2/18/2016

Quality Management In
Construction
Dr. Hossam Mohamed Toma

Contents

• Construction characteristics

• Quality concept

• Quality definitions

Characteristics of Construction Industry

• Highly specialized (changing market, increased technology)

• Success for contractors is based on:
―Manage personnel
―Control cost
―Finance work
―Estimate jobs
―Schedule the work
―Manage cash flow
―Manage safety
―Manage quality
―Manage risk

1
 2/18/2016

Characteristics of Construction Industry

• Construction projects are difficult to manage because:

―Construction projects are unique

―Involve many skills (repetitive and non-repetitive)

―Dependent upon environmental conditions

―Subject to varied regulations from numerous government agencies

What is Quality?

What does the word “quality” mean to

you?

• Think about a product you bought. How can you define its
“quality”?

• Think about your past experiences staying at various

hotels. Did you stay at a “quality” hotel? What about the
experience made it a “quality” experience for you?

2
 2/18/2016

What is Quality?

• Quality is far larger than business. We talk about

quality in all parts of our lives—in judging art, in
evaluating the things that we make, in describing
our experience. We even talk about quality time
and quality relationships. In the broadest sense,
quality is that which adds value, that which makes
our lives better. Before we try to manage quality,
we should try to understand our experience of
quality.

Quality in different areas of society

Area Examples
Airlines On-time, comfortable, low-cost service
Correct diagnosis, minimum wait time, lower cost,
Health Care
security
Food Services Good product, fast delivery, good environment
Postal Services fast delivery, correct delivery, cost containment
Proper preparation for future, on-time knowledge
Academia
delivery
Consumer Products Properly made, defect-free, cost effective
Insurance Payoff on time, reasonable cost
Military Rapid deployment, decreased wages, no graft
Automotive Defect-free
Communications Clearer, faster, cheaper service

Does Quality Affect My Job?

Poor Quality leads to Complexity
Department Real Work Complexity
Accounting Mailing Invoices Collecting overdue
accounts resulting from
carrier delivery problems
Production Assembly Rework of faulty incoming
materials
Marketing Helping customers buy Handling customer
complaints about poor
quality materials
R&D Learning about customer Redesign due to market
needs research errors
Personnel Training new managers Handling a lawsuit from an
employee who was
mistreated

3
2/18/2016

4
 2/18/2016

Definitions of Quality

• Transcendent definition: excellence

• Product-based definition: quantities of product
attributes
• User-based definition: fitness for intended use;
meeting or exceeding user expectations
• Value-based definition: quality vs. price
• Manufacturing-based definition: conformance to
specifications

Definitions of Quality
• Conformance to specifications (British Defense
Industries Quality Assurance Panel)

• Conformance to requirements (Philip Crosby)

• Fitness for purpose or use (Juran)

• A predictable degree of uniformity and

dependability, at low cost and suited to the market
(Edward Deming)

Definitions of Quality

• Synonymous with customer needs and

expectations (R J Mortiboys)

• Meeting the (stated) requirements of the customer-

now and in the future (Mike Robinson)

5
 2/18/2016

Definitions of Quality

• The total composite product and service

characteristics of marketing, engineering,
manufacturing and maintenance through which the
product and service in use will meet the
expectations by the customer (Armand
Feigenbaum)

Definitions of Quality

• “The degree to which a system, component, or

process meets
(1) specified requirements, and
(2) customer or users needs or expectations” –
IEEE

• The totality of features and characteristics of a

product or service that bears on its ability to
satisfy stated or implied needs” – ISO 8402

Definitions of Quality

• Degree to which a set of inherent characteristics

fulfils requirements – ISO 9000:2000

• Characteristic – distinguishing feature, i.e. physical,

sensory, temporal or functional etc (3.5.1)
• Requirement –need or expectation that is stated or
implied or obligatory, i.e. custom or common
practice for you! (3.1.2)

6
 2/18/2016

Definitions of Quality

• “Quality” means those features of products which

meet customer needs and thereby provide
customer satisfaction. In this sense, the meaning
of quality is oriented to income. The purpose of
such higher quality is to provide greater customer
satisfaction and, one hopes, to increase income.
• However, providing more and/or better quality
features usually requires an investment and hence
usually involves increases in costs. Higher quality
in this sense usually “costs more.”

Definitions of Quality

• “Quality” means freedom from deficiencies—

freedom from errors that require doing work over
again (rework) or that result in field failures,
customer dissatisfaction, customer claims, and so
on. In this sense, the meaning of quality is oriented
to costs, and higher quality usually “costs less.”

Definitions of Quality

• Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Are Not

Opposites. Customer satisfaction comes from
those features which induce customers to buy the
product. Dissatisfaction has its origin in
deficiencies and is why customers complain. Some
products give little or no dissatisfaction; they do
what the producer said they would do. Yet they are
not saleable because some competing product has
features that provide greater customer satisfaction.

7
 2/18/2016

Definitions of Quality

• The early automated telephone exchanges

employed electromagnetic analogue switching
methods. Recently, there was a shift to digital
switching methods, owing to their superior product
features. As a result, analogue switching systems,
even if absolutely free from product deficiencies,
were no longer saleable.

Definitions of Quality
• “Quality is conformance to requirements”
measures how well the product or service meets
the targets and tolerances determined by its
designers. For example, the dimensions of a
machine part may be specified by its design
engineers as 3 .05 inches. This would mean that
the target dimension is 3 inches but the
dimensions can vary between 2.95 and 3.05
inches.

Definitions of Quality
• Similarly, the wait for hotel room service may be
specified as 20 minutes, but there may be an
acceptable delay of an additional 10 minutes. Also,
consider the amount of light delivered by a 60 watt light
bulb. If the bulb delivers 50 watts it does not conform to
specifications. As these examples illustrate,
conformance to specification is directly measurable,
though it may not be directly related to the consumer’s
idea of quality. The preceding definition assumes that
the specifications and requirements have already been
developed. The next thing to look for is conformance to
these requirements.

8
 2/18/2016

Definitions of Quality

• “Quality is fitness for use” focuses on how well

the product performs its intended function or use.
For example, a Mercedes Benz and a Jeep
Cherokee both meet a fitness for use definition if
one considers transportation as the intended
function. However, if the definition becomes more
specific and assumes that the intended use is for
transportation on mountain roads and carrying
fishing gear, the Jeep Cherokee has a greater
fitness for use.

Definitions of Quality

• “Quality is the value for price paid” is a definition of

quality that consumers often use for product or service
usefulness. This is the only definition that combines
economics with consumer criteria; it assumes that the
definition of quality is price sensitive. For example,
suppose that you wish to sign up for a personal
finance seminar and discover that the same class is
being taught at two different colleges at significantly
different tuition rates. If you take the less expensive
seminar, you will feel that you have received greater
value for the price.

Definitions of Quality

• Quality is the degree to which performance

meets expectations. This definition provides a
means to assess quality using a relative measure.

9
 2/18/2016

Definitions of Quality

• Reliability introduces the concept of failure and

time to failure: Reliability is the probability that a
system or component can perform its intended
function for a specified interval under stated
conditions.

Definitions of Quality

• Quality: the totality of features and

characteristics of a product or service that bear
on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.
Not to be mistaken for “degree of excellence”
or “fitness for use” which meet only part of the
definition. (ISO 8402)

Thank You

10