Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Quality control refers to the activities that are carried out on the production line to prevent /
eliminate causes of unsatisfactory performance.
In the manufacturing industry including production of ready mixed concrete & fabrication of pre-
cast units, the major functions of quality control are control of incoming materials , monitoring of
production process & testing of finished product.
For ex. during production, the strength of concrete is continuously monitored via routine testing
& statistical analysis of test results so as to detect when the mean strength or the variability of
strength shows a significant change.
The control mechanism then goes on to rectify the detected change , thereby preventing a
potential problem from developing into a real one.
In the building industry, it is the traditional practice to have separate contracts for design &
construction with the designer lso taking up the role of supervision of construction.
The quality of finished works is controlled by way of inspection & testing as construction
proceeds
For ex. the quality of concrete & other materials on site is judged by random sampling & testing,
& thorough inspection of finished works is performed without exception before final acceptance.
The major drawback of this „inspectorial system‟ is that it identifies the mistakes after the event.
Even high strength concrete can be defective if it is not properly compacted & cured & the
potential hazards of steel corrosion will not surface until some years later on.
Unlike consumer goods, defective building work is very difficult , if not impossible to replace.
To show commitment to quality, senior management of the company must provide adequate
resources on the site to avoid poor quality workmanship & also should have comprehensive
record of in-process inspection which is essential to ensure that the intended verification is
actually done
QUALITY ASSURANCE
A survey conducted by building research establishment in UK indicates that 40% of the building
defects occur during the construction phase.
In the evolution of ISO 9000, there has been general shift towards Total quality management
(TQM) which is a management philosophy emphasizing on quality, teamwork & decisions based
on data.
To attain high quality in construction, all parties involved namely client, architect, engineer,
contractor, subcontractor, material supplier must work together as a team.
TQM promotes good relation ships both within the individual organisations & between
organisations
The pursuit of quality is gradually progressing from quality control to quality assurance to total
quality management
Implementing ISO 9000 is an important part of quality journey
Whoever is still @ the cross roads, should not hesitate any longer & should march towards the
goal.
To cover the full range of activities, pertaining to quality assurance, the ISO 9000 family of
standards has identiifed twenty elements of the quality system & sets out definitive
requirements appropriate to each.
For each element, the required control is prescribed & it is upto the management to establish &
maintain documented procedures to ensure that these requirements are consistently met with.
ISO 9001 Quality System Quality Functions required
Clause No element
4.1 Management Define, document, Publicise quality policy
responsibility Define & document responsbility, authority &
interrelation of staff
Identify & provide adequate resources
Appoint quality manager
Review quality system @ regular intervals.
4.2 Quality System Establish , document & maintain quality system
Prepare & effectively implement documented
procedures
Define & document how quality planning is
conducted for a project including preparation of
quality plan
4.5 Document & data control Review & approve documents prior to issue
Review & approve document changes prior to issue
4.10 Inspection & testing Conduct inspection & testing of incoming materials &
components
Conduct in-process inspection & testing of semi-finished
work in a accordance with quality plan
Conduct final inspection & testing of finished work in
accordance with quality plan
Maintain records of inspections & tests
4.11 Control of inspection, Use inspection, measuring & testing equipment
measuring &test equipment capable of giving necessary accuracy & precision
4.12 Inspection & test status Indicate by suitable means the conformance/
Non-conformance of a product/work with regard to
inspection & tests performed
4.13 Control of non-conforming Identify & segregate any non-conforming product/work
product Review & dispose off the non-conforming product by an
authorized person & test the product again after repair
4.14 Corrective & preventive Investigate cause of non-conformities, including client
action complaints
Take corrective / preventive action to eliminate
potential cause of non-conformities
Implement & record changes to documented
procedures resulting from corrective / preventive action
Ensure that the corrective / preventive action is taken &
that it is effective
4.16 Control of quality records Retain quality records for prescribed period
Maintain quality records in such a way that they are
they are secured against damage, deterioration or
loss
4.17 Internal Quality audits Plan & schedule Internal Quality audits
Assign independent personnel to carry out internal
quality audits
Conduct follow up audits, if necessary
4.18 Training Identify training needs of the staff
Provide training required
4.20 Statistical Techniques Identify the need for statistical techniques in quality
control
Implement & control the application of statistical
techniques
SUMMARY
The benefits of quality assurance may take years to materialise. In the meantime, quality
system keeps on evolving
Most criticisms of ISO 9000 applied to construction are due to people‟s inertia &
misconceptions. Training is essential for a quality system to become effective.
