ANALYSIS OF QUALITY INSPECTION REPORTS OF NATIONAL … · ANALYSIS OF QUALITY INSPECTION REPORTS OF NATIONAL QUALITY MONITORS FOR PMGSY ROADS IN INDIA Aruna Thube1* and Dattatraya

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Int. J. Struct. & Civil Engg. Res. 2013 Aruna Thube and Dattatraya Thube, 2013

ANALYSIS OF QUALITY INSPECTIONREPORTS OF NATIONAL QUALITY MONITORS

FOR PMGSY ROADS IN INDIA

Aruna Thube1* and Dattatraya Thube2

An attempt has been made in present study to analyze inspection reports of National QualityMonitors (NQMs) of the rural roads constructed under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana(PMGSY) scheme in different states of India during the period of November 2010 to March2012. Further, an attempt has also been made to find out the rankings of critical items such asEarth work and Sub-grade, Sub-Base, Base Course and Bituminous Layer contributing toUnsatisfactory (U) overall grading of road works. The study also includes finding the rankings ofsub-items within these items contributing to U overall grading of these Items. The data of NQMInspection Reports has been taken from the website of National Rural Roads Developing Agency(NRRDAs) and detail analysis has been carried out for finding of the rankings of Items/Sub-Items contributing to U grading of road works and respective Items. The study results will bevery useful in deciding the appropriate strategy for quality improvement priorities amongst differentItems/sub-items and for the rural road works constructed under Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY) scheme in India.

Keywords: PMGSY, National Quality Monitors (NQMs), Rural roads, Grading, Unsatisfactory(U), Satisfactory (S), Requires Improvement (RI)

1 Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Pune-411005, Maharashtra, India.2 Public Works Department, Government of Maharashtra, India.

*Corresponding Author: Aruna Thube,[email protected]

INTRODUCTION TO PMGSYSCHEME IN INDIAThe primary functions of transportation includemobility, connectivity and accessibility. Roadtransport in general and rural transport inparticular provides door to door service, thusensures accessibility to nooks and corners ofthe country. It has been realized that the

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Int. J. Struct. & Civil Engg. Res. 2013

Research Paper

absence of All Weather Road Connectivity isa major impediment in the development of ruralareas, since lack of access results in isolationand remoteness of rural masses and therebydepriving them of opportunities of employment,healthcare, education, etc. Over and above,lack of connectivity increases the vulnerabilityof such communities during events of natural

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disaster. Government of India, having realizedthat providing rural accessibility serves as ameans for poverty alleviation, launched Prad-han Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) asa fully funded centrally sponsored plan on Dec-ember 25, 2000, with the primary objective ofproviding all weather road connectivity to allhabitations with a population of 500 and abovein plain areas. In respect of the Hill States (NorthEast, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu &Kashmir, Uttarakhand), the desert areas (asidentified in the Desert Development Pro-gram), the Tribal (Schedule-V) areas and inLeft Wing Extremism affected/IntegratedAction Plan (IAP) districts as identified by theMinistry of Home Affairs/Planning Comm-ission, the objective is to connect habitationswith population of 250 persons and above.

PRESENT IMPLEMENTATIONSTATUSConnectivity to total 77,877 new habitationsand corresponding all weather roads lengthmeasuring 3,19,438 km length had beenconstructed in different states of India underPMGSY scheme up to the end of March 2011,since the inception of the PMGSY scheme inyear 2000.

THREE TIER QUALITY CONTROLMECHANISM FOR RURAL ROADCONSTRUCTION UNDER PMGSYSCHEMEPMGSY Guidelines emphasize upon qualitycantered implementation strategies and reco-gnize quality as essence of the program. Tobring execution of the program to the desiredhigh quality standards, a three tier qualitymanagement mechanism has been insti-

tutionalized under PMGSY. The first tier of thismechanism is in-house quality control atProgram Implementation Unit (PIU) level. Thesecond tier is a structured independent qualitymonitoring at the State level. Under the thirdtier, independent National Quality Monitors(NQMs) are deployed by National Rural RoadsDeveloping Agency (NRRDA) for inspectionof road works at random not only to monitorquality but also to provide guidance of seniorprofessionals to the field functionaries. TheNQMs are senior engineers retired from theState Governments or Government of Indiaorganizations, empaneled on the basis of thecriteria fixed by NRRDA. The NQMs arerequired to inspect the rural road works arebeing constructed under PMGSY scheme andrecord their quality regarding observations asper the prescribed guidelines. The guidelinesfor NQM inspections have been made objec-tive and based on defined methods of obse-rvation including clarity on actionable points.Guidelines for photographic recording ofinspections by NQMs have also been pres-cribed. To ensure effective and uniformreporting of the quality issues, orientationprograms are organized for NQMs.

