Coatings Quality Assurance (CQA) Field Inspection (New Construction and/or Maintenance Painting)

CQA is extremely important on all types of painting projects and CQA can be performed on a part-time or fulltime basis, depending on the needs or limitations of the contract.  History has shown, fulltime CQA produces the highest quality, lowest maintenance paint system and strongest Owner protection from claims resulting from environmental infractions (Maintenance Painting with lead-abatement) and remedy for paint failures (e.g. latent defects). 

Part-time CQA should only be performed with a certified Contractor and an Advanced Quality Management System, as outlined in SSPC QS-1.  Part-time CQC requires significant Contractor cooperation and clearly specified “hold-points.”

Our “inspection” of the Contractor’s work is performed as Quality Assurance (QA) verification.  The Contractor is required by FDOT to perform Quality Control at each stage of their work and as the FTE CQAC, BPA will perform QA verification of the Contractor’s processes.  Typically, we perform a 10-percent “side-by-side” sampling of the Contractor QC testing to ensure accuracy and compliance with the project requirements. 

Coatings QA performed during New Construction and Maintenance Painting are similar in many aspects; however, Maintenance Painting QA typically involves monitoring of “hazardous materials removal and handling.” 

Environmental, Health and Safety Verification

The following is our typical CQA Work Plan:  Review Prior to Field Painting or Initial Mobilization

• Plans, Specs and Notes

• Contractor Work Plan and/or Submittal review
  o   Painting Schedule
  o   Containment system
  o   Site layout plan (including MOT)
  o   Quality Control Plan
  o   Safety Plan
  o   Environmental Health and Safety Plan
  o   Waste Management Plan (Hazardous and Non-hazardous)
  o   Coating Product Data Sheet

Coating Storage, Handling and Sampling

• Ambient conditions (air, materials) and location

• Storage of Coating and Thinner

• Delivery date and schedule

• Initial inventory list (material and batch numbers, shelf life, expiration date etc.)

• Condition of containers

• Initial Samples of coatings (properly labeled)

• Weight-per-Gallon (unopened can)

Pre-paint condition of surfaces

• Shop coat Repair

• Cleanliness (oil/grease, organic etc.)

• Ambient conditions (air, materials, surface, RH, dew point -- inside/outside) and location UV Light

• Mill Scale, Rust (VIS 1)

• Surface Profile (if previously blasted) – ASTM D

Miscellaneous Materials, Tools and Equipment (Pre-work Inspection)

• Compressed air equipment (list type, capacity, accessories)

• Dust collection equipment

• Cleanliness

  • Surface wipe sampling

  • Filters clean

• Type and cleanliness of Hand and Power Tools

• Abrasives (Type and Size)

• Vial test --- Contaminants (e.g. chlorides use Chlor*Test A or Quantabs

• Sieve test

• Magnet test

• Containment system components and rigging

• Application equipment
   

Containment system review 

• Complies with SSPC Guide 6
  o         Class (1A, 2W etc.)
  o         Type of doors and windows (make-up air)
  o         Ventilation equipment
            ·          Location of ducts
            ·          Air movement
  o         Clearance (access to surfaces)
  o         Negative pressure (prior to and during blasting
  o         Emissions testing
            ·          Visual (Level 1, 2 or 3
            ·          Instrumental (TSP, PM-10, NIOSH 7082)

Cleaning Procedures

• Chemical Cleaning

• Solvent Vapor Cleaning

• Pressurized Water Cleaning

• Hand Tool Cleaning

• Power Tool Cleaning (types of tools used)

• Abrasive Blast Cleaning
  o         - Ambient conditions (air, , surface, RH, dew point -- inside/outside) and location
  o         Compressed air testing (Blotter Test – ASTM D 4285 Standard Test Method for Indicating Oil or
             Water in Compressed Air)
  o         Oil/Moisture separators functional
  o         Type and size of nozzle
  o         Abrasive material testing
                   Vial test --- Contaminants (e.g. chlorides use Chlor*Test A or Quantabs
                    Sieve test
                    Magnet test
  o         Air pressure at nozzle
  o         Number of blasters

Waste Storage and Handling

• Waste stream types and waste segregation

• Storage location and condition

• Type and condition of containers/drums

• Method of collection and transfer

Conditions of surfaces prior to painting

• Containment cleanliness (abrasive removal)

•  Surface cleanliness (SSPC Vis 1, Vis 3, Vis 4)
  o         Residual Contaminants (abrasive and dust removal)
  o         Putty knife test
  o         Cellophane tape test
  o         Flash Rust – Rust back
  o         Non-visible contaminant testing (Bresle Cell or Chlor*Test)

Mixing of Coatings

• Ambient conditions (air, materials) and location

• Name of personnel mixing

• Thinners used and Percent Thinned

• Thinning of Coating

• Sampling of Thinned Coating

• Coating Consistency

• Consistency Cups

• Weight-per-Gallon Cup (thinned materials)

Coating Application

• Ambient conditions (air, materials, surface, RH, dew point -- inside/outside) and location

• Application Method (Brush, Roll or Spray Application)

• Names of applicators

• Rate of Application

• Material Usage (gallons per shift)

• Ventilation during application

• Wet film thickness (WFT) testing

Post Application Inspection

• Ambient conditions (air, , surface, RH, dew point -- inside/outside) and location

• Drying and Curing

• Film Defects

• Film Integrity

• Recoat Time

• Dry film thickness (DFT) testing per SSPC-PA 2

Typical Inspection Equipment

• Surface Profile Gages

• Adhesion of Existing Coating (destructive)
  o         Tape pull-off (ASTM D 3359)
  o         Portable Pull-Off Adhesion Testers (ASTM D 4541)

• Thermometers (material and surface temperature)

• Relative Humidity and Dew Point

• Wet-Film Thickness Gage (Notched Gage)

• Dry-Film Thickness Gages

• Nondestructive Film Thickness Gages (Magnetic-Type Gages)

• Destructive Film Thickness Gage (Tooke Gage)

• Holiday Detectors

Ambient conditions testing and measurement

General (air/surface/material temperature, humidity, dew point, wind/air movement)

• Locations where measured

• Daily summary
  o         Low Temperature
  o         High Temperature
  o         Dew point and RH high and low
  o         Surface temperature high and low

kevin@bpacoatings.com