Inspection and test plan

ITP

The schedule agreed before work starts of every inspection and test to be carried out on a package, who does it, what it is checked against, and which are hold or witness points.

An ITP sets out, for a work package, each activity and the inspections and tests it will receive: the reference document (specification clause, drawing, standard), the acceptance criteria, the frequency, who inspects (the contractor, the main contractor, the client, a third party), the records to be produced, and the type of point. A hold point is one where work cannot proceed until the inspection is passed and signed off; a witness point is one where the client is invited to attend but work proceeds if they do not; a review point is a check of records. The ITP is agreed with the client before the work starts so nobody is surprised by what is asked for later.

The ITP is the spine of a quality plan for a package: the QA inspection checklists hang off it, the NCRs reference it, and the handover file is organised around it. For a steel fabricator under BS EN 1090, the ITP covers material certificates, welding procedure qualification, welder qualification, weld inspection levels by execution class, dimensional checks, surface preparation and coating thickness, and the declaration of performance. A subcontractor who turns up with an ITP is treated differently from one who does not.

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