Executives from Vail Resorts Development Company, The Ritz-Carlton, Vail Mountain, the Town of Vail, and Old Republic Construction Program Group, gathered to show support as OAC Management Inc. presented Vail Resorts Development Company with the first of its kind “Quality Assurance Observation Certification,” for the Ritz-Carlton at Vail.
A Quality Assurance Observation Certification (“QAO Certified”) is a certificate issued to a project team by OAC Management Incorporated, which certifies that certain Program Requirements1 and protocols have been followed throughout the completion of a project. Quality Assurance Observation is the act of verifying, at predetermined incremental stages, the condition of a particular scope of work, activity, task or assembly, meets and/or exceeds the distinctive characteristics, properties or attributes that have been specified and defined.
The “QAO Certified” designation not only sets Ritz-Carlton apart and keeps them on top of the resort industry, but also captures the three most common construction defects that so often appear after a project is complete – water infiltration, sound migration and air infiltration. In completing a “QAO Certified” program, the owner, developer, contractor and insurer are assured a world class product that meets and/or exceeds the highest of industry standards for installation and that verifications have been performed throughout the life of the project.
“You can achieve the highest level of certification offered by the United States Green Building Council (i.e. LEED); you can pass every inspection required under the International Building Code; you can get every Federal Tax credit offered by Energy Star; and you can pass every inspection required by third party and municipalities; and when your project is complete, you can still end up with a product that has major construction defects,” Erik Peterson, President of OAC Management, told his audience at the Ritz. “With a Quality Assurance Observation Certification program, you won’t necessarily eliminate every potential problem, but you can be certain you will dramatically reduce the number of potential issues that you could otherwise have to face after the project is complete – thus eroding profits and damaging the brand that you have worked so hard to preserve.”
OAC Management Incorporated is a Professional Owner’s Representation company that serves the Real Estate, Development, and Construction industry with a full range of project management and administrative services that lend to a comprehensive approach to Risk Management.
1The QAOC Program Requirements for The Ritz Carlton® Residences & Club at Vail were conducted on the building envelope, waterproofing and interior demising walls only.