IQS Owner Zach Bergstrom
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
Looking at all the construction companies in and around Los Alamos, Zach Bergstrom noticed something was missing.
“I noticed a lack of understanding of quality requirements and difficulty in implementing measures to meet those requirements,” he said.
As a result, Bergstrom founded Integrated Quality Solutions (IQS) in March. His company offers a wide range of services that fall under quality control, quality assurance, project management and related specialized services.
“We provide inspection and testing services for construction contractors,” he said. “We can help develop quality programs, perform constructability reviews and generate test plans for complex mechanical systems.”
More specifically, here’s a brief list of other services IQS provides:
- Quality inspection and testing
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) welding program compliance
- Welding program management
- Organization and project quality assessments
- Quality training services
- Design and constructability reviews
- Preparation and review of project submittals
- ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) Programs
- In-process quality verifications
There may be numerous contractors in Los Alamos but what IQS offers is unique; Bergstrom pointed out that there aren’t any quality inspection companies in Los Alamos. Contractors need to look off the hill in either Santa Fe or Albuquerque for this support.
“We really want to be truly local … (and) just make it easier for companies to do the right thing,” he said.
Bergstrom emphasized that ensuring quality is important; not only does a strong quality culture ensure a good product, it minimizes rework. On average, 76% of safety incidents on construction sites in the United States involve rework.
“You can’t inspect quality into a job at the end,” Bergstrom said. “Quality should be built-in to the work from cradle to grave.”
Bergstrom is a first-time business owner, but he is no novice to the construction and quality industries.
Before founding IQS, he worked as a quality manager for Kiewit Construction in New York State. Locally, he worked for JB Henderson as a construction quality control manager where he collaborated with stakeholders to ensure compliance of many diverse construction projects. He has additional nuclear experience as a construction welding engineer for the MOX facility at the Savannah River site, and has also worked on numerous power plants and other industrial projects as a quality inspector.
He also has several certifications including:
- Journeyman’s License – pipefitting.
- American Welding Society Certified Welding Inspector (CWI). He was recognized as the AWS New
- Mexico Section Certified Welding Inspector of the Year for 2019 and
- LANL approved weld inspector.
Bergstrom said by starting his own business, he feels his services and expertise can help the small contractors compete with the larger ones. “I enjoy working with the smaller contractors and helping them be successful at LANL.”
While he brings a lot of experience to the table; being a business owner is a whole new world, Bergstrom said.
Although he had a plan for IQS, he said, “I think the biggest (challenge) was where to even start.”
For that, Bergstrom credited the Small Business Development Center and the network he has developed over more than 15 years in the industry.
As he navigates through entrepreneurship, he said, “You have to have confidence and a good support system.”
For more information about IQS, visit https://www.iqsolutionsco.com/, email zbergstrom@iqsolutionsco.com or call 970.274.8993.
