ISSN 0188 7092

CICLO DE CONFERENCIAS MAGISTRALES JULIO DE 1994

CALIDAD EN LOS PROYECTOS DE CONSTRUCCION,

ASIGNACION DE RESPONSABILIDADES Y

EQUIPOS DE TRABAJO

ING. JAMES W. POIROT

Ciudad de México 2 de julio de 1994

INDICE

Currículum Vitae del Conferencista ............................ .. ..... ............... V

Resumen en español de la Conferencia ......................................... VII

Conferencia "Quality in the constructed project, responsibility assignments and teamwork" Ing. James W. Poirot .............. ................... ................... .. ........ .. ........ ..... 1

Comentarios del Presidente de la Especialidad de Ingen~ería Civil Ing. Sergio González-Karg ............................. ..................................... 15

Comentarios del Académico de Número Ing. Osear Vega Argüelles .......................... .. ............ .. ........... .. ...... .. ... 19

Sesión de preguntas y respuestas ........ ................ .... ..... .................... 27

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Ing. James W. Poirot

CURRICULUM VJTAE SINTETICO

Nuestro conferencista de hoy, es el Ing. James Poirot, quien fué Presidente emérito y Presidente del Consejo de Administra­ción de S.H.R.B. Hill Companies de 1983 a 1993, es miembro de la Sociedad Americana de Ingenieros Civiles y del Consejo America­no de Ingenieros Consultores, es actualmente Presidente de la American Society of Civil Engineers y Ex-Presidente del Consejo Americano de Ingen~eros Consultores, también es miembro de la Academia Nacional de Ingeniería de los Estados Unidos y diplomado de la Academia Americana de Ingenieros Ambientales; ha partici­pado también en los Comités de Calidad de la Unión Panamericana de Asociaciones de Ingenieros (UPADI), en la formación del Comi­té de Calidad de laA.S.C.E. así como de la Federación Internacional de Ingenieros Consu: tares.

Hizo sus estudios en la Universidad del estado de Oregon, el Ing. Poirot ha tenido ~ntervención en los consejos de ocho univer­sidades y de ocho asociaciones profesionales de su país, además ha sido ponente invitadc en otras veinte universidades sobre diversos tópicos relacionados con su especialidad.

Entre las múltiples distinciones que le han otorgado, destacan la medalla de oro del Consejo de Ingeniería de Colorado en 1993 y la del Hombre del año en la Construcción en 1988, con Ustedes el Ing. James Poirot.

V

Resumen en espaftol de la Conferencia*

A pesar de que el tema de la Calidad no es un fenómeno reciente en la industria de la construcción, es evidente que el gran desarrollo de la Administración como herramienta de gestión en los años recientes, ha permitido a la industria una gran proyección, en especial en cuantc a la Calidad, involucrando a todos los parti­cipantes en la realiza-:ión de los proyectos de esta rama.

Es así que en 1985, la Sociedad Americana de Ingenieros Civiles (ASCE), se orientó al problema de la Calidad, formando un grupo de ingenieros, en el cual participó el ponente, dando por resultado seis años después la publicación del libro "Calidad en los Proyectos de Construcción, Guía para Propietarios, Diseñadores y Constructores", en el .::ual se puso especial énfasis en la formación de un "equipo total de trabajo", ya que una conclusión básica fué que la Calidad se obtiene a través del trabajo profesional conjunto y coordinado de todas las empresas involucradas en la realización de un proyecto específico, formando todas una sola organización con objetivos definidos.

De acuerdo con la definición dada por la misma ASCE de que "La Calidad es alcanzar los requerimientos establecidos", involucrando a propietarios, diseñadores y constructores; respe­tando las normas públicas establecidas y la alta experiencia profe­sional de los participa:::ltes, con el objetivo de entregar a la comuni­dad y a los usuarios., una obra que satisfaga ampliamente las necesidades, en un clima de colaboración, oportunidad, tiempo y costo adecuados, que permitan la satisfacción de los participantes y el acrecentar el prestgio del gremio de la industria de la construc­ción ante la sociedad a la que le sirve.

El conferencista expone los principales temas y capítulos desarrollados en la publicación mencionada, explicando dentro de

• Resumen realizado por la Academia Mexicana de Ingeniería.

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la asignación de deberes y responsabilidades, de los tres participan­tes fundamentales, propietarios, diseñadores y constructores, las funciones básicas, las de asesoría y asistencia, y las de verificación. Asimismo las condiciones que deben prevalecer en cada empresa, en organización in terna y clima, para integrarse a una colaboración creativa y positiva entre los participantes.

VIII

CONFERENCIA

CALIDAD EN LOS PROYECTOS DE CONSTRUCCION, ASIGNACION DE

RESPONSABILIDADES Y EQUIPOS DE TRABAJO

ING. JAMES W. POIROT

Ciudad de México 2 de julio de 1994

The ques t far Quali ty in the construction industry is nota new phenomenon. French civil engineers conceived the engineering profession in 1675. Ir.1716 the French government, recognizing the need for consisten t q·.iali ty, es tab lis hed the Civil En gin e ering Corps to oversee the design and construction of bridges and roads. And in 1866 in the United States, we can be sure that when John Roebling and his son designed and constructed the longest bridge span in the world (1,057 feet), across the Ohio river in Cincinnati, they knew all abou: the principies of quality. Their reputation depended on quality and safety beca use they wanted the Brooklyn Bridge commission next (which was obtained and completed 16 years later).

