Quality Control & Process Improvement Flashcards

A floodplain survey project uses an independent check survey to validate primary traverse data. The check survey is performed by a different crew using a different instrument. This QC method best exemplifies:

Answer: Redundancy through independent replication

Using a different crew and instrument to independently replicate measurements provides redundancy that can detect both systematic and random errors that internal checks may miss.

Which of the following best describes a 'corrective action' as distinguished from a 'preventive action' in an ISO 9001-aligned QMS for a floodplain survey firm?

Answer: Corrective action addresses a non-conformance that has already occurred; preventive action addresses potential future non-conformances

ISO 9001 distinguishes corrective action (eliminating the cause of an existing non-conformance) from preventive action (eliminating the cause of a potential non-conformance).

A QC check on a coastal floodplain survey finds that tidal benchmark connections were made to a NOAA benchmark that was subsequently found to have settled 0.08 ft since its last published elevation. What is the correct response?

Answer: Apply a uniform 0.08 ft correction to all derived elevations and document the adjustment

When a datum shift in the reference benchmark is known and quantified, a uniform correction applied to all dependent elevations and documented in the project record is the standard geodetic practice.

In the context of FEMA's Quality Management System for the NFIP mapping program, which metric is used to track the percentage of FIRM products that pass QC review without requiring revision?

Answer: First-pass yield (FPY)

First-pass yield (FPY) measures the proportion of deliverables that meet all quality requirements on the first review without rework, directly reflecting mapping product quality.

A surveying QMS requires that all field notes be countersigned by a Party Chief before leaving the field site. From a quality control perspective, this requirement primarily addresses which type of error?

Answer: Blunders and transcription errors

Supervisory countersignature at the field site catches blunders — large, obvious mistakes such as transposed digits, wrong station identifiers, or missing observations — before they propagate into office processing.

When evaluating the effectiveness of a process improvement implemented in a LOMR workflow, which type of data provides the strongest evidence that the improvement was the cause of the observed quality gain?

Answer: Before-and-after defect rate data collected under controlled conditions with a defined baseline period

Controlled before-and-after defect rate data with a defined baseline provides statistical evidence of change and reduces the likelihood that the improvement is attributable to other factors.

A firm's QMS requires that any change to the floodplain delineation methodology must go through a formal change control process before implementation. The primary purpose of this requirement is to:

Answer: Prevent unauthorized changes that could introduce undocumented variation into deliverable quality

Change control prevents unauthorized or unreviewed methodology changes that could introduce unknown variability, reduce quality, or create non-compliance without a documented impact assessment.