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Quality Management
Tools -
Quality Assurance for Environmental Technology Design, Construction, and
Operation
Environmental technology is an all-inclusive
term used to describe pollution control devices and systems, waste treatment
processes and storage facilities, and site remediation technologies and
their components that may be utilized to remove pollutants or contaminants
from or prevent them from entering the environment. Environmental technology
is utilized in many configurations and is applied to many environmental
problems, including devices and systems used in environmental programs to
duplicate environmental conditions for test purposes or to control, prevent,
treat, or remediate waste in process discharges (e.g., emissions, effluents)
or the ambient environment. Usually, this term will apply to hardware-based
systems; however, it can also apply to general methods or techniques used
for pollution prevention, source reduction, or containment of contamination
to prevent further movement of the contaminants.
Users applying environmental technology to these problems should have an understanding of the basic quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) practices that may be needed in planning, implementing, and assessing the design, construction, and operation of environmental technology. The needs of the user community may vary from applying QA and QC to design activities to the construction and fabrication of equipment systems to the testing and operation of completed systems. Moreover, project managers should understand when and how QA and QC practices should be applied to engineering work, based on the range and scope of the needed environmental technology and its application.
The QA and QC practices necessary for environmental technology design and development are similar in function to those tools used for environmental data collection and use, but there are important differences in order to ensure that environmental technology performs as needed to resolve environmental problems.
References
- Guidance on Quality Assurance
for Environmental Technology Design, Construction, and Operation
(QA/G-11)
(PDF 86pp, 401K About
PDF) -
January 2005, EPA/240/B-05/001. Guidance provides users with an understanding
of the basic quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) procedures
that may be used in planning, implementing, and assessing the design,
construction, and operation of environmental technology, and complements
the requirements defined in the American
National Standard Specifications and Guidelines for Quality Systems
for Environmental Data Collection and Environmental Technology Programs
(ANSI/ASQ E4-1994)
by
providing basic guidance on applicable QA and QC practices; outlining
engineering planning, construction, and operation processes that may
require QA and QC elements; and identifying resources and references
that may be utilized by environmental professionals in the application
of engineering-based technologies to environmental problems. This document
is not a manual on engineering design, construction, or operation,
but is a guide for project managers in environmental programs to help
them to understand when and how QA and QC practices should be applied
to engineering work. This guidance is not written expressly for engineers
but may be used by managers with non-engineering backgrounds. As a
further aid, the guidance uses and refers to good engineering principles/practices
(GEPs) when discussing the application of QA and QC during a project.
- ANSI/ASQ E4-2004, Quality Systems for Environmental Data and Technology Programs - Requirements with Guidance for Use. American Society for Quality (August 2004). American National Standard for quality management systems for environmental sector applications.
Examples and Other On-line Resources
American Society for Quality/Design and Construction Division
American Society for Quality/Energy and Environmental Division