Within the last few years, the Quality movement has emphasized numero-.is management processes, ea ch adding val u e to the movement. We first acknowledged the importance oflifelong learning because of eour requirement to be current in our fields of practice. With lifelong learning as a basis, we developed vision statements to identif:"r organizational ideas and dreams. We then developed corporate cultures tatements to recognize the uniqueness of our organizations and to communicate corporate values to all employees. Next, "Management by Objectives" taught us to thing ahead, and to establish targets, long-range and short-range plans.

Total Quality Management has focused on customers and on the role each employee con tribu tes to a quali ty organization and i ts success. Organizational Peer Review has stressed the value of policies and procedures. In the construction industry, "partnering" has emphasized the v·alue of teamwork among organizations.

There are other processes, but the point is, that quality is assumed and expected in our industry. We are eager for knowledge andad vice on how to become more competitive, and at the same time, enhance the quali ty of our services. Wi th the rapidly increasing pace of change, meetings such as this are required to

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help trigger the need to adjust our organizations and rethink our attitudes on a much more frequent basis.

Today I will speak on two broad issues vital to obtaining quality in constructed projects. They are the Assignment of Responsibilities and Teamwork.

In 1985, I had the pleasure of working on an ASCE project, resulting in a publication six years later, entitled Quality in the Constructed Project, a Cuide far Owners, Designers and Constructors. This was an effort initiated from the need to address what I call "Total Teamwork". Itrecognizes thatwhen our constructed projects are viewed by the public, our profession is judged, not by the quality of an individual organization, but by the quality of all organizations working together.

Studies of construction failures revealed thatitwas notenough to ha ve total quality within ea ch organization; bu t that all impacted organizations (including regulating entities) must comprehend the responsibilities assigned to them, while realizing that theirs are only a portion of the total package of responsibilities necessary far a quali ty proj ect. This unders tanding brings abou t Total Teamwork anda commitment by each orga.nization to support one another.

The final publication of Quality in the Constructed Project states that "the pursuit of quality is the cement holding the owner, design professional and the constructor together in a stable pattern, where each supports the other in producing a successful project. All project team members working cooperatively in an atmosphere of mutual trust and understanding: - Fulfill contract commitments completely and faithfully; - Deal openly and honestly with all project participants; and Protect the public health, welfare and safety. Following these precepts the team members, acting with skill, integrity and responsibility, reflectcredit u pon theirindivid ual professionals and produce the desired quality in the constructed project".

The ASCE definition of quality is " Quality is meeting established requirements." Requirements are those of the owner, the design professional, the constructor, and the regulatory agencies.

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Let me elaborate or_ these tour parties. The ASCE Manual states that quality can be characterized as:

Meeting the requirements of the owner as to: function and appearance; completion on time and within budget; life cycle costs; operability and maintainability; environmental, health, safety, and people impacts, and other features .

Meeting the requirements of the design professional as to : defined scope; adequate budgets; reasonable schedules; timely decisions by ownEr; interesting work for the staff; realistic risk sharing; reasonable profit; a satisfied client, anda finished project which results in positive recognition and recommendations for fu ture work.

Meeting the requir2ments of the constructor as to: a well defined set of plans, specifications, and other contract documents; a reasonable schedu~e; timely decisions by the owner and design professional; fair treatment; realistic risk sharing; reasonable profit; a satisfied owner; and positive recognition and recommendation far future work.

Meeting the requirements of regulatory agencies as to: public health and safety; environmental considerations; protection of public property, including utilities; and conformance with applicable laws, regulations, codes, standards, and policies.

In developing the Manual we took great concern to state what the Manual is and what it is not. The Preface explains the Manual's purpose and the first paragraph states:

"This guide has been written for ali participants in a construction project, and describes a desirable process for project delivery from conception through design, construction and operations start-up. lt is a comFendium of what the design and construction process should be to enhance quality. lt contains descriptions of techniques, systems, methods and procedures as contributed by numerous authors experienced in the process. lt is not all­inclusive, and other options of equal or superior merit not mentioned in the guide may exist or may be developed."