ISO 9000 is applicable to both small & large business. For the latter, the system requirements
may be tailored to suit. A flexible approach by the company & its assessors would make
certification achievable & worthwhile.
The practice of TQM must be the goal of every company that values the satisfaction of
customers.
Includes the processes required to ensure that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was
undertaken.
Includes all activities of the overall management function that determine the quality policy,
objectives, and responsibilities and implements these by means such as quality planning, quality
assurance, quality control, and quality improvement within the quality system.
Must address both the management of the project and the product or service of the project.
Failure to meet quality requirements in either dimension can have serious negative
consequences for the project stakeholders. For example:
Meeting customer requirements by overworking the project team may produce negative
consequences in the form of increased employee attrition.
Meeting project schedule objectives by rushing planned quality inspections may produce
negative consequences when errors go undetected.
Quality:
Is the totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or
implied needs. Stated and implied needs are the inputs to developing project
requirements.
Should not be confused with grade. Grade is a category or rank given to entities having the
same functional use but different technical characteristics. Low quality is always a
problem; low grade may not be. For example:
A software product may be of high quality (very few defects, a readable user‟s manual)
but of low grade meaning it has a limited number of features.
Or, a software product may be of low quality but of high grade meaning it has many
defects but lots of customer features.
Quality policy:
The overall intentions and direction of an organization with regard to quality, as formally
expressed by top management.
When a formal quality policy is not available, or in the case of joint ventures involving multiple
performing organizations, the project management team will need to develop a quality policy for
the project.
Regardless of origin, the project management team is responsible for ensuring that the project
stakeholders are fully aware of the quality policy.
o Other process outputs: outputs from other knowledge areas that should be considered
as part of quality planning. For example, procurement planning may identify contractor
quality requirements.
3. Flowcharting: a technique which creates a diagram that displays how various elements of a
system relate. Can assist the project team with anticipating what and where quality problems
may occur and with developing approaches for addressing the problems.
Flowcharts commonly used in quality management include:
i. Cause-and-effect diagrams: illustrate how various factors may be linked to
potential problems or effects. (also referred to as Ishikawa or fishbone diagrams)
S.R.P** 3RD TERM –CONSTRUCTION QUALITY MANAGEMENT Page 306
ii. System or process flow charts: show how various elements of a system
interrelate.
4. Design of experiments:
i. A statistical method that helps identify which factors might influence specific
variables.
ii. Is applied most frequently to the product of the project (e.g., automotive designers
may wish to determine which combination of suspension and tires will produce the
most desirable ride characteristics at a reasonable cost.)
Can also be applied to project management issues such as cost and schedule tradeoffs.
Example: senior engineers will cost more than junior engineers but will usually complete the
assignment in less time. An appropriately designed experiment which computes project costs
and duration for various combinations of senior and junior engineers will often yield an optimal
solution from a relatively limited number of cases.
5. Cost of quality:
Refers to the total cost of all efforts to achieve product/service quality.
Includes all work to ensure conformance to requirements as well as all work resulting from
nonconformance to requirements.
Three types of incurred costs: prevention, appraisal, and failure where failure is broken down
into internal and external costs.
7. Operational definitions:
Describes in very specific terms what something is and how it is measured by the quality control
process.
Also called metrics in some application areas.
8. Checklists:
i. Usually a list of specific items that are used to verify that a set of required steps
has been performed.
ii. May be simple or complex.
iii. Usually phrased as imperatives (“Do this!”) or interrogatories (“Have you done
this?”).
iv. Standardized in many organizations for frequently performed tasks.
v. Available from professional associations or commercial service providers in some
application areas.
9. Inputs to other processes: The quality planning process may identify a need for further
Quality audits:
A structured review of other quality management activities.
The objective of a quality audit is to identify lessons learned that can improve performance of
this project or of other projects within the performing organization.
