A radon measurement professional should develop a QAP which includes the following elements:
Policy Statement
A policy statement briefly explains, in the most general terms, what you are doing and why. This should include a commitment to providing quality services to your clients, and working in accordance with your state regulations or national standards.
Management and Organization
All individuals who have responsibilities in providing radon services must be identified. Three basic sections encompass the Management and Organization component of the QAP:
Personnel Qualifications & Training
Your radon staff needs to be qualified. Part of the QAP is to establish what training and qualification requirements you have for your radon staff. This includes identifying the training requirements for both licensed/certified and unlicensed/non-certified workers. For each worker, you are required to keep and maintain evidence of all training for the duration of employment, and for five years past the end of employment.
Procurement of Items and Services
To ensure that your radon services are reliable, you need to plan and control your purchase of equipment and services from suppliers. When you order equipment, you should be sure to clearly describe the item or service being purchased and the associated technical and quality specifications of the purchase.
Control of Documents and Records
All documents and records relating to your radon work must be carefully controlled. In the QAP, you need to spell out which documents you are going to use, how you are going to use them, how you will replace outdated documents, and how you are going to store your documents and records to ensure their future protection and availability. Records of radon measurements, mitigations, QAP, calibration measurements, equipment repairs and worker protections plans shall be retained by the license/certification for at least 5 years or the length of time of any warranty or guarantees, whichever is longer.
Calibration
Use of instruments and testing equipment used in your radon program needs to be controlled, and the devices need to be calibrated at specified intervals so that their accuracy is kept within regulatory limits. In the QAP, you need to layout your program for ensuring that each of your instruments will be calibrated.
Planning
For a radon measurement or mitigation organization, there is a business need to attain and maintain a desired, or required, level of quality of services. The consistent fulfillment of this need is related to the planned and efficient use of technology, personnel, and materials. Planning provides applicants for a Measurement license or certification an opportunity to ensure that functions are consistent with and fulfill specified requirements state regulations or national standards and the applicant’s quality goals and procedures.
Computer Hardware and Software
Any computer hardware and software developed specifically for use in your radon business must be documented, including where they were acquired and how they are installed, tested, used, maintained, modified and controlled. Any changes to hardware or software must be tested and documented.
Suggestions and Complaints
Your QAP should include a procedure for accepting, assessing and responding to suggestions and complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, and others. This procedure should include documenting the suggestion or complaint, assessing it, determining how you will consider alternative resolutions for the problem and carrying out a response.
Corrective Actions
You need to describe how corrective actions-whether they originate in a periodic review, an annual program audit, or from suggestions or complaints-will be determined and implemented. This includes detailing how the proposed remedy will be implemented and how you will verify its effectiveness once implemented. This should also include assessing any impact the corrective action will have on other aspects of your program.
Standard Operating Procedures
All relevant aspects of your radon activities should have written standardized procedures. In your QAP, you need to establish which standard procedures are necessary, who will develop and use them, and how staff will be trained in their use.
Appendices to QAP Descriptions
In your QAP, descriptions include pertinent information such as definitions, acronyms, illustrations, standard forms, tables, charts, etc.