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The Manual was organized around 14 principal themes; they are:

QUALITY IN THE CONSTRUCTED PROJECT 14 PRINCIPAL THEMES

l. Definition and assignment of responsibility 2. Importance of teamwork 3. Understanding of requirements and expectations 4. Importance of contract provisions defining the

expectations and obligations of the project team members 5. Principles of good communication 6. Owner's selection processes for project team members 7. Need for adequate scope, time, and liability protection 8. Procedures for design and construction 9. Organizationat management, and administrative

practices 10. Conflict avoidance; value of mediation 11. Benefi ts of peer review 12. Participation of the design professional during

construction and start-up 13. Construction contract submittals, including shop

drawings 14. Standard form of agreements and other documents

The Manual in its final form has 22 chapters. The chapter titles are listed below to give you a flavor of the entire content of the Manual:

QUALITY IN THE CONSTRUCTED PROJECT CHAPTER TITLES

l. Introduction and definitions 2. Owner's Role, Expectations and Requirements 3. Project Team 4. Coordination and Communication Process 5. Procedures for Selecting Design Professionals 6. Agreement for Professional Services 7. Alternative Studies and Project Impacts 8. Planning and Managing 9. Design Discipline Coordination

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10. Design Practices 11. Pre-Contract Planning far Construction 12. Construction Team 13. Procedures far Selecting Constructor 14. Construction Contract 15. Planning and Managing Construction Activities 16. Construction Contract Submittals 17. Contract Administration Procedures far Construction 18. Start-up, Operation and Maintenance 19. Quality Msurance / Quality Control Considerations 20. Project QLality Through Use for Computers 21. Peer ReviEw 22. Risks, Liat-ilities, Conflicts

The overriding objective of the Manual is to provide a guide in the assignment of responsibilities to the tree primary team members - the ownEr, design professional and the constructor. 1 am not aware of any other document which describes the owner's responsibilities in the detail covered in the ASCE Manual. We believe, as do the owners who reviewed the drafts of the Manual, that this in itself is c:. major contribution to quality.

The executive Summary of the Manual lists 38 primary responsibilities and suggested assignments to the team members. 1 will not address trem all, but justa few of the highlights.

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QUALITY IN THE CONSTRUCTED PROJECT SELECTIONS FROM THE MATRIX OF SUGGESTED RESPONSIBILITIES

MATRIX CODE:

O = Owner DP = Design Professional C = Constructor

P = Primary Responsibility A = Advising or Assisting R = Reviewing

* If design professional or constructor are not yet under contract, these services are supplied by qualified advisers.

+ Review by legal counsel is indicated.

TASK o DP C REF

5. Plan coordination and comunication process P A* A* Ch. 4

8. Negotiate and sign owner/design professional agreement P+ P+ Ch. 6

9. Perform alternative design studies R

11. Select preferred alternatives p

14. Coordinate design disciplines and perform final design R

17. Set organization of field construction team

27. Technical review of contract

p

submittals R

32. Plan and staff for project start-up, operation and maintenance p

36. Specify use of peer review as necessary.

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p

p A* Ch. 7

A Ch.7

p Ch.9

A A* Ch.12

p A Ch.16

A A Ch.18

A A Ch.21

Let me ernphc..size that the key to quality construction is identifying ali responsibilities then assigning thern in advance to the appropriate team rnernbers.

As our industry continues to address quality in the constructed project, we rnust be sure that we satisfy the full range of those irnpacted. On one end, we ha ve the broadest group of stakeholders, and on the other, each individual contributing to the solution or final product.

When ASCE developed Quality in the Constructed Project, we included regulating agencies who had requirernents to be satisfied, but today we realizethere are others who should be included early in the process of ider_tifying the partners of a project. These include neighbourhood groups, environrnental organizations, and those being irnpacted financially. A quality project will result when the "agreed upon requirer.'1ents" of ea ch group are satisfied. This requires Total Tearnwork.

At the other end, individuals within each organization contributing to the final project rnust feel they were valued as individuals, and that their contributions were recognized and appreciated. Principies of quality, and processes that can result in continuous quality irnprovernent are of little value without rnotivated, excited and valued individuals willing to be tearn players.

Although teamNork is addressed throughout the Manual, an entire chapter -ch3.pter 4 "Coordination and Cornrnunication Process"- was devoted to tearnwork. When we discuss cornrnunication and tearnwork, there is an underlying issue we should jointly think about.

Even though f-le construction industry for engineers and constructors is one of the largest in the U.S., over $ 450 billion per year, overall respect for engineering and construction is lagging. 1 believe that one of the reasons for this attitude is because we don't "walk the talk" on quality. We preach quality, but we are not walking the Quality path. We are "talking", bu t not "subconsciously walking". We have work to do in every cornpany and organization

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in making commitments and persisten tly carrying them out- not just when times are good, but standing by our principies when times are bad as well.

l. Respect comes from taking responsibility and we have work to do in accepting responsibility far our mistakes. We are still too willing to litigate rather than negotiate in the U.S.

2. We have work to do in preventing conflicts in the first place. Our "Partnering" efforts must start befare there is a project­When a problem is first defined, and alternative solutions are being conceived. And then the "Partnering" team should include all the affected parties.

3. We have work to do in addressing the sustainability of our natural resources while planning and implementingprograms to develop industrial and economic expansion.

4. We have work to do in committing to continuing education and beingwilling to provide evidence (to project owners and the public) thatwe have met the minimum annual continuing education criteria. The skilled trades in construction should meet mandatory annual minimum training criteria, and the design professional should agree to mandatory minimum professional development as a condition to relicensure and to membership in professional societies.

5. We ha ve work to do in managing diversity and treatingevery employee, team member and customer with respect.

Without visible evidence throughout our industry that we assume continuous responsibility far issues such as these, quality will suffer, and the respect far the engineering profession will be less than we desire.