PROCEDURE FOR NQM IN-SPECTIONS OF RURAL ROADWORKSThe objective of third tier of Quality Monitoringunder PMGSY, i.e., inspection of rural roadworks by national level independent monitorsis to identify shortcomings in respect of qualityof road works and to guide the PIUs about thespecifications, good practices and effectiveexecution of works with desired quality. Therole of these monitors is to critically examine

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the road works and give feedback about qualityof road works and quality management related

shortcomings to the State level quality mana-gement team and NRRDA to enable systemic

improvements.

There could be many methods of ins-

pecting, making observations and evaluating

various items and sub-items involved inconstruction of a rural road. With a view to

achieve uniformity, objectivity in observationsand evaluation, the efforts have been made to

standardize the methods of observations andevaluation. Various items and sub-items

involved in construction of a rural road have

been listed in Annexure 3 of Draft Guidelinesfor Quality Monitoring for National Quality

Monitors under Third Tier of Quality Mechanismpublished by NRRDA. Each of the sub-items

defined under the Item shall be examined by

NQM as per prescribed method of observationand frequency. The quality of the sub-item/item

would be quantified in one of the grades pres-cribed as Satisfactory(S)/Unsatisfactory (U)/

Requires Improvement (RI). The NQM shall

base his observations on the method of fieldtests, hand feel tests, measurements and visu-

al observations as specified only and in noother way. The NQM is expected to traverse

through the entire road length to ascertain thequantum of work such as length of road,

number of Cross Drainage works (CDs),

protection works, side drains, catch waterdrains, rigid pavement and other aspects of

the work. After the traverse, the NQM woulddecide about the locations for detailed

observations. The quality of every item and sub-

item of work would be evaluated by the NQM

on the basis observations made as perprescribed standard method. The gradingwould be recorded for every item andabstracted at appropriate space provided inthe format. The grading of work would be donewith an intention to quantify the observationsshowing level of satisfaction in relation to thespecification of the work/item under obser-vation. The objective would be to indicate tothe executing agency, as to whether thematerial or workmanship is acceptable, orunacceptable. If the item is unacceptable, theimprovement could be done by eitherreplacement of the entire material/portion ofwork or by rectification in workmanship ormaterial. The grading should be able toindicate to the PIU/ State, the level of inter-vention required for improvement. Therefore,based on the type of item and method ofobservation, each item/sub-item of work wouldbe graded in any of the categories, i.e., ‘Satis-factory (S)’or ‘Requires Improvement (RI)’ or‘Unsatisfactory (U)’. Based on grading, the PIUshall take action for rectification of defect,therefore, it is very important to record thedefect as well as the suggestive method bywhich the rectification could be done. The NQMshall record, the grade as well as clear andexpress reasons for grading the item of workas ‘RI’ or ‘U’ along with his suggestions forimprovement. The reasons and suggestionsshall be recorded clearly in such a way thatthere are no ambiguities or contradictions withobservations in other items. The details oftypical NQM quality recording format forimportant items such as Item 4- Earth work andSub-grade, Item 5-Sub-Base, Item 6-BaseCourse and Item 7-Bituminous Layer along-with their sub-items are given in Table 1.

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Table 1: Statement Showing Item Wise Observations, Their Method, Frequencyand Awardable Quality Grading for Item 4,5,6 and 7

S.No.

