Quality concepts
Control point
Also called: quality control point, inspection point
A control point is a specific, planned place in the sequence where the work is checked before it proceeds — set in the quality plan or ITP so the inspection is scheduled, not improvised. Some control points are hold points that stop the work until sign-off; others are witness points an inspector may observe without halting progress. Naming the control points in advance is what makes an inspection program predictable instead of a matter of catching the right moment by luck.
Why it matters
The most important inspections are the ones that have to happen before something gets covered, poured or loaded — and those are exactly the ones easiest to miss in the rush. Fixing them as control points in the plan puts the check on the schedule where it cannot quietly slip.
Control points also make coverage auditable. When the plan names where checks occur, a quality audit can ask a simple question of each one: did the inspection happen, and is the evidence there?
How it shows up on site
An ITP that lists control points across a definable feature of work — inspect before cover, witness the test, hold before pour — each tied to who inspects, the acceptance criterion, and the photo that records the result.
Checklists that put control point to work
Free, field-ready checklists, each with the photo every item needs before it can be submitted.
Related terms
- Hold pointA stop in the inspection and test plan where work cannot continue until a required party inspects and signs off the release.
- Witness pointA step where a party is invited to observe the work, but the crew may proceed if that party doesn't attend within the agreed notice.
- Definable feature of workA discrete, separately inspectable task or segment of work with its own start, finish, and acceptance criteria within the QC plan.
- Quality assurance (QA)The planned system of procedures, plans and checkpoints set up before work starts so the right result is built the first time.
- Quality control (QC)The hands-on inspection and testing of installed work against the spec — checking the actual product, not the process that made it.
- NonconformanceInstalled work that does not meet the drawings, spec or accepted submittal — formally identified so it gets dispositioned, not ignored.
Knowing the term is step one. Proving it is the job.
RTI holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and the photos are attached, then chains the record so it can be proven untouched later.