This latter issue of managing diversity deserves additional emphasis. When the Quality movement settles down to a few common denominators, a cornerstone must be our attitude about one another. Unless we are individually trustworthy, trust and respect each other, and recognize the unique value each person brings to a proj ect, i t will be difficul t to execu te true teamwork and to produce the best results.

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If we expect employees to have respect far others, senior managers, and those around them, mus t all possess unques tionable integrity. Stephen R. Covey in his best seller, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, states that effective people have a strong character ethic and that it should be based on principles such as: fairness, honesty, integrity, human dignity, service, quality or excellence, patience, nurturing and encouragement. Covey says these principles are fundamental and unarguable because they are so self-evident.

If the Quality movement in engineering and the construction industry is to be co::ltinuous, reaching progressive higher levels of success, our relationships with people and our attitudes about people, must be be.sed on a strong character ethic - one which results in an infectious desire far the total team to be highly effective. Far the customer focus of TQM to be effective, we must startwith our own employees and associates and treat them exactly like we want them t·J treat our best customers. This includes having the customers feel like their input was key to our service, and having the employees feel the same way.

In 1991, the U.S. Government General Accounting Office (GAO) prepared a report to Congressman Don Ritter, who has been a strong proponent of quality. The report addressed management practices in American companies that improved performance through quality initiatives. A cornerstone listed to accomplish quality -Nas employee relations encompassing:

• Employee 3atisfaction • Attendance • Turn-over • Safety and health, and • Suggestions received

These are all appropriate far basic managementeffectiveness, but far sophisticated design and construction organizations engrossed in a rapi:i-paced, global, highly competitive market, committed to conti::mous quality improvement, these are not enough. We now must delve deeper into the hearts of people and address personal atUudes, principies and character.

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Along the way we are challenged to manage diversity in the total team. The workforce in the U.S. has changed and will continue to shift. New employees will consist of more women, minorities and immigrants to the U.S. These trends are well established now. Bu t, are we convinced in our hearts of the equal val u e of the di verse members of our teams?

We are reminded in the book by R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr., Beyond Race and Gender, that people don't want to blend into a corporate culture. They want to be thernselves, preserve their own culture, heritage and customs.

Managing diverse teams of people is becorning more challenging each year, and it requires us to look deep into our hearts and minds about our beliefs. Our biases developed from childhood result in subconscious attitudes and actions that tell our true feelings. It was Emerson who said, "What you are shouts so loudly in my ears 1 cannot hear what you say." It has become necessary for us to change what we are.

Our challenge in managing a di verse workforce is to recognize that a change in attitude about people flows from our minds to our hearts, and then to our feet. Until we subconsciously "walk the talk", a highly effective total team will be difficult to develop, and our goals of continuous Quality Improvementwill be disappointing.

1 have often been asked, "What has made CHRB HILL so successful over the years?" 1 always respond by listing what we believe are our key attributes:

• Careful selection of people • Consensus management • Broad employee ownership and • Other attributes, including giving our people broad

independence.

Today we know that independence alone isn't all thatit takes. Because no one person has all the knowledge, dependence on others is vital, and the true characteristic today is interdependence among all members of the Total Team.

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Knowledge is power. Power should be in the hands of individuals who use knowledge to achieve quality. Our objective should be to inspire people to be excited, fully participating team members, each working in a more clever and brilliant way.

In conclusion, we are in an industry of rapid change, and the expectations of quality throughout the design and construction industry are ever increasing. The public assumes that we are current and competent in our fields of practice, and we will soon be required to practice in compliance with an environmental ethic which assures the sus tainability ofournatural resources and wildlife. Understanding the changing elements of quality and the newly conceived processes to achieve quality are critica!. But unless onr attention is constantly focused on maintaining unquestionable integrity and fair treatment of people, our expectations for continuous quality improvement will be difficult to achieve. And unless our broad view recognizes the need for organizations to work together in a Total Team, the public's respect for the design and construction industry will be lacking.

Our managemen t of peo ple would be easier if we had attended kindergarten taught by Russell Lofthouse. Russ attended our Rotary Club meeting a fewyears ago in Denver to explain why he had just won runner-up as Teacher of the Year in the United States. He said it was simple, he just taught the kindergarten students and their parents three principies. They were:

1) Commit to life long Jearning; 2) Take responsibility for our own actions throughout life; 3) Respect all other people.

Our work ahead to enhance the respect for our industry and the quality of our ser\'ices would be less challenging if all of us had learned these principies well at age five.

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COMENTARIOS *

ING. SERGIO GONZALEZ-KARG

PRESIDENTE DE LA ESPECIALIDAD DE INGENIERIA CIVIL

ACADEMIA MEXICANA DE INGENIERIA

• Transcripción obtenida de 13. grabación magnetofónica.

Esta interesantísima Conferencia especializada que nos acaba de ofrecer el Dr. Pcirot, toca aspectos de actualidad que sirven de guía a diseñadores, consultores, constructores y dueños para bus­car un común dencminador como es: "la calidad en una obra".