1 2 3 4 5 6

Item 4-Earth Work and Sub-grade in Embankment/Cutting

Sub Item for Observation In Case ofWork

Method of Observation Frequency Grades

A

B

C

D

E

Quality of Material forEmbankment/Sub-grade

Compaction

Side Slopes and Profile

Stability and Workmanship ofCut Slopes (in case of hilly/rolling terrain)

Adequacy of Slope Protection(in case of high embankments/hilly/rolling terrain)

Ongoing orcompleted

Complete

Ongoing orcompleted

Visual classification of Soils

Field Density Test by sand replace-ment/core-cutter method

Measurement

Visual Observation

Visual Observation

1 per km

1 per km

4Observations

per km

4 per km

4 per km

Item Grade

S/U

S/U

S/U

S/U

S/U

S/U

Item 5- Sub-Base course

A

B

C

D

Grain Size

Plasticity

Compaction

Total Thickness of Layer

Ongoing orcompleted

Ongoing orcompleted

Ongoing orcompleted

Gradation Test

Hand feel test of ball makingwith moisture content

Field Density Test by sandreplacement/core-cuttermethod

Measurement by taking pit forfull layer thickness

1 per km

1 per km

1 per km

1 per km

Item Grade

S/U

S/U

S/U

S/U

S/U

Item 6- Base Course- Water Bound Macadam

A

B

C

D

Grain size of Course Aggregate

Plasticity of CrushableAggregate used as fillers

Adequacy of Compactionthrough volumetric analysis

Thickness of every layer of WBM

Ongoing orcompleted

Gradation Test

Hand feel test of ball makingwith moisture content

Hand feel test by digging pitand volumetric analysis

Actual measurement by taking pit

1 per km

1 per km

1 per km

1 per km

Item Grade

S/U

S/U

S/U

S/U

S/U

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Table 1 (Cont.)

S.No.

1 2 3 4 5 6

Item 7- Bituminous Layer- Premix Carpet (PMC)/ Surface Dressing (SD)

Sub Item for Observation In Case ofWork

Method of Observation Frequency Grades

A

B

C

D

E

Gradation of Aggregate

Mixing Temperature of Mix

Laying Temperature of Mix

Thickness of layer

Surface Evenness

Ongoing

Ongoing

Ongoing

Ongoing orcompleted

Ongoing orcompleted

Grain size analysis (GradationTest)

Measurement of temperatureby thermometer

Measurement of temperatureby thermometer

Measurement by taking pit

By straight edge

1 at Hot-Mixplant/1 per km

1 at Hot-Mixplant

1 where layingis in progress

2 per km

2 per km

Item Grade

S/U

S/U

S/U

S/U

S/U

S/U

METHODOLOGY FOR SUB-ITEM/ITEM WISE GRADING AND OVER-ALL GRADING OF WORKThe sub-item wise grading of every item of

work would be entered in the reporting format

and the item grading would be the lowest of

the grading of sub-items within that item. If, any

of the items in Item no. 4, 5, 6 and 7 are graded

as ‘U’, overall grading of the work shall be ‘U’

i.e., ‘Unsatisfactory’. If, all the items given in

above four items are ‘S’ but grading in any of

other items is ‘U’ or ‘RI’, the overall grading of

work shall be ‘S-RI’, i.e., Satisfactory but

Requiring Improvement. If grading of all items

is ‘S’, the overall grading of work shall be ‘S’

i.e., ‘Satisfactory’.

SCOPE OF PRESENT STUDYThe scope of present study includes analysisof quality inspection reports for the inspections

carried out by NQMs during the period of

November 2010 to March 2012 for road works

constructed under PMGSY scheme in different

states of India. An attempt has been made in

present study to analyze 4077 number of total

NQM inspection reports during the same

period in detail and to find out the rankings of

important items such as Item 4 – Earth work

and Sub-grade, Item 5 – Sub-Base, Item 6 –

Base Course and Item 7 – Bituminous Layer

contributing to Unsatisfactory overall grading

of works. Similarly, an attempt has also been

made to find out the rankings of sub-items

within these items, contributing to Unsatis-

factory grading of the items. All the data has

been collected by accessing the National

Rural Roads Developing Agency’s website

‘omms.nic.in’ wherein the details of each

inspection reports of NQMs are available.

