Roles & authorities
Quality control manager
Also called: QC manager, QCM
The quality control manager owns the contractor's quality program: making sure the right inspections happen at the right time, that hold points aren't passed until work is verified, and that every check leaves a record. On a job with a formal QC plan or inspection and test plan, the QC manager is who keeps that plan alive in the field rather than filed in a binder. Their authority to stop work or reject material comes from the QC plan and the contract.
Why it matters
Quality control is only real if someone enforces the hold points. The QC manager is the person who can say a pour doesn't happen until the rebar is inspected and photographed — and make that stick — so defects get caught before they're covered.
They also own the paper. A nonconformance that's written up, tracked and closed, with photos attached, is the difference between a defect handled and a defect argued about at closeout.
What proves it
Completed checklists tied to specific work, dated photos at each hold point, and closed nonconformance reports are the QC manager's product. Together they let an owner or AHJ trace any accepted item back to the check that accepted it.
Checklists that put quality control manager to work
Free, field-ready checklists, each with the photo every item needs before it can be submitted.
Related terms
- Construction manager (CM)The manager who plans, coordinates and oversees construction, tying trades, schedule and budget together for the owner.
- Special inspectorA qualified inspector who verifies specific high-risk work — welds, bolting, concrete, anchors — beyond the routine building inspection.
- Owner's representativeThe person who acts for the owner on site, protecting the owner's interests in scope, quality, schedule and cost.
- Authority having jurisdiction (AHJ)The office or official empowered to enforce a code and approve materials, methods and completed work on a given project.
- Engineer of record (EOR)The licensed engineer who stamps a design discipline and stays responsible for its intent through construction.
- Third-party inspectionInspection performed by an independent agency retained for the project rather than by the installer or the building department.
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.