A través de la participación en el proyecto desde su concep­ción de los técnicos especializados, se forman grupos que buscan conjuntamente el aseguramiento de la calidad, el control de la calidad, las responsabilidades y riesgos compartidos en la selección de procedimientos de construcción y de control dentro del "costo de la calidad".

En estos momentos de apertura de nuestros países a través del TLC (NAFTA), y otros mecanismos, nos hace considerar que con la presencia de empre3as nacionales y extranjeras que ofrecen a sus clientes "obras de calidad" dentro de un entorno cada vez más competitivo, más té.:nico y de enorme responsabilidad, debemos pensar en el público y los beneficios que a la sociedad otorga un trabajo hecho con calidad y que perdurará dentro del tiempo y edad programada.

El libro nos habla:

• Del papel del dueño o de su representante, objetivos y expec­tativas

• Del proceso d~ ::omunicación y coordinación de alternativas, estudios y proyectos

• Del grupo proyecto • De procedimientos para selección del o de los diseñadores • De los tipos de ·:ontrato para servicios de diseño • De la planeació::1 y administración del diseño • De las prácticas del diseño • De la calidad obtenida a través de la computadoras • De los requerirrientos disciplinarios del diseño • De una vista a "ojo de pájaro" de temas generales

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• De la planeación para la construcción, y dentro de éste terna:

• El grupo constructor • Procedimientos de selección de contratistas • Planeación y administración de las actividades construc-

tivas • Calidad en la construcción a través de computadoras • Dibujos de taller • Programa de inicio • Operación y mantenimiento • Riesgos, responsabilidades y solución de conflictos

En fin, sólo me queda recomendarles a todos nuestros asisten­tes este libro que surnariza las experiencias de un grupo de miem­bros de la ASCE y de sus comités encabezados por el Dr. Poirot, a quien nuevamente le agradezco su presencia en México y confe­rencia tan interesante.

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COMENTARIOS *

ING. OSCAR VEGA ARGÜELLES

ACADEMICO DE NUMERO ACADEMIA MEXICANA DE INGENIERIA

* Transcripción obtenida de la grabación magnetofónica.

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Es un honor para mí expresar algunos comentarios a la mag­nffica Conferencia que acabamos de escuchar.

El tema además de interesante para todos los ingenieros, es de gran actualidad en esta época en la que en todos los campos nos empeñamos en ser competitivos con apoyo en la calidad de nues­tros productos o servicios.

Como lo describe el autor, una guía para la acción de los tres grandes equipos que desarrollan un proyecto es muy amplia, estableciendo criterios, reglas generales y procesos que deben gobernar su ejecución cumpliendo con requerimientos de una alta calidad en cada paso; todo ello culmina en lograrla en el objetivo final, la obra constrLida, como la llama el Ing. Poirot

El dueño del proyecto

La posición del dueño del proyecto, responsable de su finan­ciamiento, comprende una función inicial muy importante en la que se hace hincapié: definir claramente los objetivos, lo que espera del proyecto termim.do y los recursos humanos que conjuntará para lograrlos. Para ésta etapa, como en otras, la asesoría de inge­niería, la asesoría legal, administrativa, de impactos ambientales, proporcionada por consultores con amplia experiencia, es indis­pensable. Con ellas y con el trabajo de un primer grupo de ingenie­ros proyectistas pueden formularse soluciones preliminares, ante­proyectos, y de elloE seleccionar la solución general óptima que será la base para !Os trabajos siguientes.

Menciono lo anterior como la actitud ideal para esta parte del proyecto, porque muchos hemos tenido con alguna frecuencia casos en los que, por ahorrar tiempo y/o recursos económicos, el dueño evita enfrascarse en esa etapa de estudios previos y plan­teando apresuradamente una solución general, no siempre la me-

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jor, se lanza a la etapa de diseños ejecutivos, exponiendo al proyec­to a deficiencias, es decir a ausencia de calidad.

Selección del equipo de diseño'

El ingeniero Poirot, tratando extensamente sobre las particu­laridades que comprende el papel que juega el dueño en el proceso de desarrollo del proyecto, pasa a continuación a analizar el equipo profesional encargado de los diseños. Plantea las formas generales para escoger al grupo de ingeniería de diseño, ya sea designando directamente a una firma o conjunto de ingenieros cuya experien­cia y responsabilidad le son satisfactoriamente reconocidas, o bien, seleccionando a la firma mediante un proceso de concurso que puede ser de alguna de las maneras usuales: con precalificación, licitación pública, lista corta, dos sobres, etc.

En general cualquier método de ellos puede ser bueno si se siguen consejos como los que enuncia el autor, pero creo que vale la pena mencionar aquí lo que ocurre a las firmas de ingeniería que trabajan en México para el Sector Público. No existe en nuestro país una ley específica para las actividades de la ingeniería de proyecto. La contratación y relaciones de las firmas de consultoría, de inge­niería, con el propietario del proyecto, se rigen por la Ley de Adquisiciones y Obras Públicas, promulgada a principios de este año. En ella se establece que los servicios, como los de consultoría, se contratarán mediante licitación pública, al igual que la adquisi­ción o compra de materiales y equipos y, por supuesto, la construc­ción de las obras públicas.

