The inspector is responsible for the quality control of the weatherization process. Good inspections provide an incentive for auditors to produce good energy audits and work orders and for workers to do quality work. There are two common opportunities for inspections: in-progress inspections and final inspections.
Many ECMs are best inspected while the job is in progress. Visiting while the job is in progress demonstrates your commitment to getting the job done correctly. Either the energy auditor or the inspector may conduct an in-progress inspection.
These measures are good candidates for in-progress inspections because of the difficulty of evaluating them after completion.
• Dense-pack wall insulation
• Insulating closed roof cavities
• Furnace installation or tune-up
• Air-conditioning service
• Duct testing and sealing
• Attic air sealing
In-progress inspections are also an excellent way to provide training and technical assistance.
A certified inspector completes a final inspection before the weatherization job is reported to DOE as a completion. The inspector is ideally a different person than the auditor.
Final inspections ensure that weatherization services were provided as specified in the work order, and that the home is left in a safe condition. The weatherization agency does the final inspection for quality control, which is a term for in-house self evaluation of jobs.
Completing the final inspection with the crew or contractor on site allows the inspector and workers to review the work scope and correct deficiencies without requiring a return to the home. Verify the following during the final inspection.
ü Confirm that the crew installed the approved materials in a safe, effective, and neat way.
ü Confirm that the crew matched existing finish materials for measure installation and necessary repairs.
ü Review all completed work with the client. Confirm that the client is satisfied.
ü Verify that combustion appliances operate safely. Do worst-case draft tests and CO tests as appropriate.
ü Do a final blower door test with simple pressure diagnostics if appropriate.
ü Use an infrared scanner, if available, to inspect insulation and air-sealing quality.
ü Use simple pressure-diagnostic techniques to verify the effectiveness of air sealing.
ü Specify corrective actions whenever the work doesn’t meet standards.
ü Verify that the crew used the correct lead-safe procedures if these procedures were necessary in installing ECMs.
ü Verify that all required paperwork, with required signatures is in the client file. See “Energy-Auditing Record-keeping” on page 65.
2.5.3 Quality Control Versus Quality Assurance
Quality control is an internal process of a weatherization agency focusing on the final inspection. Quality assurance is a third-party inspection performed by an inspector employed by either the State or the DOE.
Certified quality-control inspectors (QCI) may perform both quality-control inspections and quality-assurance inspections. The following are important elements of these inspections.
• Verify compliance with specifications, job order, and energy audit.
• Provide feedback on material quality and worker performance, both good and bad.
• Issue instructions for correcting errors and omissions.
• Survey clients for level of satisfaction.
• Perform energy-conservation monitoring and evaluation, if appropriate.
• Report to the weatherization agency, the State, or the DOE about the quality of the weatherization work.
At the local level, the energy auditor and the inspector are sometimes the same person. This situation requires more quality assurance inspections from the State WAP.
The State WAP must justify to the DOE the percentage of homes that State inspectors inspect for quality assurance. The required percentage depends on the independence of the local agency’s quality control inspectors from the agency’s energy auditors.