Quality Management Tools - Systematic Planning

EPA uses systematic planning to plan projects and link goals, cost and schedule, and quality criteria with the final outputs. Systematic planning ensures that all participants understand the needs and expectations of the customer and the product or results to be provided by the supplier.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Elements of Systematic Planning

RESOURCES

EXAMPLES OF SYSTEMATIC PLANNING PROCESSES

Data Quality Objectives Process (EPA) - Planning process for decision making.
- Guidance on Systematic Planning using the Data Quality Objectives Process (PDF 121pp, 1.7MB) contains guidance on how to perform the Data Quality Objectives Process. Clarification of Terminology for the EPA Quality System (PDF 3pp, 124K). Memorandum from Norine Noonan dated March 2, 1999 that clarifies the use of "data quality objectives" vs. "acceptance or performance criteria."
- Systematic Planning: A Case Study for Hazardous Waste Site Investigations (PDF 67pp, 1.3MB) contains examples on applying the Data Quality Objectives process to hazardous waste site investigations.
- Systematic Planning: A Case Study of Particulate Matter Ambient Air Monitoring (PDF 51pp, 295K) shows how the DQO Process was applied to a particulate matter ambient air monitoring problem.
- Introduction to Data Quality Objectives - This 1-day course teaches participants the basic elements of the Data Quality Objectives Process. Participants learn the elements of this process, how the process applies to a regulatory program at EPA, and how to interpret the consequences of potential decision errors. Then the participants work together as teams to apply the process to some real-life examples.
- DOE Hanford
  www.hanford.gov/dqo/index.html
- DOE Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
  vsp.pnl.gov/dqo/
Dynamic Field Activities (EPA) - Planning process for Superfund.
www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/dfa/systplan.htm
The Triad Approach (EPA) - Planning process for hazardous waste remediation programs.
www.triadcentral.org

SOFTWARE

Visual Sample Plan (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) is a simple, defensible tool for defining an optimal, technically defensible sampling scheme for site characterization. VSP is applicable for any two-dimensional sampling plan including surface soil, building surfaces, water bodies, or other similar applications. vsp.pnl.gov/index.stm