El Gobierno dueño del proyecto, algunas veces lleva a cabo la etapa previa de estudios de factibilidad, alternativas, etc., con ingeniería propia. Pero en muchas ocasiones, incluye esta fase dentro del contrato de los diseños ejecutivos o constructivos. La presentación de proposiciones la hacen los postores mediante el método de los dos sobres: el de propuesta técnica y el de propuesta económica. Este procedimiento se aplicará a cualquiera que sea la magnitud del proyecto, como una gran presa o un pequeño puente. El método no es nuevo, pero aplicado universalmente a todos los proyectos que forman los programas de Gobierno, produce una inmensidad de trámites y documentos que por su cuantía demoran

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la ejecución de la construcción de las obras del propio Gobierno y originalmente deooran el programa de los estudios y diseños, produciendo una situación de escasez de trabajo para las firmas de ingeniería.

Otro inconveniente de este procedimiento es la inclinación natural de los analistas, de adjudicar el contrato a la cotización más baja, que muchas veces no corresponde ·a una propuesta técnica­mente confiable.

La cita de estcis detalles se refiere a todas esas circunstancias que ocasionan escollos al propósito y acciones que deben llevar a la calidad total del pnyecto.

Estudios y diseño

A continuacién al tratar sobre la selección del equipo de ingeniería de diseño, el autor analiza concienzudamente el proceso de los trabajos que este grupo desarrolla. Las firmas de ingeniería grandes y pequeñas tienen conciencia, en general, de la organiza­ción de esas oficinas y de los diversos aspectos que se envuelven en esas labores, pero las descripciones detalladas que hace el ingenie­ro conferenciante de las múltiples actividades a emprender en esta fase del proyecto son ordenadas, claras y completas; a muchos les servirán como comprobacién de lo que se hace bien en su propia empresa técnica; para otros, este ordenamiento constituirá verda­deramente una guía.

En esta etapa d~ estudios y diseños será muy provechoso para todos seguir las indicaciones expresadas que recomiendan la inter­vención de auditores técnicos o consultores externos de reconocida experiencia, a los cuales deben plantearse los problemas, criterios de solución, procesos de cálculo etc., para comprobar la bondad de los que se está haciendo o introducir correcciones en el desarrollo de los diseños. Es poco usual en nuestro país recurrir a esos interventores, pero debe reconocerse lo benéfico que puede resul­tar desde muchos runtos de vista, en los aspectos técnicos, los programas de ejecución, la economía, y muy marcadamente, en el objetivo que estamos comentando: la calidad el proyecto.

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Construcción y supervisión

La guía para los equipos que intervienen en el proyecto, hace muy útiles recomendaciones en las siguientes fases, o sea los métodos para la contratación del constructor mediante la licitación, con documentos muy claros y completos cuya parte técnica la prepara el equipo de diseño, es decir los planos y especificaciones. La parte administrativa o financiera la prepara el equipo del dueño del proyecto pero con asesoría de los puntos pertinentes de los integrantes del equipo de diseño.

El grupo encargado de la supervisión de la construcción de las obras del proyecto, vigilará y hará cumplir lo expresado en los planos y especificaciones, preparados por los diseñadores, y, como lo indica el autor, debe tener la intervención de ese grupo de diseño que podrá resolver con sus conocimientos del proyecto los proble­mas técnicos que puedan presentarse.

Aseguramiento y control de calidad

Es muy importante el capítulo referente al aseguramiento y control de calidad, con las definiciones que da el autor sobre las acciones necesarias para proporcionar confianza de cumplimiento de especificaciones técnicas y contractuales, así como para contro­lar que se sigan los programas o que sus modificaciones, cuando sean necesarias, queden dentro de las normas aceptadas al princi­pio y a lo largo de los trabajos del proyecto.

Recientemente estos puntos relativos al aseguramiento y control de calidad, se están englobando dentro de un concepto que cada día toma mayor importancia, la administración de calidad dentro del proyecto. En efecto, se está implantando el proceso de Administración de la Calidad, que forma parte de la organización interna de cada empresa ejecutando acciones que siguen un con­junto de normas nacionales e internacionales de calidad.

A este aspecto, conviene citar que muchas naciones han decidido adoptar totalmente o grandes partes de las normas de calidad de la Organización Internacional para Normalización (ISO, International Standard Organization), que es una federación a nivel mundial de cuerpos normativos nacionales. Esta federación

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ha llevado a cabo la formulación de normas y estándares que tienen por objeto lograr la calidad de productos, de servicios y de los proyectos, de las cuales nos interesan especialmente la de la serie IS0-9000.

A la vez se han establecido sistemas de certificación de cali­dad, y se han formado organismos auditores con capacidad recono­cida por la Organización Internacional, para extender "Certificados de Calidad" a empresas, previa auditoría minuciosa de su organiza­ción, reglamentos y hasta reconocimientos de sus clientes.

La ingeniería m=xicana, dentro de las empresas de consultoría, está involucrada en el estudio e implantación de esas normas cuyos procesos comprenden actividades como las detalladamente descri­tas en la guía para propietarios, diseñadores y constructores forma­da por el equipo encabezado por nuestro conferenciante el señor Ing. Poirot y otras guías como la de la Cámara Nacional de Empre­sas de Consultoría y la de la Federación Internacional de Ingenieros Consultores y de la Federación Internacional de Ingenieros Con­sultores, FIDIC.