May be scheduled or random; may be carried out by trained in-house auditors or by
third parties such as quality system registration agencies.
¸ Outputs include: quality improvement.
o Includes taking action to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the project to
provide added benefits to the project stakeholders.
o In most cases will require preparation of change requests or taking corrective action
and will be handled according to the procedures for integrated change control.
Control limits: the process is in control if the result falls within the control limits.
Note: Result can be within the control limits of a process but out of tolerance.
Inputs include: work results (both process and product results), Quality Management Plan,
operational definitions, and checklists. .
Methods used during quality control include: inspection, control charts, pareto diagrams,
statistical sampling, flowcharting, and trend analysis.
A. Inspection:
Includes activities such as measuring, examining, and testing undertaken to determine
whether results conform to requirements.
May be conducted at any level (e.g., the results of a single activity may be inspected or
the final project product).
May be called reviews, product reviews, audits, and walkthroughs.
Note: in some application areas these terms have narrow and specificmeanings.
B. Control charts:
i. Graphic displays of the results over time of a process.
ii. Used to determine if the process is “in control” (e.g., are differences in the results attributed
to random variations or unusual events whose causes must be identified and corrected?)
iii. Although most frequently used to track repetitive activities such as manufacturing lots,
control charts may be used to monitor any type of output variable. Examples: cost and
schedule variances, volume and frequency of scope changes, errors in project documents,
etc.
C. Pareto diagrams:
Histograms ordered by frequency of occurrence that display how many results were
generated by type or category of an identifiable cause.
Rank ordering is used to guide corrective action with the assumption that the project
team should take action to fix the problems that are causing the greatest number of
defects, first.
Are conceptually related to Pareto‟s Law which holds that a relatively small number of
causes will typically produce a large majority of the problems or defects.
E. Trend analysis:
i. Uses mathematical techniques to forecast future outcomes based on historical results.
ii. Often used to monitor technical performance (how many errors or defects have been
identified, how many remain uncorrected) as well as cost and schedule performance (how
many activities per period were completed with significant variances.)
B. Rework: Action taken to bring a defective or nonconforming item into compliance with
requirements or specifications. Rework, especially unanticipated, is a frequent cause of project
overruns in most application areas.
The project team should make every reasonable effort to minimize rework.
a. Process adjustments: Immediate corrective or preventive action as a result of quality
control measurements. In some cases, the process adjustment may need to be handled
according to procedures for integrated change control
b.
c.
C. Checklists:
i. Usually a list of specific items that are used to verify that a set of required steps
has been performed.
ii. May be simple or complex.
iii. Usually phrased as imperatives (“Do this!”) or interrogatories (“Have you done
this?”).
iv. Standardized in many organizations for frequently performed tasks.
v. Available from professional associations or commercial service providers in some
application areas.
D. Inputs to other processes: The quality planning process may identify a need for further
a. activity in another area.
E. Outputs include: Quality Management Plan, operational definitions, checklists, and
inputs to other processes.
Quality Movements:
ISO (International Organization for Standardization)
o A worldwide federation of national standard bodies.
o The work of preparing international standards is done by ISO technical committees.
o ISO 9001 and ISO 9004 are a set of complementary standards with a focus on quality.
ISO 9001 specifies requirements for a quality management system that can be used for
internal application, ISO certification, or for contractual purposes.
ISO 9004 provides guidance on a wider range of objectives of a quality management
system than ISO 9001. It emphasizes the continual improvement of an organization‟s
overall performance, efficiency, and effectiveness. Used in organizations whose top
management wishes to move beyond the requirements of ISO 9001 in pursuit of
continual improvement. ISO 9004 is not used for ISO certification or contractual
purposes.
o Requirements are centered around a methodology called Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA)
Plan: Establish the objectives and processes necessary to deliver results in
accordance with customer requirements and the organization‟s policies.
Do: Implement the processes.
Check: Monitor and measure processes and product against policies, objectives, and
requirements for the product and report the results.
Act: Take actions to continually improve process performance.
