Frequently Asked Questions

1. Project-Specific Quality Plan vs. Company Quality Manual

Project-Specific Quality Plan (PQP)

A project-specific quality plan is written for one project. It explains how you will meet the owner’s or GC’s quality requirements on that specific job.

Typical use cases include:

Required by an owner, GC, or public agency as part of a contract
Tied to one set of specifications and one project schedule
Describes roles, inspections, testing, and records for that job only

Think of it as: “Here’s how we will control quality on this project.”

Company Quality Manual (QMS Manual)

A company quality manual describes your company-wide quality management system. It explains how you run your business day-to-day to control quality across all projects.

Typical use cases include:

Required for prequalification, approved vendor lists, or certifications (for example, AISC, ISO 9001)
Used to show that you have standard processes for planning, executing, checking, and improving your work
Stays in place as a living system even as individual projects start and finish

Think of it as: “Here’s how we manage quality in our company, on every project.”

Which do you need?

If your owner/GC is asking for a plan for a specific job, you need a project-specific quality plan.
If you need to qualify your company, demonstrate a formal quality system, or work toward ISO 9001 or a certification, you need a company quality manual (often with supporting procedures and forms).

In many cases, contractors need both: a company manual for the overall system plus project plans that plug into it.

2. When to Purchase Simple, Comprehensive, or ISO 9001 Packages

Every contractor is at a different point in their quality journey. Here’s a practical way to decide which type of package fits your situation.

Simple / Essentials Project Quality Plan

Best when:

The owner/GC has basic quality requirements.
You’re a smaller contractor or subcontractor.
You need a plan that is clear, complete, but lean.
Your projects are typically 1M or less.

This is a good fit for projects where the requirement is simply “Provide a project quality plan” without a long, detailed checklist.

Comprehensive Project Quality Plan

Best when:

The owner/GC has detailed QC requirements, checklists, or specifications.
You work on larger or higher-risk projects
You have more demanding clients.
Your projects are typically over 2M.
You want a plan that can stand up to formal submittal reviews, audits, or public-sector expectations.

This is a good fit for contractors working with federal, state, municipal, transportation, or large private owners, and for subcontractors working under tier-one GCs with robust quality expectations.

ISO 9001 / Company QMS Package

Best when:

You want a formal, documented quality management system for your company.
A customer or certification body is asking for ISO 9001 compliance.
You want to standardize and improve how you plan work, manage suppliers, control records, and handle nonconformances across all projects.

Quick rule of thumb:

Just need a plan for smaller jobs? Start with a Simple/Essentials
Need a plan for a demanding client or larger project? Choose a Comprehensive project quality plan.
Want something you can modify for both smaller and larger projects? Choose a Comprehensive project quality plan. You can delete sections for smaller jobs.
Need to show your company has a formal system? You’re in ISO 9001 / QMS manual territory.
Work on complex or regulated projects? Choose a Comprehensive project plan and consider an ISO-aligned QMS.

3. Quality Assurance vs. Quality Control (QA vs QC)

Quality Assurance (QA)

Quality Assurance is about your process or system and how you manage work so it is done right the first time.

QA typically includes:

Company policies and procedures,
How you qualify and train people,
How you plan work and review submittals,
How you manage suppliers and subcontractors, and
How you handle nonconformances and corrective action.

Think of QA as: “How we plan, organize, and manage our work so it consistently meets requirements.”

Quality Control (QC)

Quality Control is about checking specific work and making sure it meets the requirements on a particular project.

QC typically includes:

Inspections and tests,
Hold points and approvals,
Checklists and forms,
Verifying materials, installations, and workmanship, and
Documenting results and fixing nonconforming work.

Think of QC as: “How we inspect, test, and document that the work meets the requirements.”

Most customers combine the two and simply say, “Submit your QA/QC Plan.” Even when a requirement calls for a Quality Control Plan or a Quality Assurance Plan. In practice, they want to see that you have both:

A system for managing quality (QA), and
A plan for inspections, tests, and records on their project (QC).

Do First Time Quality documents cover both QA and QC?

Yes. Our document packages are written to address both Quality Assurance and Quality Control:

Company Quality Manuals and ISO 9001 QMS packages focus more on QA. They describe how your company plans, manages, and improves quality across all projects, including procedures for planning, training, document control, purchasing, inspections, nonconformances, and corrective action.
Project-Specific Quality Plans (Simple/Comprehensive) focus more on QC for a given project. They show how you will perform inspections and tests, use checklists, control records, and meet the GC/owner’s requirements for that job.

