The actual costs of AWI’s Quality Certification Program (QCP) project certification are NOT what you may think!

In response to unfortunate and persistent misinformation directed at architects who have specified QCP as their primary woodwork quality assurance, QCP has been engaged in an ongoing advertising campaign aiming to raise awareness within the design community of the actual cost and nature of QCP project certification.

Here are the facts:  The actual cost of QCP project certification is 1/2 % of the woodwork subcontract value, or $500, whichever is greater.  Up to a subcontract value of $100,000, the certification cost will be $500. Administrative responsibilities and the certification fee payment are handled by the woodwork subcontractor, with that cost appearing as a bid line-item.  

Over its twenty years of operation, the Quality Certification Program (administered by the not-for-profit Quality Certification Corporation) has typically functioned as intended, with all project stakeholders buying into a mutually beneficial “symbiotic” relationship:

• Owners, architects, and general contractors know they are receiving woodwork produced by a company which has earned licensing based on QCP-tested knowledge of AWI standards, and ability to produce work based on those standards.  Expert QCP “third party” physical inspection is automatic in some cases, and always available for any project stakeholder upon request, usually at no additional cost. Certification includes verification of conformance with specifications. Architects receive illustrated, detailed conformance reports of project inspections at no cost (also available to any project stakeholder).

• Licensed woodworking firms may enjoy a market advantage, since they are pre-qualified to bid on projects requiring QCP certification. Only licensed firms may certify a project under the auspices of QCP.

This model of quality assurance has a proven track record.  However, QCP has also seen many instances of a project’s general contractor and/or the awarded woodworker misrepresenting basic facts about the program (especially regarding cost) to the owner or architect.  In such cases, the goal is to create enough apprehension to cause the architect to withdraw his/her initial QCP requirement from the specifications. Simply put, the “benefit” of this for the GC or woodworker is that AWI standards may be ignored or corners cut without the possibility of QCP’s scrutiny.  (For a striking real-life example of this phenomenon, click the following link to an article by QCP Executive Director Randy Estabrook, which appeared in AWI’s Design Solutions Magazine.)

Also important to note is that scare tactics regarding costs are often accompanied by the false narrative that certification will in some way delay the woodwork component of the project schedule.  But in fact, one of QCP’s “Prime Directives” to its inspectors is that no step taken in the inspection process should ever compromise the woodworker’s ability to deliver and/or install architectural woodwork as required by project deadlines.

Based on market research, and conversations similar to the one described by Randy in the above-referenced article, QCP has been sponsoring a digital ad campaign emphasizing the actual cost of QCP. The ads appear on three websites:  Architectmagazine.com, constructionspecifier.com and enr.com. Check them out and get the real facts!  Selected graphic elements of those ads also appear in this article.
 

In its new generation of woodwork standards, the Architectural Woodwork Institute (AWI) is writing new standards for architectural woodwork different from previous versions. The standards will be written over the next three years in individual sections creating a "Suite of Standards" that address each aspect of architectural woodwork.

AWI Standards Editor Margaret Fisher stated that while the Architectural Woodwork Standards, Edition 2 (2014) remains the current woodwork standard in use today, eight of those new Standard Sections are underway now. "The new standards will be organized and developed by individual products such as casework, countertops, paneling, etc. and all the product specific atandards will have links that take the users to helpful information that design professionals can use to ease of planning. Those standards include Submittals, Care and Storage, Materials, Finishing and a Glossary of woodwork terms.

As the standards are being developed primarily for electronic tablet formats, the glossary of words and illustrations of woodwork details will also be found via links.  "Most of he 14 different sections will be compiled through AWI’s ANSI-approved process and timeline. The ANSI process is an open and transparent system of writing and reviewing through a more collegial exchange. AWI welcomes the input of design professionals and specifiers to participate in Subject Expert Review Teams (SERT) and Canvass Teams (CT) for each section being written."

Other significant changes standards users can look forward to in the future are as follows:  The numeric designation system of the two previous standards is being retired. Additionally, new Performance Duty Levels will be added to help specifiers choose the correct cabinet type for each specific application from the established casework Performance Levels. Those will be defined in the new 06400 Standard scheduled for development in 2017 and 2018. Building owners can be confident they have chosen casework at the correct cost value and appropriate performance level required.

While AWI is changing the architectural woodwork industry, the organization is still providing technical assistance for the users of the current AWS, Edition 2. Technical help is available at 229-389-2543. Contact Ashley Goodin for assistance and for information on participating in the standards review process.

If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Margaret Fisher at 571-926-5522 or e-mail at [email protected].

The Architectural Woodwork Institute has produced and collaborated on the development of Standards in accordance with its mission from its founding in 1953 to the present day. 

Founded in 1918, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization that administers and coordinates the U.S. voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system.