Quality control is not a catch phrase or a business buzz word at DOWL. Rather, it is a culture woven into the way we provide professional services to our clients. The QAMP (Quality Advancement and Management Plan) spells out the policies and procedures that DOWL uses to manage and continually improve our service to our clients. It is not simply a matter of checking our work (although that is part of it), but it is establishing a culture of quality that has tangible payback to our clients. Our QAMP forms the underlying base from which project specific quality control is conducted. DOWL's QAMP covers the following items:

General Management: This section describes DOWL's mission statement and core values, discusses growth and leadership goals and vision, presents the outline of the organizational structure of the company and how decisions are made and at what level, and generally sets the standards and expectations for managing the company, reinvesting capital in the company, and serving our clients.

Human Resources: This section describes how DOWL recruits, retains, compensates, trains and mentors, and communicates with employees and human resource-related business associates.

Project Management: In this section, we cover the issues of negotiating fair and reasonable contracts, methods for managing scope, schedule and budget, work flow processes and quality responsibilities, and working with subcontractors and construction contractors to deliver the best service possible to our clients.

Quality Management: This section sets the stage for how, when, and by whom all written documents will be reviewed prior to being submitted to clients. Maybe most importantly, this section defines how we will measure "quality" and how lessons learned will be integrated into future projects.

Information Systems Management: This section addresses DOWL's policies on telephone, computer, electronic mail, and Internet/Intranet usage. Both software and hardware licensing and standards are covered in this section, as is data management and maintaining confidentiality and security of our systems.

Financial Management: This section covers financial policies and procedures, business financial goals and key indicators, overhead control, billing and collection procedures, management of cash and expenses, and purchasing procedures.

Business Development: This section covers DOWL's approach to reaching out to our existing clients and teaming partners, as well as our approach to developing new clients and providing them important information on the value that the DOWL team brings to projects. Additional sections cover important topics relating to document development, production and retention; CAD drawing management and our approach to geographical information systems and interfacing with client databases.

DOWL's QAMP is a testament to the fact that when DOWL as a group sets our minds to a task, we can accomplish much together. The QAMP is used daily, there is an emphasis on quality within the firm, and we have one clearinghouse location for all matters related to DOWL and our approach to meeting our clients expectations and keeping the company strong and thriving.