Personnel and Organization
Who does what, and who answers for it
A fabricator's quality system rests on a clear organization chart. Know the difference between the quality control (QC) function, which inspects and tests, and quality assurance (QA), which audits and verifies that the QC system itself works. The person signing off on inspections should not be the same person whose production work is being accepted; independence of the inspector is a recurring theme.
Understand the roles: the project manager coordinates schedule, submittals, and customer communication; the detailer produces shop and erection drawings; the shop superintendent runs production; the welding supervisor oversees welders and procedure qualification; the QC inspector performs dimensional and visual checks and coordinates NDT. Welding personnel must be qualified to the applicable welding procedure, and the fabricator must be able to show records tying each welder to the process and position they work in.
Traps in questions: confusing QA with QC; assuming a certified welder is qualified for every process or position; assuming the inspector may also be the welder; and forgetting that subcontractors (galvanizers, painters, NDT agencies) fall under the same organizational controls and must be evaluated.
Rule of thumb: if a single person both produces and accepts the work, the organization has a conflict of interest. The answer to almost any "who should verify this?" question is someone independent of the work being verified. Carrying a current certification does not by itself demonstrate qualification for a specific procedure - the paper trail does.