Instructor: Paul Spite

Board: ARE Prep

Credit Hours: 1.00

Approval Number: PACE-0635


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Course Description

Quality is a term often bandied about, as though it is a product we can produce. And perhaps to some degree, it is. But I think of quality more as a mindset, a natural byproduct of what I call a spirit of excellence. 
 
A variety of tools exist for keeping track of, and checking on, the quality of what we produce. These will be explored in this course. We will also discuss how and why we do this. In the past, quality checks have often been viewed as a defense against litigation arising from errors and omissions. 
 
They should also be an extension of the natural pride inherent in the profession of architecture.


Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this module, the student will be able to:

  • Identify typical reasons expensive project redesign occurs, shortening timelines and lessening quality.
  • Discuss typical reasons scope changes occur, and their potential impact on quality.
  • Evaluate the use of checklists, in a quest for project quality.
  • Describe quality issues with the creation of drawings.
  • Examine quality issues with the creation of specifications.
  • Explain different methodologies used to control quality in architectural firms.
  • Interpret management strategies to improve the quality of firm projects.
  • Define corporate knowledge as a quality management tool.


Instructor Bio

Paul SpitePaul Spite, BS, BA
AFD Consulting, Founder and Principal

Paul is a Registered Architect with over forty years of experience, a course developer and has been a teacher in multiple venues in the past. He is also a writer in many venues, having developed many studies, a few published articles, numerous short stories, multiple screenplays, two non-fiction manuals for church design and one novel. More to the focus of this endeavor, Paul has also created presentations for twenty-six lunch and learn presentations for building material manufacturers, webinars covering the subjects of Aging-in-Place and Architectural Acoustics and eleven distance learning courses for architects, engineers and contractors. As he nears retirement from managing his small architectural practice, Paul hopes to focus even more of his energy on teaching and on course development.



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