Summary
In Finnish Transport Agency's (Väylävirasto) design projects, quality assurance is not just a checklist but part of long-term risk management and knowledge retention. The preparation time for road and rail projects can be up to 20 years, making quality assurance exceptionally demanding: information can change owners, systems, and parties multiple times.
In this entirety, the quality assurance process for design projects was developed in several parallel sub-entities: the minimum self-declaration requirement for design and implementation service providers, and the identification and description of the client's quality assurance points, both as a process diagram and as text. The goal was to reduce variation, prevent errors, and ensure that essential information is documented and considered from technical, administrative, and functional perspectives. Furthermore, the work aimed to improve the traceability of project documentation throughout its entire lifecycle.
Digitization is reflected in the design of the self-assignment model document. The developed template is only the first step, and a digital solution will be developed based on it later. Low-code possibilities are currently being explored.
Case: Clarifying the Quality Assurance Process for Design Projects
The long preparation time for road and railway projects (up to 20 years) means that a lot can happen during the project: people change, systems evolve, and constraints become more defined. The task of the quality assurance process is to ensure that the project's critical information is not lost, but rather that it:
- document consistently
- can be found later
- support decision-making and design solutions throughout the entire lifecycle
Quality assurance is built upon quality assurance checkpoints predetermined by the client, which structure the design process. At each checkpoint, both the content of the work and its justification are reviewed, ensuring that the project's technical solutions, administrative requirements, and functional objectives remain aligned.
What was done
· The quality assurance process for design projects was described from the client's perspective.
· Updated the operating system to include corresponding quality assurance texts.
Added examples of utilizing the continuous improvement model and best practices.
· Developed the entirety extensively from 2024 to 2026 in cooperation with various expert groups.
Why does this matter
When quality assurance is clearly described and anchored in the operating system:
· errors and interpretation differences are reduced
clear descriptions facilitate onboarding
the responsibilities are clearly described
· easier adoption of a continuous improvement model
· the requirements of the management system are easier to comply with
· the entirety serves as supporting material for audits and internal inspections
Case: Voluntary self-assignment
Self-delivery is a quality assurance method used in the construction industry: during the construction phase, the contractor is obliged through general terms and conditions to check their own work before handing it over to the client. The same operating logic is desired to be brought into design as well.
Starting from 02/2025, the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency has implemented template models for self-assignment for new projects. A practical challenge had emerged due to the service providers' very different operating models. By standardizing the operating model, the aim was to improve the quality of design.
Nexpert was involved in designing practices for developing model templates in the Väylä context (workshop design and facilitation, organization of review rounds, creation of Excel templates, and presentation of functionalities at various events).
Project starting point
In the design field, it was identified that self-dedication practices varied significantly among service providers: some service providers made very detailed self-dedications. Others, in turn, submitted a document confirming with a signature that the self-dedication had been made.
The gap was to be narrowed by two principles:
- A minimum requirement was defined for the service provider's self-assignment (consistency and comparability).
- This also enables a more precise level of self-provisioning on service providers' own platforms (not hindering good practices).
The goal was to find the ”right way to do things” using Excel as a basis and later transfer the discovered solution into a digital format, for example, as a low-code implementation.
Inclusion and progress
· 2024: several of the client's project managers participated in the design project.
The template was subject to an extensive comment round with project managers from the Finnish Transport Agency and the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment.
· Piloting and corrections based on it.
· 2025: deployment.
· 2026 H1: Feedback round and corrections to design templates, and workshops for construction phase templates (rail, road, ST contract) and modifications.
Goal
To create a common, practical way to use self-assignment templates for design and implementation projects, so that:
quality fluctuations decrease
· cost estimates are refined
At a glance, you can see the project's progress
· operational method also withstands personnel changes
In addition, we train service providers in the use of templates.
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