ITP: EVERYTHING TO KNOW ABOUT AN ITP

Definition:
Inspection and Test Plan (hereafter called as: ITP) is one of the tool of Quality Assurance
program in which the detail description of the Quality Control activities are performed (by
the field/site quality person such as field engineers and inspectors) in accordance with
the planned and defined quality standard and requirements. In other words, ITP functions
as a bridge between the Quality Assurance and Quality Control. The inspection and test
activity described in the ITP will cover the activities before, during and after the process
of the product realization (i.e.: manufacturing, fabrication, construction, installation), to
ensure that the quality level of the product is within the acceptable design standards and
requirements.
How to Prepare an ITP:
In general the ITP should follow the sequence of operations and clearly define who is
responsible for signing off each check.
First decide when in the process you want to conduct an inspection or check. Common
hold points are prior to a phase of high cost/ high value work, where any pre-existing
problems will create difficulties at the next stage, or will mean a high cost of re-work
when discovered later in the process.
For each check point you need to specify exactly what to look for (perhaps refer to
another document for details), how the check is recorded, and who must perform/signoff
the inspection.

Plan vs. Checklist:

An Inspection and Test Plan is not the same as an Inspection Checklist. An ITP tells
you when in the process to perform an inspection. The details of the inspection are
contained in the checklist, and are typically recorded there.
An ITP might refer to different checklists for each inspection point, or could refer to a code
or standard that sets out the requirements for what and how the check must be
performed, e.g. AS1012 Methods of Testing Concrete. A simple ITP can closely match
the checklist.
The Inspection and Test Plan is like a Work Instruction and the Checklist is a form that
becomes the actual record. Both the ITP and Checklist are documents that must be
controlled.

Procedure for making an ITP: 8 Steps:

1. Read Specification
2. Drawing, Method statement & material submittal

3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Define activity description

Test or inspection performed
Stage or Frequency
Code or specification
Acceptance criteria
Inspection or verification

1. Read Specifications:
When you want to start writing the ITP, you must firstly read the specification of the work
that you are going to make an ITP for. Like Block Works you should read carefully the
whole specification, not only once, but twice or much better, several times because there
are terms sometimes that you have to understand well. During your reading, you can
highlight the important terms so that when you come back you can immediately track it.
The specification is your basis for writing ITP.

2. Drawing, Method statement & material submittal

Make sure that the drawing is approved, if not, make sure that it is being submitted to the
consultant because that will be incorporated in the ITP as preliminaries. The same with
the method statement and material submittal, especially material submittal, there are
some works that youll going to use the technical data of a material and you are going to
pick some acceptance criterias from there. You will learn later in the next article how to
identify and write the Acceptance Criteria.

3. Define activity description:

You could ask yourself by saying What could I inspect in the first place? In the
specification that youve just read many times and perhaps youd found this word
preparation or examination that could be a hint of an activity that you are going to
inspect first before the succeeding activity proceeds.
Second, the word Installation or Completed work that would be your succeeding
inspection. Like for example in the activity of block works, before the placing of a first
level onto the slab, inspection shall be done first for surface preparation. So your activity
description will be Installation of block.
And third, if you find the word Test this one will be another an activity that you should
write. If the activity, for example, is block works, then thats usually written in the
specification test of block sample or sometimes test of mortar.

4. Test or inspection performed:

Lets take this Inspection & Test Plan Sample, and see under the Test or Inspection
Performed column. You will just write Approval for the documents that to be included such
as the method statement, material submittal and inspection and test plan.

And write Visual for the material and activity to be inspected.

5. Stage or Frequency:
Well just jump off to the material to be inspected because there is no certain frequency for
the documents or submittal. So well go to the material and define what the frequency is.
Once the material arrives on site then you may write the frequency Every material arrive
on site or just simply Material Arrival on Site.
If you have mock-up sample for block work activity then your frequency there is going to be
1 wall panel (6 meters).
In the activity of surface preparation and setting out your frequency there would be Prior
to laying of every course. The last activity is Completed block work then your frequency
there would be Every completed panel/area.

6. Code or specification:
Under this column you will just write the corresponding code or specification to the Activity
Description youve written. The Clause from the particular area of the specification. Like,
for example Specification Section 07300 Clause 1.0 is where the word Surface
Preparation activity was written.

7. Acceptance criteria:

The acceptance criteria are the most important part of your ITP, why? Because this is your
basis how you are going to approve or accept the material arrive and work done on site
respectively. So think deeply about this item.
In the Block work activity sample, let us say for example materials. What will be your
acceptance criteria? No thinking twice, it would be Approved Material Submittal as Code
A/B or 1/2. You will then write it in the row of material in your ITP under acceptance criteria
column.

How about the Setting out and surface preparation activity? In the setting out activity,
when you hear setting out it can immediately pop-up into your mind that it is made by a
surveyor, therefore your acceptance criteria there would be a survey report, make sure the
surveyor has signed it off before you submit to the Engineer/Consultant.

The Surface Preparation activity, how do you accept that? It could be surface is clean,
surface is chipped-of etc. But that sentences are most likely to be written in the Checklist.
So, the most general term would be No unsatisfactory conditions.

8. Inspection or verification:
Under the inspection or verification, there are three parties involved which they are Contractor,
Consultant or Engineer and Client or Employer. Now, there are corresponding responsibilities or
task these three parties are involved in and to be represented by E as execution, Was witness
point and Has hold point. First is Contractor which normally the party who will execute the project.
Second, the consultant or engineer who will commonly checked the work or material, the
inspection criteria will be either witness or hold.

The inspection process shall have the inspection criteria for every Inspection and Test Plan item.
Here are the following:
Surveillance (S) = random attendance at site, no signature required on the Inspection
Request (IR) or its accompanying documentation.
Execution (E) = attendance at site is a must, signature is always on Inspection Request
and Checklist.
Witness (W) = attendance at site is expected, signature is required on check sheet of
Inspection Request (IR) and Checklist, but if the signatory is not present to sign at the time,
follow on work may proceed and the document (s) singed later.
Hold Point (H) = attendance at site is mandatory and signature is required on the check
sheet of Inspection Request at the time of the inspection to release the following work.
Review (R) = documents to be reviewed, no signature required on the Inspection Request
or its accompanying documentation.
Records (RE) = documentation to be recorded, no signature required on the Inspection
Request or its accompanying documentation.