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DATA ANALYSIS ANDSTUDY RESULTSThe analysis has been carried out in differentstages to find out rankings of important items/sub items such as Item 4-Earthwork and Sub-grade in Embankment/Cutting, Item 5-Sub-base, Item 6-Base course-Water BoundMacadam and Item 7-Bituminous Layer basedupon their contribution in the overall Unsatis-

factory Grading (U) of road works and Itemsas below:

i. To find out share of important Items/subitems with respect to UnsatisfactoryGrading (U) to Total number of NQMInspections.

ii. To find out share of important Items/SubItems with respect to Unsatisfactory Grad-ing (U) to Total number NQM Inspections

Analysis DetailsLevel ofAnalysis

Analysis ResultsExpressed in Terms

of Percentage

Table 2: Share of Important Items/ Sub Items With Respectto Unsatisfactory Grading (U) to Total Number of NQM Inspections

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Analysis Resultsexpressed in terms

of percentage

Table 3: Share of Important Items/Sub Items with Respectto Unsatisfactory Grading (U) to Total Number of NQM Inspections with U Grading



of percentage

Table 4: Share of various Sub Items Contributing to Overall Unsatisfactory (U) Gradingfor Item 4-Earthwork and Sub-grade in Embankment/Cutting

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of percentage

Table 5: Share of Various Sub Items Contributing to OverallUnsatisfactory (U) Grading for Item 5-Sub-base Course



of percentage

Table 6: Share of Various Sub Items Contributingto Overall Unsatisfactory (U) Grading for Item 6-Base-Course



of percentage

Table 7: Share of various Sub Items contributing to overall Unsatisfactory (U) Gradingfor Item 7-Bituminous Layer

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awarded with Unsatisfactory (U) overallGrading.

iii. To find out share of various Sub itemscontributing to overall Unsatisfactory (U)Grading of different Items.

iv. To rank different Items/sub items contri-buting to Unsatisfactory (U) grading.

An analysis has been carried out for diff-erent stages as mentioned above and theanalysis results along-with Item Rankings (IR)contributing overall Unsatisfactory (U) gradingof work as well as Sub-Item Ranking (SIR) con-tributing overall Unsatisfactory (U) grading ofItems are given in Tables 2 to 7.

CONCLUSIONThe following conclusions are drawn from thestudy results:

i. The quality of Item 6 Base course-waterBound Macadam contributing the highestwhile the quality of Item 7 BituminousLayer contributing least for Unsatisfactory(U) overall grading of works amongst theItems considered in the study.

ii. The quality of Sub-Item 4B Compactioncontributing the highest while the sub-item4A Quality of Material for Embankment/Sub-grade contributing least for Unsatis-factory (U) overall grading of Item 4 Earthwork and Sub-grade in Embankment/Cutting amongst the different sub-items.

iii. The quality of Sub-Item 5A Grain size con-tributing the highest while the quality ofsub-item 5B plasticity contributing least forUnsatisfactory (U) overall grading of Item

5 sub-base course amongst the differentsub-items.

iv. The quality of sub-item 6A grain size ofcourse aggregate contributing the highestwhile the quality of sub-item 6B plasticityof crushable aggregate used as fillercontributing least for Unsatisfactory (U)overall grading of Item 6 base course-Water Bound Macadam amongst thedifferent sub-items.

v. The quality of sub-item 7D Thickness ofBituminous Layer contributing the highestwhile the quality of sub-item 7C LayingTemperature of mix contributing least forUnsatisfactory (U) overall grading of Item7 Bituminous Layer Premix Carpet(PMC)/Surface Dressing (SD) amongstthe different sub-items.

REFERENCES1. Ministry of Rural Development (2012),

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak YojanaProgramme Guidelines, Government ofIndia.

2. National Rural Roads Development Agency(2007), Guidelines for Quality Monitoring byNational Quality Monitors under Third Tierof Quality Mechanism, Ministry of RuralDevelopment, Government of India.

3. National Rural Roads Development Agency(2011), National Rural Roads DevelopmentAgency- Annual Report 2010-2011, Ministryof Rural Development, Government of India.

4. Website: ‘omms.nic.in’, Accessed on 07-04-2012.

Documents

ANALYSIS OF QUALITY INSPECTION REPORTS OF NATIONAL … · ANALYSIS OF QUALITY INSPECTION REPORTS OF NATIONAL QUALITY MONITORS FOR PMGSY ROADS IN INDIA Aruna Thube1* and Dattatraya