Agradezco a us:tedes haber escuchado estos comentarios y reitero al señor ingeniero Poirot la más amplia felicitación por su excelente conferencia.

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SESION DE PREGUNTAS Y RESPUESTAS*

* Transcripción obtenida de la grabación magnetofónica.

PREGUNTA:

lCuál es la expectativa que tienen las empresas constructo­ras en los Estados Unidos en cuanto a obtener una certificación del sistema de calidad IS0-9000?

RESPUESTA:

The question relates to IS0-9000. ASCE has this post year appointed a taskcommittee on IS0-9000. This developed beca use we hove of expanding the certification of IS0-9000 in the United Estate s.

We knowthat clients are now requiring the IS0-9000 certificate for constructors and designers, because sorne of the large engineering design companies are having their clients require an IS0-9000 certificate . Sorne examples, companies that 1'11 na me for you: Stone & Webster is in the process of Parsons break around. Western B Ninth, as examples. 1 also believe your company, Fluor, is in the process or m:::iybe has obtained IS0-9000 certification.

The ASCE task committee is trying to establish the role of a professionally engineering society. We hove concluded in our task committee that it's n:)t a matter of whether this requirement is spread, it's a matter of when and how rapidly. Our clients are saying: "We do not hme the skill to judge whether our organization is organized in a way to produce quality and we'd like to hove a standard process applied to determine whether it's organized and following the procedu·es", so many other engineering companies hove obtained the ISO- 9000 series requirements and are organizing in a way to function in accordance with the standards but not applying for a certificate until the client requires it.

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At lllinois Bell, one of the baby Bell systems, for instance, sent out an RFB and said : "You will not be eligible to compete unless, No. 1, You hove an IS0-9000 certificate; No, 2, if you don't, you can submit your schedule and if you hove not applied do not respond to the RFB." So they are serious and this was an engineering design proposal, not justa construction proposal. So the contractors are moving, the design firms are seeing the need and 1 would forecast, around the world, that we'll see a requirement for organizotion quality certifications such as the IS0-9000 Series, primarily 9004, 9004.2.

PREGUNTA:

En relación con el comentario del lng. Vega Argüelles respecto a la problemática que se tiene en México por la política del gobierno de asignar trabajo de diseño a propuestas bajas, muchas veces no confiables, la pregunta es la siguiente: ¿cómo se ha abordado este problema en los Estados Unidos?

RESPUESTA:

Bidding for engineering seNices is still frequently utilized in the United States and fortunately many decades ago the American Society of Civil Engineers developed a manual on engineering procurement, and this is a manual titled "Manual 45" it is updated every five to ten years, it's in the process of being republished this year and it's the foundation for explaining to ali porties the value of selecting designers on the basis of experience and qualifications of individuals that will be supeNising it in that basis, called' QBS · (Quality Base Selection), has been spreading throughout the states, many states now are adapting legislation requiring that the QBS Process be utilized. Jack Brooks, a U.S. Congressman from Texas, about 20 years ago sponsored the Brooks Actwhich adapts thisASCE QBS Program for government agencies and this has been the basis now for about 20 years f or government contracts, so 1

would urge you to get a copy of the Brooks Act and, for that matter, the Texas Registration Act, which has provisions to prevent owners and designers from entering into contracts for bidding.

Saying what l'Ve said, nevertheless every year in Congress there are new challenges to the Brooks Act. New congressmen are

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elected they come ~o Congress wanting to save money and they think the only way to do it is to assign to the lowest bidder, without realizing that the lowest bidders hove a great creation and exoerience qualifications and the first attempt must be to be absolutely su re that'{8ur organizations hove the proper experience and qualifications and availability of people to meet the time schedules.

So, we engineers are educating Congress and state legislators and city counseling continuouslyandit never stops, it's a continuous process to educate on the value of quality andan ultimate savings in cost by starting oLt with a quality team of people.

PREGUNTA:

Creo que sería .Jtil para todos conocer del lng . Poirot lCuál es el papel que le ca a la formación de los ingenieros en este aspecto de calidad; ;:::iue es un ejercicio profesional. Qué es lo que piensa el lng. Poirot, qué papel juega la formación profesional, para poder después obtener esos ingenieros con ejercicio profe­sional de calidad?

RESPUESTA:

The issue of trailíling and education is basic to quality, and there are two elements, and 1 refer to one of them maybe more extensively than the other, but the first basic element is to be sure that the universities are graduating students that hove the basic learning skills, not n9cessarily the skills to immediately apply themselves, but skills that are basic to a learning throughout life and therefore in the United States we hove the accreditation process, the accredi-ation for engineering. Every University, over 250, are accredited every six years, sorne every three years, and it's important, therefore, to be sure that the accreditation process stipulates the curriculum that should be used universities in order to produce quality students, students with the ability to learn.

