Quality Management in Utility Scale Solar Construction

This course is self-paced, so you don’t need to be logged in at any specific time. You can get started immediately after you enroll and the course materials will remain in your account with minimum guaranteed access for 12 months (1 year) after enrollment.

A high level introduction of the basics of solar PV. Firstly we’re going to look at some real fundamentals of solar PV. We'll go through the real basics of electricity so that we’re all on the same page there – we'll review the theory behind voltage, current, power and energy– and make sure that our understanding of these concepts is on point. We’ll then look at the flow of electricity though a solar PV plant – and touch on some of the key components like combiner boxes, inverters and transformers, which we’ll come back to later in the section in more detail. Then from a high level, we’ll look at some of the key players who are involved in the development, engineering, installation and long term maintenance of a large scale solar power plant… and the flow of a project from initiation all the way through to completion.

In this section, we’re going to first lay the groundwork for quality management – explaining why it’s so important in all construction activities, but particularly utility scale solar… and detailing how quality is a topic that has an outsized effect on many other critical processes and systems on a project… and can affect safety, schedule, budget and client relationships. We’ll then look at some wider quality management principles – gaining a general understanding of concepts like customer focus, continual improvement, process based planning and using data to make good decisions. And finally, we’ll wrap up this section by diving into Quality Assurance and Quality Control – or QA/QC. These are two concepts that are often used in the same breath, and many people don’t actually understand the core differences between these two components of a quality management system – so I think it’s worthwhile spending some time discussing the differences and interactions between QA and QC.

We’ll begin by reemphazing the importance of planning – and how critical it is to go into projects well prepared. We’ll talk in depth about best practices for quality management in solar construction, and dive deep into the various inspections that need to be undertaken at each step of the build. We’ll then spend some time talking about drawings, and making sure that we have a thorough understanding of why well detailed engineering drawings, solid revision control and good RFI processes are so critical for a high quality project. We’ll touch base on quality documentation, and best practices for designing and managing this paperwork. And then we’ll finish up by going through lessons learned procedures and how to ensure ongoing improvement is a part of your teams’ culture.

In this section, we’re going to zoom out a bit from the highly technical and site specific discussions that we’ve been having over the previous lectures – and discuss some broader concepts in regards to career planning, leadership skills, resume building, professional etiquette and a whole lot more. Our goal here is just to touch on some of these ideas and remind you of their broader importance – I’ve seen plenty of people held back from taking the next step in their career because although their technical expertise was solid, they weren’t perceived as ‘client facing’, or their resume was nowhere near up to scratch. I’ve always thought that these are relatively easy things to get right – but you might not know what you don’t know! Hopefully we can help change that and give some perspective of what employers are looking for and provide some tips and tricks to help you take the next step in your career – and truly expand your opportunities.

This is our last module but you still have access to the all of course materials for 12 months (1 year), so keep working and you'll be able to complete the course at your own pace. After your year of access expires you can optionally extend access with a HeatSpring Membership. Enjoy the course and keep in touch!