Philip Crosby (ITT): Quality is Free
– Four absolutes of quality management:
1. Quality is conformance to requirements.
2. The system of quality is prevention.
3. The performance standard is zero defects
4. The measurement of quality is the price of nonconformance.
5. CIP steps: Define and standardize processes (and subprocesses). Assess process
performance. Improve processes. Measure progress.
The probability of a product being capable of performing a required function under the specified
conditions when called upon.
The key parts of availability are reliability and maintainability.
6. Operability (Expected conditional use)
The ability of a product to be operated by human resources for specified periods of time under
given conditions without significant degradation of the output.
Cost of Non-Quality:
Cost of non-quality is estimated to be 12-20% of sales versus the “should cost” of 3-5%
of sales for a quality program.
¸ Waste of time and materials
¸ Rework of poor quality products and additional material for rework
¸ Delays in schedule
¸ Product and service image
¸ Corporate image
II .Acceptance Sampling
o Used when expensive and time-consuming to test 100%. Random sampling may be used to
check the characteristics and attributes of a given lot of goods.
o Determines whether or not the lot conforms to the specifications or standards necessary to
support the overall project requirements.
o Inspection and test standards must be established to ensure that procedures are adequate to
determine whether a lot is conforming or nonconforming to specifications.
o Standards must also be set for qualification of the sampled lot.
o Important to select a sample size that will provide sufficient information about the larger lot of
goods without costing a great deal of money.
o Must determine in advance the number of allowable defects before the lot is rejected.
2. ¸ Pareto Diagram
a. Ranks defects in order of frequency of occurrence to depict 100% of the defects.
(Displayed as a histogram)
b. Defects with most frequent occurrence should be targeted for corrective action.
c. 80-20 rule: 80% of problems are found in 20% of the work.
d. Does not account for severity of the defects
4. ¸ Scatter diagrams
a. Used to determine the relationship between two or more pieces of corresponding data.
b. The data are plotted on an “X-Y” chart to determine correlation (highly positive, positive,
no correlation, negative, and highly negative) (See Ireland, V-14)
5. ¸ Other Tools
Graphs
Check sheets (tic sheets) and check lists
Flowcharts
4.3 Training
A quality system by itself, is nothing more than a sophisticated skeleton.
No matter how well it is articulated, it requires human intelligence to bring it to life.
Quality training is carried out in two stages i.e while the quality system is being developed , the
concepts of QA is preached among the staff at all levels. It is particularly important that every
member of staff understands the company‟s quality policy & realises the management‟s firm
commitment to quality. Quality policy is conspicuously displayed in places such as notice boards
& reception area etc which serves as a constant reminder to the staff of their responsibility for
QA.
When the quality procedures are ready, it is time to embark on second stage of quality training.
Workshops & mock-up exercises are organised both @ office & site. The operators/foreman
must be made proficient in filling up the various forms involved & the staff also needs some
practice before feeling comfortable with new routine.
For effective implementation of QMS, the top management should do the following:
The CEO should take the lead in change process
Top management should learn & teach others on principles & managing for continuous
improvement
Provide guidance & steadfast determination to continuous improvement through team
work
Ensure free flow of communication & open management by sharing information on goals/
targets so that everyone is motivated to work in teams/ groups for common objective
Inspire strong team spirit & orientation among all employees i.e from top level to grass
root level employees
Redesign organisation‟s motivation & reward schemes of generating continued
commitment to long term goal of continuous improvement
S.R.P** 3RD TERM –CONSTRUCTION QUALITY MANAGEMENT Page 325
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The three dimensions of management role can be summarised as:
1) Listening (caring) – Caring is one of the greatest motivators & binding force whether be at
work place, domestic life or in society
2) Teaching – Transmitting values & proving to be a role model
3) Facilitate – Helping people to achieve their goals
To be able t practice the above aspects, the top management should meet people – the new
concept that is emerging is “Management by walking around” & establish new working
relationship with employees
QUALITY STATEMENTS
Vision Statement
This defines the basic purpose or objective of company which is applicable over a long period of
time
This statement is crisp, motivating & thought provoking statements which have the power to
inspire people.
