Quality Management In Construction

Editor's Notes

• #6: QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES The quality management principles are a set of comprehensive and fundamental rules or beliefs for leading and operating an organisation. They aim at continually improving performance over long term, by focusing on customers while addressing the needs of all stakeholders.As per the ISO, the following eight quality management principles can facilitate any organisation in creating quality work culture and successful implementation of quality management.1. Customer-focused OrganisationOrganizations depend on their customers. Customer-focused organisations produce products and services that customers need and provide them satisfaction. This can be achieved by the following actions: • Identify customer needs. • Design a product that responds to customer needs. • Produce and deliver the product as per the design. • Enhance after-sales service and handle complaints quickly. • Measure customer satisfaction. • Improve quality to delight the customer.2. LeadershipSenior leaders of an organisation need to set directions and create customer orientation, clear and visible quality values and high expectations. Values, directions and expectations must address all stakeholders. The senior leaders must commit to the development of the entire workforce and should encourage participation, learning innovation and creativity by all employees. Through their personal roles in planning, communications, review or organisation performance and employee recognition, the leaders serve as role models who reinforce values and expectations and build leadership and initiative.3. Involvement of PeopleInvolvement of the people is one way of improving quality and productivity. Involving people at all levels enables their abilities to be used for the benefit of the organisation. This can be done by providing a good corporate work culture, providing an interesting work system and environment, and building the capability of people to perform assigned tasks in the organisation. 4. Process ApproachA desired result is achieved more efficiently when related resources and activities are managed as a process.5. Systems Approach to ManagementIdentifying, understanding and managing a system of interrelated processes for a given objective contributes to the effectiveness and efficiency of the organisation. 6. Continuous ImprovementA permanent objective of the organisation is that it should continuously improve performance by addressing the needs of all the interested parties. 7. Factual Approach to Decision-makingEffective decisions are based on the logical or intuitive analysis of data and information8. Mutually Beneficial Supplier RelationshipThe ability of the organisation and its suppliers to create value is enhanced by mutually beneficial relationships.The main purposes of quality management systems can be summarised as below:• Customer satisfaction/customer delight by assuring the required minimum level of consistent quality.• Satisfying 'internal customers'.• Assuring the management of doing this at minimum possible total cost of quality.• Maximising output to input ratios of processes.• 'Prevention is better than cure' strategy to be implemented.• Improve quality of communication all around.• Develop competent sub-contractors as partners.• Make continual improvement an ongoing feature of the company's culture.
• #16: It introduced the sayings "fit for purpose" and "do it right the first time". It includes the regulation of the quality of raw materials, assemblies, products and components; services related to production; and management, production, and inspection processes.
• #17: Quality control principles can also be utilized in service industries.
• #22: The need for audit Once procedures are established, how can it be ensured that the procedures are being implemented and are effective? What takes the place of inspection in the old system of operation? The answer is a compliance audit.An audit is undertaken to indicate whether a procedure or job instruction is working satisfactorily. Verifying, by audit, that the quality system requirements are being followed throughout the organization and that effective procedures and job instructions are being implemented by all departments or disciplines.Verifying that those responsible for controlling and checking an activity have done so in a systematic manner and that there is objective evidence available to confirm such;Ensuring that all procedural non-conformances are resolved.Ensuring that fundamental working methods are established and that fully approved procedures are developed to cover them and that all departments and personnel are aware of, and have access to, current versions of these procedures.Verifying that all procedures are regularly reviewed and updated as necessary.Determining and reporting the principal causes of quality losses and non-conformances;Determining, with senior management, where improvements are required and, where necessary, recommending the corrective action.
• #23: Quality control is the collective term for in-process activities and techniques intended to create specific quality characteristics. These includes monitoring, reduction of variation, elimination of known causes, and efforts to increase economic effectiveness.Quality ControlQuality control refers to the activities associated with the creation of project deliverables. It is used to verify that deliverables are of acceptable quality and that they meet the completeness and correctness criteria established in the quality planning process. Quality control is conducted continually throughout a project and is the responsibility of team members and the project manager.Quality ToolsList any quality-related tools that this project will utilize
• #36: Preventing mistakes is much more time and cost-effective than correcting them.