We talk a lot about SSPC certifications here at TruQC. We’ve previously written guides for what to have on hand for both a QP 1 and a QP 2 certifications. We’ve even followed the progress of one company, Graydaze Contracting, as our app helped them to earn their own SSPC QP 1 certification.

It’s an area we talk about often because we think it’s exactly the sort of project where QC software can make a valuable contribution. After all, the entire painting industry is increasingly headed in the direction of digital documentation. Even the SSPC has released an app for the purpose of making digital retrieval of their important documentation more convenient.

But how exactly can digital documentation software make it easier for industrial painting companies to meet SSPC standards? A few key features stick out.

Document storage

The paperwork necessary to meet SSPC standards piles up quickly–work authorizations, job specifications, change orders, and copies of OSHA regulations, to name a few. By saving you time, space and material, making sure the necessary documentation is present and accounted for is easier when it’s digital, plain and simple.

TruQC’s Document Library helps to keep the relevant paperwork all in one place and organized according to their respective jobs. Store documents like SDS, PDS, blueprints, scopes of work, contracts, employee certifications, equipment user manuals and more are all accessible with the ability to update anytime, anywhere. In addition, cloud storage allows changes to these documents to be updated instantaneously (but more on that later).

Useful reports

Having a report designed to be compliant with SSPC Paint Application Standard No. 2 (SSPC PA-2) is a tremendous advantage when aiming for these certifications. Common industry documentation items should be accounted for in this report, such as environmental conditions, surface prep, hold-point inspections, containment verification and so on. It also helps if the report is compatible with coating thickness gages, so things like calibration and accuracy can be tested and documented. At TruQC, our Daily Inspection Report was inspired by all these needs.

TruQC’s reports, like the Take 5 Report and the Toolbox Talk Report, also facilitate compliance with many of the safety requirements of both SSPC QP1 and QP 2 certifications.

The Take 5 Report was, in fact, designed as a place for documenting the hazards presented by the upcoming workday, a specific qualification for a QP 2 certification. The Weekly Environmental Report makes it easy to document the precautions being taken during the hazardous paint removal process that must accompany a QP 2 certification project. Our Incident Report documents and organizes accidents and injuries as required for QP 1 certifications.

SSPC QP 1 and QP 2 standards were originally implemented as a national standard for evaluating the capabilities of painting contractors. While even the most useful reports don’t make a contractor capable, they should help skilled contractors to prove and display their capabilities.

Chain of Command

SSPC requires that a Quality Control Supervisor and/or a Quality Systems Manager be named, and that all quality control documentation flows through them. TruQC’s permission-based chain of command was built to satisfy this requirement.

Foremen and the project superintendents use the software on-site, and then forward their reports to the project manager. Once these documents are reviewed by the QSM and QCS, they can then be forwarded along to the project’s owner. While being drafted, edits can be made to the documentation. Once these forms are submitted, however, it is no longer possible to make changes.

Cloud connectivity

For Graydaze, seamless communication made all the difference during their QP 1 audit. In order for all our reports to be useful, they have to be processed in real-time. Cloud computing makes this possible. TruQC’s File Cabinet feature syncs all documents via the cloud to make sure all parties are working on the same version of a document, and that all field and office data match up.

Here’s what Donald Davis, the head of business development for Graydaze, had to say about being plugged into the cloud:

“TruQC gives our organization the ability to communicate in all aspects of the job, both inbound and outbound, and in virtually real-time. With crews dispersed throughout the country, in different time-zones and attending to the particulars of different jobs, it’s paramount that documentation, validation, accountability and the timely exchange of information occur seamlessly.”

Find out more

You can access the full Graydaze case study, and find out how TruQC helped them save more than 900 hours during their QP 1 certification process, by downloading it here.

For your own walkthrough of our software, click on the icon below to schedule a live demo. We’d be happy to show you exactly how TruQC can help your company meet the SSPC standards.