There is an element of social objective combined with company objective
Mission statement
This statement arises out of mission statement
It talks of what the company is & how it is planning to achieve its mission
This is more specific to industry
It provides an easy & understandable guidelines to employees, customers & suppliers
ISO 9001 certification makes it mandatory to display the company‟s quality policy ( vision &
mission statements) @ all important locations & make the same known to all employees.
Customer needs : The future needs of customers have to be taken into account when
strategic planning is done
Estimating future requirements : Technical projections, demographic changes & economic
policies need to be taken into a/c for estimating future requirements
Company positioning :
Strategic planning should take into account where the company wants to be in the market
i.e should it go for expansion, retention of market or withdraw from some segments
The gap between current state of quality & future goal has to be estimated accurately
The quality strategic planning should be in tune with vision & mission statements
Strategic planning cannot be achieved by mere rhetoric unless there is concerted effort &
concrete action
Goals have to be long term i.e covering a decade or so. Sort term goals are called as objectives
& may be achieved in a year
Goals must be measurable. Statements like “ Best quality” or “ least rejection” are not sufficient
Goals must be focused. It must be achievable & challenging
3) Customer complaints
Customer complaints are a very important feedback regarding quality of the product /
service.
Both positive & negative feedbacks have to be recorded & analysed periodically.
It has been found that if customer complaints are resolved, about 50% of them come back
again
QMS insist on maintaining a record of customer complaints & how they have been
disposed off
The quality council should make it a point to review customer complaints on a monthly
basis
If complaints of similar nature comes from several customers, it is an evidence of design/
system failure. Corrective action / plugging loopholes in design is necessary to be initiated.
4) Employee Involvement
a) Quality Circles
b) Five “s” teams
c) kaizen teams
d) At management level, Quality Improvement Team ( QIT)
SEIRI
The literal meaning of this word is to “Discard unnecessary things & put things in such a way so
as to have quick access”.
S.R.P** 3RD TERM –CONSTRUCTION QUALITY MANAGEMENT Page 329
We don‟t throw away things easily, but the pitiable thing is that when we want them, we will not
be able to locate them.
Advantages of SEIRI
Saving in use of space
Eliminate unsafe situation
Preventing rusting / damage to materials
Easy access to things & reduced inventory by sale of scrap/ excess materials.
SEITON
SEITON helps to decide the way things are to be placed so that it contributes to safety &
productivity
SEITON is called as “straightening” or “neatness”. If we don‟t find the right material, we may use
a substitute which may have an adverse effect on quality
The points to be remembered are what to keep, where to keep, how to keep & how much to
keep
Advantages of SEITON
Helps in reducing the time consumed in searching materials for use
Helps in inventory control
Improves work place utliisation
Better identification by colour coding
SEISO
The literal meaning of SEISO is cleaning up
Dust, dirt, foreign matters are looked upon as prime causes for unexpected failures of
equipment, unhygienic environment & even accidents.
The essence of cleaning is not just making things / place clean
Observation by looking, listening & feeling should identify abnormalities like knocking,
abnormal sound, overheating, vibrations, shaking, irregular movement, abrasion, damage
etc.
Hence SEISO is to reveal potential defects
Advantages of SEISO
Increases the efficiency of machines & equipment
Helps in identifying problems & reduction of wastage
Creates safe working environment
SEIKETSU
Seiri, Seiton & Seiso are easy to do once, but it is very difficult to maintain.
To maintain we have to standardise the system
It should be ensured that whatever has been achieved, should not be allowed to deteriorate
SEIKETSU is complete when its horizons has been expanded to include the entire working
environment
Advantages of SEKETSU
Proper & good working area
Reduce breakdowns & increase the mean time between failures
Improving work efficiency through visual management
Helps in synchronising the activities of SEIRI, SEITON & SEISO
C) Kaizen team
Kaizen is based on the simple principle that, whatever be the field we have chosen in our life,
we need continuous improvement in order to progress & advance as opposed to status quo &
stagnancy
The improvement function should come from top managers whereas management function
should come from supervisors/ workers
The important role of management function in KAIZEN is a) preparing policies & procedures b)
establishing the standards c) ensure that the standards are followed by all d) review & monitor
improvements e) educate & train people emphasizing them to follow the standards
In KAIZEN process, improvements are people-oriented. It provides opportunities for participation
& involvement of workers through creation of conducive environment, training &
encouragement.
