Book excerpt: In addition to quality control (QC), this book introduces the concept of quality assurance (QA). Quality assurance has a number of definitions, but in general is the combination of the quality assurance plan with procedures through which the quality control inspector can inspect in the field. The book is arranged in categories so that is can be used in handbook fashion; each section stands independent of the others. The arrangement of the major portion of the book is organized in the same format as we usually find in building construction specification, the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) format.