Training is paramount to the success in delivering the program

By Cheryl A. Moore, Afghanistan DistrictJanuary 22, 2019

Training is paramount to the success in delivering the program
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Training is paramount to the success in delivering the program
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Training is paramount to the success in delivering the program
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Training is paramount to the success in delivering the program
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Training is paramount to the success in delivering the program
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"With Construction Division's extensive Local National Quality Assurance (LNQA) Training program, we are enhancing overall quality of end products the District delivers to the customers as well as significantly contributing toward the 'Build Afghan Capacity' effort in aligning with our number one effort," said Harry Kye, Chief of Construction.

The Transatlantic Afghanistan District Construction Division provides a full range construction management of all construction projects within Afghanistan through its highly qualified and skilled engineering professionals.

In order to deliver 'Castle Quality' facilities and infrastructure on time, within defined budgets it is important to maintain safe construction sites.

This is done by conducting constant training and follow-up to make sure the training is then put to work out in the field.

Most recently the District hosted its "boots on the ground" LNQA's from throughout Bagram to a day of training covering such things as Quality Assurance Daily Reporting through a system called RMS 3.0, to the Three Phase Inspection System and the Basics of PPE and Excavation Safety.

There are many involved in the Construction process from the Chief of Construction to the Resident Engineers, Project Engineers, Construction Representatives, to the folks that sit behind the desk and crunch the numbers.

But none are more important than the LNQA's. They are the ones at each of the job sites, overseeing the projects and assuring that the construction process runs as it should.

"They are the eyes and the ears on projects," said Shane Thames, Construction Representative.

These team members are critical as they visit the assigned construction sites every day.

Along with maintaining daily QA reports for each site, noting the weather conditions, providing detailed description and location of activities taking place, along with the quantity of men and equipment present on each site, their number one focus is safety.

As they walk throughout the construction site they are documenting any safety violations and if personal injury is imminent, work stops immediately in the affected area until that violation is resolved.

The LNQA's also keep thorough documentation at the construction site with date-stamped photographs. The construction photographs serve many purposes: the overall site condition, representative examples of manpower and equipment on site, any safety violations, and construction progress.

Construction progress must be documented sufficiently to allow for progress payment calculations. Most importantly, photographs must document any construction that does not conform to specifications, and again the same portion of construction after the deficiency is rectified.

Beyond the Daily Reporting on a construction site project there is a Three Phase Inspection Process. They are: Preparatory, Initial, and Follow-up. The process is performed by QC Manager, QC specialists as appropriate per contract, Designated Testing Laboratory personnel and any other Inspection and Testing personnel required by this contract. These are performed on Definable Features of Work (DFOW)

1) Preparatory Phase: Review Plans and Specs, Verify submittal approval, Review test plan, Check preliminary work, Examine materials, Discuss construction methods and Review Safety.

2) Initial Phase: Establish quality required, resolve conflicts, ensure testing is performed, and again Review Safety.

3) Follow-up Phase: Ensure contract compliance, maintain quality, ensure testing report is submitted and ensure rework is completed.

Key element in the three phase inspection is Safety First from start to finish emphasizing mitigation of hazards, and also that the required Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are submitted.

USACE is building strong and that strength could be another's weakness. Excavation Safety Training emphasizes the possible dangers at a construction job site. According to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Standard for Excavations, the fatality rate for cave-ins is fifteen times greater than for other construction accidents.

The LNQA's learned that each employee in an excavation five feet deep or deeper shall be protected from cave-ins by an adequate protective system, unless the excavation is made entirely in stable rock. If it is under 5 feet the requirement is simply a judgment call for the competent person, supervisors and equipment operators. There are also additional training requirements for the Competent Person.

Bottom line is that excavation protection solutions must either come from the OSHA Standard or a Registered Professional Engineer.

Given the terrain in theater the training on the different types of soil proved a resourceful tool for the LNQAs. They trained on Stable Rock Soil, Type A Soil and learned that some of the cohesive soils come from clay in many forms to include silty and salty.

The USACE Construction Division team concluded the day of training with the Local National Quality Assurance members on the Basics of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Overall they were trained on when PPE is necessary, what equipment is necessary, how to don (put on) and doff (take off), and to adjust and wear the PPE, not to mention the limitations of PPE. To keep it sustainable they were taught the proper care, maintenance, useful life, and disposal of the PPE.

There is Personal Protective Equipment to cover an individual from head to toe and maintaining a good respiratory system. Having a hard hat on is one thing, wearing it properly, fitted squared to your head is most effective.

And one of the most interesting parts of this training was the identification of counterfeit fire extinguishers. A demonstration was given to show how to detect the difference between a real extinguisher and a fake.

What the LNQA's will be checking on are the handles, the bottom of the extinguisher, and quite alarming was the difference in the labels on the bottle. A fake label has circles underneath the UL listing that are simply printed, whereas the real label has the circles cut into the actual label.

With the quality unknown for some of the extinguishers at a couple of the construction sites they are being replaced to get them to the proper standards of required safety equipment.

The training that the LNQA's receive on a continual basis is imperative to their job both for safety and for success in the District's Construction zones. "LNQA's are the future leaders of construction management arena in Afghanistan," said Kye.