COVID-19 & USACE CQM

USACE CQM Announcement:

The HQUSACE Construction Branch supports granting contractor QC Managers who were in possession of valid CQM certificates (i.e. not delinquent on the 5 year course renewal requirement) as of 01-Mar-2020 with a grace period for obtaining the CQM renewal training of 6-months from the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and USACE being able to provide face to face CQM training.  For example, if a QC Manager has a certificate that was set to expire on 15-Apr-2020, COVID-19 restrictions are lifted on 01-Jul-2020, the CQM certificate would remain valid until 01-Jan-2022.  If a QC Manager has a certificate that expired on 15-Feb-2020, that certificate would be expired and the QC Manager would not meet the requirement for possessing a valid CQM certificate.

HQUSACE Construction Branch also acknowledges that USACE may not be able to provide CQM training to contractors during the pandemic.  For contractor personnel who otherwise fulfill all requirements for designation as a QC Manager but have not had the opportunity to obtain a CQM certificate as a result of pandemic restrictions, HQUSACE supports government personnel tentatively accepting the proposed personnel until COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.  Once the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and USACE is able to provide face to face CQM training, the proposed personnel would have 120 days to obtain the CQM certificate.

HQUSACE Construction Branch DOES NOT support constructive suspensions of work, letters of concern, cure notices, or removal of personnel due to contractor inability to obtain CQM certification and/or recertification due to restrictions resulting from COVID-19.
As some of you may be aware, we are currently updating the CQM training and associated guidance for the CQM requirement.  In the interim and due to COVID-19 restrictions, several districts have proactively taken it upon themselves to reformat the course and provide it in a virtual format to contractors.  While virtual versions of the course are not currently recommended, until the updated training and guidance is issued, HQUSACE Construction Branch DOES recognize certificates issued as a result of virtual training by a certified instructor as valid.  You can find listings of CQM training opportunities by visiting the ULC website for CQM: https://ulc.usace.army.mil/CQMLinks_Grid_v2.aspx

Note that per USACE most recent guidance, ECB 2021-2 Construction Quality Management (CQM) for Contractor's Course, dated 20 Jan 2021 "Virtual courses may be offered by NAVFAC or USACE components or may be administered through a non-government organization with instruction provided by certified USACE or NAVFAC instructors."  Therefore, we caution individuals to verify that any NGO providing online training is utilizing a certified NAVFAC or USACE instructor.