Verify Specification ─ Do Not

4.3 Verify Specification ─ Do Not

Change

It is vital to understand that almost every user of coating inspection has a unique con- cept of the duties and responsibilities of an inspector. There seems to be no general agreement within the industry on the day-to- day activities of inspection and the inspec- tor. This is particularly true for independent, third-party inspectors, who find job respon- sibilities changing according to each client’s point of view.

In addition to normal quality-control testing, some owners may regard the inspector as a project supervisor and assign non-inspector duties such: as supervising labor, overseeing safety issues, or keeping track of and order- ing materials. Other owners may instruct the inspector to simply observe the work, make tests and measurements, and report directly to the owner without any dialogue with con- tractors or their workers. Conceivably, at some point, inspectors may be called on to function at either extreme.

To reiterate, for the purposes of CIP, NACE International has defined the inspector’s role as that of a quality control technician whose primary responsibility is to observe the technical aspects of a coating project. Supervision is not considered to be part of the inspector’s role.

Regardless of the responsibilities assigned to the inspector, the specification is the docu- ment that governs any project. An inspec- tor’s primary responsibility is to “verify”

It is the coating inspector’s responsibility to clearly understand

what records and reports are required. These items should be discussed and agreed on in the pre-job conference.

4-6 The Role of the Inspector

the specification. The inspector does not

• Workmanship

make changes to the specification for any

• Application

reason. Changes to the specification may

• Work schedule (sequence of work to be

only be made in writing by the owner or the

done)

author of the specification at the owner’s

• Repairs and remedial coating work

direction. Inspectors should only follow changes that are submitted in writing. Verbal • Inspection

agreements of change can cause problems

• Documentation

and should be avoided. As the inspector, ensure that none of the listed elements are missing or, if present,

they must provide enough detail to do the In order to do the job properly, inspectors

4.4 Preparation

job properly. For example, the specification must be prepared for the specific job

may address the proper DFT, but may not assigned. Ensure any questions about the

address how to handle areas of non-con- project are answered before work begins.

forming high or low DFT. This could create The pre-job conference is the best opportu-

confrontation on the job site. Ambiguity of nity to get answers. For this reason, thor-

issues like that should be addressed during oughly review any information that can be

the pre-job conference.

obtained before the pre-job conference and complete a list of questions or concerns to

4.6 Product Data Sheets

bring to the meeting. Obtain the manufacturers’ product data sheet (MPDS) or technical data sheet (TDS),

read and fully understand the coating system Always obtain, read and fully understand the

4.5 Specification

required in the specification. The MPDS coating specification. Be prepared to bring

and/or TDS are prepared by manufacturers up questions with the appropriate person and

to answer many questions about their prod- get them resolved. Most specifications are

ucts. Manufacturers provide the MPDS for formal, structured documents. A good coat-

each coating product. Inspectors should ing specification contains most or all of the

always have copies of each MPDS on the following sections, each with information

job site during surface preparation and coat- and criteria for the job:

ing application.

• Scope of work

Verify by date of publication that the most

• Terms and definitions

recent copy is being used. Look for discrep- ancies between the MPDS and the specifica-

• Reference standards and codes

tion. Inspectors can question these

• Safety

discrepancies, but always remember the

• Pre-job conference

written specification overrides the MPDS,

• Surface preparation

unless written permission is given to go out-

• Coating materials (includes the coating

side the specification and approved by the

schedule)

owner’s project manager. Some specifica-

The Role of the Inspector 4-7

tions integrate the MPDS as part of the spec-

4.9 Safety

ification. Safety enforcement is not the responsibility of inspectors. Safety is the responsibility of