When a GC or owner asks for a “QA/QC, QC, QA, or Quality Plan,” your First Time Quality documents are designed so that, once customized, they can demonstrate both:

Quality Assurance — your organized system and responsibilities, and
Quality Control — your specific inspections, tests, records, and corrective action process.

4. Why GCs/Owners Don’t Mind Template-Based Documents

This is a common concern, but owners and GCs care about different things than many contractors expect.

They often prefer a “First Time Quality document” because they know it will cover all of their requirements. In fact, some owners and GC refer their contractors to us for just that reason.

Furthermore, they care that your plan:

Addresses their requirements and specification sections,
Mitigates their risks and transfers the ones to you.
Is complete, organized, and understandable, and
Is clearly customized to your company and project.

They do not see our base templates—they see only your finished, customized plan with your:

Company name and logo,
Project name, site information, and scope,
Roles, responsibilities, and contacts, and
Specific inspection, testing, and record-keeping procedures.

Even when two contractors start with the same template, their final documents differ because they perform different trades, have different internal processes, and work under different project requirements. From the GC/owner perspective, what matters is whether your plan clearly shows how your company will control quality, safety, or environmental risks on their project.

5. Why Copying a Plan from the Internet Is Risky

Copying a plan you find online is tempting, but it often creates more problems than it solves.

Common issues with copied plans include:

Wrong company and project details still buried in the document,
Outdated standards or references (old spec versions, superseded codes),
Requirements that don’t fit your trade or scope, and
Internal contradictions that a reviewer or auditor will catch.

Risks include:

Plan rejection by the owner or GC,
Loss of credibility with clients and reviewers,
Difficulty defending your plan during an incident, claim, or audit, and
Potential copyright issues if you use proprietary content without permission.

With First Time Quality, you start with legitimate, professionally written templates designed for your type of work and delivered in Word so you can safely customize instead of patching together random documents from the Internet. The documents are copyright protected, but First Time Quality gives you permission to freely use the documents for your company’s internal uses and for submittal to customers that request it. We do not include our “First Time Quality” name on your document, but we do include a “copyright” in the footer so that your customer knows they are not to share your documents.

6. One-Time Fee vs. Subscription

Your purchase from First Time Quality is a one-time fee for the documents you select.

No subscriptions
No recurring charges
No portal access that disappears if you stop paying

You receive fully editable Word documents and the right to edit and reuse them for your company’s projects, subject to our license terms for internal company use. You’re not renting access; you’re acquiring a lasting set of templates for your business.

7. Annual Updates and Fees

There is no mandatory annual update fee.

Most quality, safety, and environmental standards do not change every year. Because your documents are in Word, you can:

Update code and standard references as needed,
Add new customer or GC requirements, and
Refine procedures as your company grows.

When major standards change or we release significantly revised editions, you can choose to:

Update your existing documents yourself, or
Purchase updated versions if and when it makes sense for your company.

There are no automatic charges and no forced yearly upgrades—you stay in control.

8. Do I Need a Separate Quality Plan for Every Project?

Your company quality manual describes your overall system, but most owners and GCs expect a project-specific plan tailored to the scope, specifications, and site conditions for each job.

Once you customize your first project plan using First Time Quality templates, updating it for future projects is much faster than starting from scratch. You can reuse your structure and company-specific content while changing project details, specs, and roles as needed.

9. Can I Combine Quality, Safety, and Environmental into One Plan?

It depends on what your customer requires.

Some owners and GCs allow a combined QA/QC, safety, and environmental plan.
Others expect separate documents (for example, a quality plan, a company health and safety program, and an environmental protection or risk plan).

First Time Quality templates are designed so you can meet the exact requirement you are given—whether that is a standalone quality plan, a company safety program, an environmental plan, or a coordinated set of documents that work together.

10. How Long Does It Take to Customize the Documents?

Most contractors can complete the initial customization of a project plan or manual in a few hours, depending on project complexity and client requirements.

First Time Quality offers a turnkey document that is fully customized to your specific project if that’s what you want. Otherwise, preparing your plan for a specific project includes:

Inserting your company name, logo, and contacts, (you can use Find/Replace for some of this)
Completing some of the forms included within the plan such:
- Subcontractor and Supplier List
- Inspection and Test Plan
- List of Work Tasks
- Inspection Checklists

Adjusting the plan for future jobs is much quicker.