Quality Assurance Surveillance Plans, or QASPs, are vital elements of a service contract.  Essentially, they are the tool by which Contracting Officer Representatives (CORs) track the contractor’s performance and measure its overall success.  The term “Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan” is only mentioned five times in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), and does not specify what is in a QASP or how to prepare or use one.  This article addresses the FAR entries later, but for now, let us consider the definition of a QASP.  Quality Assurance is a well-known term, and “surveillance” is the term used for checking the work a contractor performs.  “Plan” is self-explanatory, so the term boils down to ‘the plan by which government officials conduct Quality Assurance surveillance of the contractor’s work.”  Of course, what is not mentioned in that description is what is included in the QASP.

The most important parts of the QASP include the specific task(s) to be monitored, the frequency of task performance and task monitoring, the standards to which the task(s) are performed to, and the corrective actions taken for not meeting the standard.  The tasks to be performed should be drawn directly from the contract’s Statement of Work (SOW), or Performance Work Statement (PWS).  Most QASPs appear in matrix format, with tasks broken down by number per the PWS, and then columns for the frequency of performance, frequency of surveillance, and a description or narrative of the standard to be achieved.  Corrective actions are typically found later in the document, and detail what happens when performance falls short of the published standard.  These actions range from simply redoing the work the correct way, to more punitive measures for repeated substandard performance.  While it is possible for the government to exact financial compensation for inferior performance, the whole intent of the QASP is to quickly identify problems and correct them early, before they reach the magnitude that requires consideration.

As noted previously, the FAR addresses QASPs, but only in general principle, not specific application. FAR Part 46 – Quality Assurance, in subpart 46.103 – Contracting Office Responsibilities, states that the Contracting Officer is responsible for “(a) Receiving from the activity responsible for technical requirements any specifications … and other contract quality requirements essential to ensure the integrity of the supplies or services… for service contracts, a quality assurance surveillance plan…”  The same passage clearly states that the requiring activity is responsible for providing the QASP to the Contracting Officer to include in the contract.  This makes sense, since the technical specifics are determined by the requiring activity, but as with most parts of the contract, the CO will probably be involved in either drafting, reviewing or finalizing the QASP.  Later, subpart 46.4 – Government Contract Quality Assurance, states “quality assurance surveillance plans should be prepared in conjunction with the preparation of the statement of work. The plans should specify … (1) All work requiring surveillance; and (2) The method of surveillance.”

FAR Part 37 – Service Contracting, addresses QASPs in subpart 37.604, stating “the Government may either prepare the quality assurance surveillance plan or require the offerors to submit a proposed quality assurance surveillance plan for the Government’s consideration in development of the Government’s plan.”  This is important, because the contractor performing the work will probably have some key inputs for the QASP that will make it a more effective, efficient document. If time and opportunity permit, it is a good idea to have contractors include draft QASPs in their proposal – it helps demonstrate their understanding of the requirement, and gives the technical evaluation team another facet to help differentiate the various proposals.

The other two FAR references appear in Part 8 – Required Sources of Supplies and Services, in subpart 8.406-2 – Inspection and Acceptance, subparagraph (b) Services, and in Part 12 – Acquisition of Commercial Items, in subpart 12.102 – Applicability, in subparagraph (g)(1)(iv).  These entries are much less descriptive, and basically just explain special circumstances that result from using a QASP.

As mentioned above, the real significance of QASPs lies in measuring the contractor’s performance to ensure that standards are met, and describing a plan to correct deficiencies if standards are not met.  When developed properly, a QASP is a very effective tool in the Contracting Officer’s toolbox, and can directly impact the overall success of the contract.