The second element 1 addressed to earlier in my talk, we cal! it continuing professional development. The ASCE Code of Ethics requires members to committo lifelong learning . The attitude now is thatthe public need.> sorne evidence that members are carrying

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outthis lifelong learning. There is now draft criterio as to what annual continuing education should be composed of, a tabulation of types of activities that should occur every year, that movement is expanding. There are three states requiring itas mandatory for relicensing each year, there are about 20 states in a voluntary movement to require the American lnstitute of Architects will require for membership in AIA starting next yeár.

There are many certification programs, there is a new Hazardous Toxic Waste Program in the State of Massachusetts that requires every three years a certification through continuing education in arder to be able to analyze hazardous and toxic waste sites, so we continuously see evidence of a requirement for annual continuing education. So two elements: the basic university requirements are just the basis to ali quality, and that comes through continuously reviewing the curriculum. The curriculum should be changing because our profession is changing. AECS's Five-year Civil Engineering Education Conference is next June. Every five years there's conference and at that conference the requirements for the university engineering education for civil engineers will be addressed again, which will be the basis for modification in the curriculum in the years ahead.

1 believe that's my key response.

PREGUNTA:

lCuál es la responsabilidad profesional y legal que adquiere quien realiza una revisión de un proyecto, el "Pier Review" en el que ha hecho mención y énfasis el lng. Poirot?

RESPUESTA:

Yes, this question refers to what we call project pier review. Many of you realize that it's very common in Europe to start a project with two design teams. lt's ca lled Quality ... , 1 think it's Quality Engineering that they re fer to it. One team is hired to do the design work, anotherteam is hired to reviewthe progress and the decisions periodically throughout the designing process.

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That's true in the larger more sophisticated projects in the United States and it'E becoming broader. We know the lllinois DOT, Department of Transportation of the State of lllinois with complex interchanges, has now in a number of cases hired an independent pier review team to chec k the design, decisions and assumptions along the way.

Now, the ques1ions 1 believe you're asking, what is the legal responsibility of the pier review team, to date the primary responsibility is with the original design team . The pier review team is in advisor to the owner, if you will, it's an extension of the owner's staff and therefore the primary responsibility is with the original designer. To make that work the two teams need to work closely together from the beginning, because a surprise at the end is very costly and difficult <Jften to modify. There's always a financia! impact, so the right answer is to hove the team identify early-the pier review team- and hove the two teams work together with the order, so there are mJtual decisions and no surprises, because the engineering record will be the original designer of public works and res,oonsibility for the rest of the engineering record.

INTERVENCION: Solamente indicando que para no perder la responsabilidad del ca-responsable estructural, por ejemplo, nosotros lo que estamos haciendo es procurar que haya un entendimiento entre el revisor y el calculista tenemos varias obras trabajando de esa manera, pero así procuramos que no pierda su responsabilidad, su ca-responsabilidad el estructurista, y tiene que estar de acuerdo el director responsable de la obra .

PREGUNTA:

De acuerdo con el Tratado de Libre Comercio lla calidad de obra mexicana con la calidad de obra en los Estados Unidos tiene que ser igual? Empecemos porque no se caigan lverdad?

RESPUESTA:

l'm not an expert of NAFTA regulations, but 1 do hove sorne knowledge related te standards.

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Chapter 9 of the NAFTA provisions addresses the need to hove commonality in standards and when it comes to quality, often if we are assured that we are meeting the prescribed standards that also enhances quality. NAFTA stipulates that there should be an ongoing development of common standards, but at the sorne time there needs to be a recognition that there should be no arbitrary application of one nation standards on another nation, that each nation has unique issues to be dealt with and there needs to be flexibility in standards among nations.

So the NAFTA Chapter 9 asks for commonality, but also asks f or flexibility, realizing the uniqueness of ea ch nation. So there is that provision, but there's also the provision, of course, of common licensing of engineers among nations, and there are committees right now addressing that commonality. l'Ve read the minutes of a meeting of that committee about two weeks ago and there's considerable progress relative to licensing and the acceptance of a common definition to practice the profession of engineering. Good progress and there are also activities related to common standards evolving under the NAFTA legislation.

So there is a relationship to quality through standards.

MODERADOR: Yo quisiera agregar también, a propósito de lo que está diciendo el lng. Poirot, aparte de la cuestión de estándares, que hace más de un año opera una comisión tripartita, de las tres naciones, con seis miembros de cada nación, es un comité de 1 8 que precisamente aborda el tema, digamos, ahora sí, de la homologación en los aspectos de los entrenamien­tos y de las calificaciones de los ingenieros. Eso es a lo que se estaba refiriendo también el lng. Poirot.

¿Alguna otra pregunta? Bueno, como dicen que dijo el Mariscal Ney cuando después de la batalla del General Napo­león: "Señor, el combate terminó por falta de combatientes". Entonces no nos resta más que darle las gracias al lng. Poirot por esta excelente conferencia.

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La Academia Mexicana de Ingenieria, A.C., con el patrocinio del Consejo Nacional de Cien­cia y Tecnología, editó el presente Fascículo, constando la edición de 850 ejemplares.

La tipografía e impresión estuvo a cargo de Plus Design, habiéndose terminado la impre­sión el día 24 de julio de 1995.