How To Write an ITP (Inspection and Test Plan) in Construction

Inspection and Test Plans are probably the most important documents for the Quality Control of a construction project so knowing how to write an ITP is a skill that can help you a lot, as it’s not being taught in engineering schools these days.

A clear, robust and concise ITP will make things on-site easy; it will define each party’s responsibilities during the works, and after all, it will be the “Bible” for compiling the As-Built Packages at the end of the works.

More than anything else, the ITP is the main document that will plan and manage the test and inspection activities for providing assurance, control and documented evidence over the constructed works. This is something that would definitely make your Clients happy at the end of the Project.

Starting the works without an (at least submitted to the Project Manager for approval) Inspection and Test Plan is an extremely bad practice and a clear nonconformity in many contracts.

It is true that in the last 20 years, there has been a big change in the industry regarding Health and Safety Management, and the existence of a Method Statement and Risk Assessments prior to the commencement of the actual works on site is now (more or less) a standard practice in every construction project.

Can we say the same for the ITPs, though?  Not really…

How To Write an ITP (Inspection and Test Plan)

So, these are some tips that one has to have in mind when writing an ITP

1. Know the Requirements

The ITP should have clear references to the Documents that specify the requirements. If possible, even the specific clauses should be referenced. These requirements are always the following:

• Design Drawings
• Design Specifications
• Contractual Requirements
• Statutory Requirements
• Construction Standards
• Company Requirements and Procedures
• RFIs (answers to Request For Information)
• FCDs (Field Change Documents)
• Client Specific Requests
• Method Statement (or the Methodology) for the specific Activity or Works
• List of Materials that will be used in the works

You should have a clear list of all those documents and reference all of the applicable ones in the ITP. If something in any of the above is not clear and there is ambiguity for example, in a standard or a Design Drawing, then an RFI to the relevant party should be raised.

2. Know The Sequence of the Works

Every ITP should follow (more or less) the sequence of the works that is described in the Works Method Statement (or RAMS). The ITP should basically follow the sequence of the works and activities that is described in the Method Statement. To put it simply: if there is no Method Statement there cannot be an ITP.

3. Know the Responsibilities of each party

The responsibilities (Hold Points, Witness Points, Review Points etc) for each test/inspection should have been agreed before the works start; otherwise, there will be confusion and compromises from all the parties. It is important to agree on those intervention points as early as possible and discuss them openly in meetings with the Designer, the Client or else. You don’t want to be in a situation where the Client wants to release a Hold Point and you are not made aware of it.

4. Establish a system of communication with all parties

This is not necessary to write the ITP, but it is extremely important to have it in place in order to make sure the inspections are managed on-site. There has to be a system of inviting the Client or other parties to witness the inspections on-site. It is essential that the Client or Client’s representatives on-site are timely informed to witness and sign off the relevant forms and release any hold points.

5. Attach forms and checksheets to the ITP

The ITP should clearly state and also have as attachments every form, checksheet and other record that needs to be completed during the inspection. This is extremely helpful for the teams on site in picking the right form and record that must be filled out during the inspections. Also, note that if there is no record for something, it’s non-existent. Records, checksheets and forms are extremely important to manage those inspections. Blank forms or templates of those checksheets should always be included in the appendices of any ITP.

6. Clarify the frequencies of the inspections

Make sure that the frequencies of the inspections are very clear on the ITP and avoid generalities such as “when required”. The Design Specifications and the applicable standards should be very clear on how often concrete must be sampled, for example. If something is not clear, do not hesitate to raise an RFI to the relevant party.

7. Clearly state if a record (checksheet) must be in the Handover and As Built Packages

The main purpose of keeping a record or signing off a checksheet during an inspection is for it to be included in the Handover package at the end. So, it is important to clearly state if a signed-off checksheet is to be included at the end in the As-Built Packages that must be compiled. This will make the engineer’s job extremely easy at the end of the project when all paperwork is getting compiled.

CONCLUSION

There is no doubt that an ITP can be a helpful tool to tidy up the inspections and the quality control on any construction site. The ITP provides objective evidence at the end of the project with the collection of all forms and signed-off checksheets. So, it is extremely important to know how to write an ITP as this will help the overall construction management of the project, providing assurance over the constructed works and keeping any Client happy with the outcome.