CEAC Quality Control & Process Improvement 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A CEAC consultant is asked to establish a baseline quality metric for accessibility survey accuracy. Which data source is MOST appropriate?
- Client satisfaction survey scores
- Percentage of re-inspections triggered by disputed measurements (Correct answer)
- Number of reports delivered on time
- Total square footage assessed per field day
Correct answer: Percentage of re-inspections triggered by disputed measurements
Re-inspection rates triggered by disputed measurements directly reflect the accuracy of original field work and serve as a meaningful quality baseline.
Question 2: In the PDCA cycle applied to accessibility consulting, what occurs during the 'Check' phase?
- Identifying areas where ADA standards are unclear
- Implementing the corrective action plan across all active projects
- Comparing actual outcomes to the objectives set in the Plan phase (Correct answer)
- Standardizing the successful process for future projects
Correct answer: Comparing actual outcomes to the objectives set in the Plan phase
The Check phase involves analyzing results to determine whether the implemented plan achieved its intended improvement objectives.
Question 3: Which of the following represents a leading indicator of quality in an accessibility assessment program?
- Number of client complaints received last quarter
- Percentage of inspectors who completed calibration training this month (Correct answer)
- Total deficiencies documented in the last 50 reports
- Average report revision turnaround time
Correct answer: Percentage of inspectors who completed calibration training this month
Calibration training completion is a leading indicator because it predicts future measurement accuracy before errors occur, unlike lagging indicators that measure past failures.
Question 4: A process improvement team creates a diagram showing all steps from initial site contact to final report delivery to identify non-value-added activities. This tool is called a:
- Cause-and-effect (fishbone) diagram
- Value stream map (Correct answer)
- Affinity diagram
- Control chart
Correct answer: Value stream map
A value stream map visualizes every step in a workflow, helping teams identify waste and non-value-added activities for elimination.
Question 5: When a CEAC firm adopts a corrective action plan after identifying systemic report errors, which element is essential to include?
- A list of all past clients notified about potential errors
- A defined timeline, responsible party, and success metric for each corrective action (Correct answer)
- An estimate of revenue lost due to the errors
- A request to waive ADA compliance deadlines for affected clients
Correct answer: A defined timeline, responsible party, and success metric for each corrective action
Effective corrective action plans must specify who is responsible, by when, and how success will be measured to ensure accountability and follow-through.
Question 6: A consultant discovers that ramp slope errors occur most frequently during afternoon field sessions. Applying root cause analysis, what should the team investigate FIRST?
- Whether afternoon clients are more likely to dispute findings
- Environmental and human factors that differ between morning and afternoon sessions (e.g., heat, fatigue) (Correct answer)
- Whether afternoon sites tend to have steeper ramps
- Whether the digital level batteries run low by afternoon
Correct answer: Environmental and human factors that differ between morning and afternoon sessions (e.g., heat, fatigue)
Investigating environmental and human factors that differ by time of day — such as heat affecting equipment or inspector fatigue — directly addresses the time-specific pattern of errors.
Question 7: Which practice BEST supports continuous improvement in a multi-consultant accessibility firm?
- Keeping quality improvement findings confidential to avoid liability
- Holding regular lessons-learned debriefs and updating standard operating procedures accordingly (Correct answer)
- Limiting QC reviews to projects that received client complaints
- Delegating all quality review to the most senior consultant only
Correct answer: Holding regular lessons-learned debriefs and updating standard operating procedures accordingly
Regular lessons-learned debriefs that feed directly into updated SOPs institutionalize improvement and prevent repeat errors across all staff.
CEAC Quality Control & Process Improvement 3
A CEAC consultant is asked to establish a baseline quality metric for accessibility survey accuracy.
Which data source is MOST appropriate?