Problems in Quality Management Implementation - Research Findings

Implementation of quality is not an easy task. Several problems have been observed in relation to quality management implementation. Many Researches are carried out to investigate such problems. Findings of few are shared here.

• (Low, 1994) Found that most contractors in Singapore consider human-related problems are most critical in implementing quality assurance (QA).
• (Kubal, 1996) Argued that the construction industry is lacking open communications and mutual support that derived from trust-based relationships among project participants to effect substantive quality improvement.
• (Abdul-Rahman, 1996) observed several shortcomings related to the quality management implementation in UK, i.e., QA and QM are not implemented on a full scale, the degree of commitment is different between top management and site employees, and quality management was limited to the construction stage only.
• (Moatazed-Keivani, 1999) Noticed concerns in the areas of bureaucracy, cost, time consumption and interpretation in relation to the implementation of ISO 9000 standards in United Kingdom (UK) construction industry.
• (Tang, 1999) found that the most difficult task in implementing ISO 900 in engineering consultancies in Hong Kong is to make engineers understand and accept the system, followed by the lack of strong support from the management, and lack of effective communication.
• (Serpell, 1999) Observed cultural and operational barriers in quality system implementation.
• In a study of quality management of a large-scale infrastructure construction project in Hong Kong, (Au, 1999) found problems in the areas of documentation, control of quality inspection and process procedures.
• (Kumaraswamy, 2000) stated that the three most significant negative outcomes encountered by Hong Kong contractors on ISO 9000 certification are, more paperwork, more time spent in management, and increase of bureaucracy.
• Based on interview conducted in Sweden, (Landin, 2000) argued that in construction process, many of the concepts in ISO 9001 are experienced as being too abstract and too difficult to comprehend. He also argued that it appears difficult for a company to improve its competitiveness and be more efficient by the use of ISO 9001 alone in view of the many stages of the construction process encompassed and the diverging interests represented.
• (Lai, 2002) Noticed there are weaknesses in the implementation of quality management for construction industry in Hong Kong in respect of the communication of improvement information, and teamwork structures for quality improvement.
• (Haupt, 2004) noticed several hindrances for implementing TQM on construction sites, i.e., too much paperwork, transient nature of workforce, field employees regard TQM as irrelevant, difficulty in measuring results, low bid subcontracting, and subcontractors and suppliers not interested in TQM.

REFERENCES

Abdul-Rahman, H., 1996. Some observations on the management of quality among construction professionals in the UK. Construction Management and Economics, Volume 14, pp. 485-495.

Au, J. C. W. &. Y. W. W. M., 1999. Quality management for an infrastructure construction project in Hong Kong.. Logistics Information Management, 12(4), pp. 309-314.

Haupt, T. C. &. W. D. E., 2004. Inhibiting factors of implementing total quality management on construction site. The TQM Magazine, 16(3), pp. 166-173.

Kubal, M. T., 1996. The future of engineered quality. Journal of Management in Engineering, pp. 45-52.

Kumaraswamy, M. M. &. D. S. M., 2000. ISO 9000 and beyond: From a Hong Kong construction perspective.. Construction Management and Economics, Volume 18, pp. 783-796.

Lai, K. H. W. T. S. &. C. T. C. E., 2002. The state of quality management implementation: A cross-sectional study of quality-oriented companies in Hong Kong. Total Quality Management, 13(1), pp. 29-38.

Landin, A., 2000. ISO 9001 within the Swedish construction sector. Construction Management and Economics, Volume 18, pp. 509-518.

Low, S. P., 1994. ISO 9000: Implementation problems in the construction industry. Quality World, pp. 228-234.

Moatazed-Keivani, R. G.-P. A. R. &. K. S., 1999. ISO 9000 standards: Perceptions and experiences in the UK construction industry. Construction Management and Economics, Volume 17, pp. 107-119..

Serpell, A., 1999. Integrating quality systems in construction projects: The Chilean case.. International Journal of Project Management, 17(5), pp. 317-322.

Tang, S. L. &. K. C. W. (. .., 1999. A survey of ISO 9001 implementation in engineering consultancies in Hong Kong. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 16(6), p. 562.