative project delivery methods such as engineer-procure-construct (EPC), design-build, and construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC). While the advantages and disadvantages of the EPC method were discussed in a previous post, my personal experience lies more with CM/GC contracts. There are a variety of advantages and disadvantages to CM/GC, but in my experience it is extremely important for owners to realize that it is not in your best interest for the CM/GC to self-perform a high percentage of the work.

Some lessons are learned the hard way.