The concerns of a process-oriented & people oriented manager should be:
Discipline
Time management
Skill development
Participation & involvement
Morale-boosting
Two-way communication
In KAIZEN, everybody gets recognised, whether suggestion relates to small/big improvement.
On the other hand, in innovation, making big changes & effecting immediate gains can enable
one to et instant “recognition & promotion”. Here, the virtues of continuous & incremental
improvements is lost sight of.
5.1Selection of Supplier
The supplier should understand & appreciate the philosophy & values of the customer (
organisation)
The supplier should meet the quality standards & specifications for the items to be supplied
The supplier should possess recognised ISO 9000 quality management system
The supplier should have good track record of fulfilling the contract to full satisfaction.
The supplier should have the capacity to produce & supply the needed quantity
Cause-and-Effect Diagrams
Called Fishbone Diagram
Focused on solving identified quality problem
Flowcharts
Used to document the detailed steps in a process
Often the first step in Process Re-Engineering
Control Charts
Important tool used in Statistical Process
Control – Chapter 6
The UCL and LCL are calculated limits
used to show when process is in or
out of control
Scatter Diagrams
A graph that shows how two variables are related to
one another
Data can be used in a regression analysis to
establish equation for the relationship
Pareto Analysis
Technique that displays the degree of importance for each
element
Named after the 19th century Italian economist; often called
the 80-20 Rule
Principle is that quality problems are the result of only a few problems e.g. 80% of the problems
caused by 20% of causes
Histograms
A chart that shows the frequency distribution of observed values of a variable like service time
at a bank drive-up window
Displays whether the distribution is
symmetrical (normal) or skewed
1- Customer Focus
• Organizations depend on their customers and therefore should:
4 understand current and future customer needs,
4 meet customer requirements, and
4 strive to exceed customer expectations.
2- Leadership
• Leaders should:
4 establish unity of purpose and direction of the organization, and
4 create and maintain the internal environment in which people can become fully involved in
achieving the organization‟s objectives.
3- Involvement of People
• People at all levels are the essence of an organization, and
4 their full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organization‟s benefit.
4- Process Approach
• Organizations need to do more than simply monitor process outputs, (typically through
inspection activities)
4 they must also control all process inputs, (people, facilities/equipment, material and methods)
4 they must establish appropriate controls over the transformation activities (if desired results are
to be achieved consistently and efficiently)
4
4
5-System Approach
• Organizations must understand a system is a set of interrelated processes, and
4 the output of one process is the input to one or more subsequent processes, so ...
4 It is critical to manage the “white space” (or interface) between processes to ensure that the
overall system is effective
6-Continual Improvement
• Continual improvement of the organization‟s overall performance should be a permanent
objective:
4 Improvement
4 must be a planned activity if the organization desires to improve overall performance and
capabilities.
note: “permissible exclusions” (like design) are limited to requirements within Clause 7 -
Product Realization, and your registrar must verify they are not part of your business
5. Management responsibility R
Resource
Measurement S
E Analysis & A
6. Resource management Q
Management
Improvement T
U I
7. Product (and/or service) realization I S
R F
8. Measurement, analysis & improvement E
M
A
C
E Product T
Product
N Realization I
Input Output
T O
S N
The Process-Based Quality
Management System
• Do
Clause 7. Product (and/or service) realization - the necessary process are established and carried
out
Check
Clause 8. Measurement, analysis and improvement - processes and products will be monitored
and measured against policies, objectives and requirements for the product and results/opportunity for
improvement reported
Act
Clause 8. Measurement, analysis and improvement - acting upon data reported in the check cycle,
improvement actions can be taken - directly, or as an output of the Management Review process
(Clause 5.6)
• 5.6 Management review - New: evaluate the need for changes to the quality system
(including policy and objectives) by reviewing specified inputs (improvement opportunities)
and reporting specified outputs (related management actions and resource needs)
• 6.3 Infrastructure and 6.4 Work Environment - New: determine and manage the
infrastructure (buildings, workspace, utilities, equipment and support services), as well as the
work environment needed to achieve product conformance