INTRODUCTION

1.1 Importance of the Study

A quality management system (QMS) is a collection of business processes focused on achieving your quality policy and quality objectives i.e. what your customer wants and needs. It is expressed as the organizational structure, policies, procedures, processes and resources needed to implement quality management. Quality management systems are considered as a standard to lead lines managers mind, organization and companies. These systems according to clients needs try to meet their needs until organization become able to attract their satisfactions. Meeting the necessities and needs of clients is supposed as the very favorable quality. At the dawn of Indian Independence, massive construction activity was undertaken for our nation building. Funds and resources poured in from various quarters as aid and loans across the globe. We were fully busy in executing the massive construction activities without really giving thought or time for developing Management System. Due to our unpreparedness in the above mentioned areas, our projects in the other industries which in turn had far reaching spiraling effect in the progress of the overall economy of our nation. Result was obvious and we faced tremendous resource crunch, leading to our balance of payment position becoming alarming. So much so it became a great problem for financing the internal debt payment of the loans received from international communities. Central Government went for restricting liberalisation and globalization of our economies. Huge loans, aid and investments started pouring in our country from World Bank, International Monetary Funds, Foreign Institutional Investors and Non -Resident Indians for projects and development activities. Our economy was a controlled one earlier which more on less discouraged multinationals to take part in our economy. Now, the floodgates of restrictions have been opened and multi-nationals have started taking part in all sectors of our economy including construction sectors. Construction companies are striving hard to maintain leadership for sophisticated construction services, and at the same time expectation of customers, employees and investors are rising with rapid advances in Technology. Contracts like BOT, BOOT, BOO, BOLT, are now bringing companies into direct touch with common users, so the satisfaction of customers and client may become paramount sooner rather than later. So to facilitate conducive environment for large multinationals to increasingly take part in construction activities, project bids are becoming very large and may be beyond capacity of individual Indian bidder and there is no preference of any sort for Indian bidders in comparison with International bidders. These Multinationals are highly quality conscious and they will prefer to have as their private bodies, subcontractor or partner only those companies which have established a proven track record of Quality Management and ISO 9000 registration. The construction projects are time bound and contract based so the challengers of developing human resources and personal capabilities are enormous. So in the development of Infrastructure Work in our country in different sectors like Roads, Railways, Power, Telecommunications, Ports, Water Supply, Sanitation, Sewerage, Airports, Industrial Parks, Housing, and different types of construction activities. I venture to say that the implementation of T.Q.M., the earlier the better, would go a long way in sharpening competitive edges of Indian companies to face world class competition and satisfies his customers. The study which I undertook should contribute to the existing knowledge on the subject as it seeks to obviate the pessimism galore in Indian companies regarding adaptability of quality management system, ISO 9000 standards and total quality management way of life in the Indian scenario. It may lead to

changes in the Quality Policies and improve existing practices. The study will be useful in clarifying the differences m structural characteristics of quality management and in also nation specific features.

1.2 Objective of the study

To identify corporate needs and the thrust of TQM through the analyses of "Quality Management Practices" in the construction projects. To help implement total quality management system. So as to improve the total performance and quality of work and services. To evaluate the beneficial effect to built ISO 9000 by three case studies in terms of cost, organization, productivity, jobs, client, and contractors. To make useful contribution in helping implement TQM system and improve upon existing knowledge and practices. To find out the status of quality management between public sector and private sector companies so that we can recognize the relative level of goals and their actual achievement level of quality management which can lead to findings remedies for improving the level of quality and achieve management excellence.

1.3 SCOPE AND OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY

To study the effect of planning of quality management system. To study the effect of quality control procedures. To know the effectiveness of quality control methods. To solve quality related problems during construction To determine a suitable quality management procedure for the construction of Multipurpose High Rise Building project.

1.4 THE ROLE OF DATA

Data is an important and useful tool when establishing, maintaining and improving a quality process. Data should always be based on facts and not include opinions, impressions or any human manipulation or intervention whatsoever. If the data is collected cleanly and used correctly, it is a viable tool in the overall scheme of total quality management. Any company that currently does not use statistics will find that statistical procedures can transform their business. "Only with the proper use of statistical methods can people minimize confusion in the presence of variation.''6 Only after data has been collected and a statistical procedure applied can a company actually begin to understand their own production process. It is only after understanding the production process that they can attempt production. Finally, after learning how to actually control or change the process can a company start the process of continuous improvement. Improvement is possible because a quality process with control limits (upper and lower) has been established. If part of the process exceeds one of those limits, then the fact that a variation has occurred will be readily identifiable. Other methods can be used to determine the actual root cause of the variation. In almost every case, the cause will be part of the process, not controlled by the worker. The cause is usually not the worker nor anything within his controllable domain. This is because the control limits were set based on data that included the workers production. Humans do not tend to vary greatly in their day to day job performance, so if a variation occurs outside a control limit, it is likely due to the process and not human error. Statistics and how they are utilized needs to be understood by all employees. This can be done as part of the training and education process. Statistical methods are fairly straightforward and can be handled mathematically by most people. There are many helpful charts which demonstrate how data transformed by statistics can be used. Some of these are cause and effect diagrams (fishbone), flow charts. Pareto analysis. run (trend) charts, histograms, control charts and

scatter diagrams. Gathering and using data to transform a company into a quality leader in business is important, but only one part of the total programme.

1.5 METHODOLOGY OF STUDY I have endeavored to study QMS in different functional division viz. design, engineering, purchasing, servicing and contract management and how they link quality technology with quality requirements. Here technology means engineering process control system and information systems. The procedure to answer complaints and making prompt rectification to result in quality service has also been studied. The study will cover mainly two aspects, i.e. Survey of the nature and quality of people and the organization. Survey of T.Q.M. awareness at all levels. In conducting the field study, a minimum of three units was chosen for interviewed including one top Manager, one Middle Managers and one Engineer. The present study was carried out using The Corporate Quality Manual and Site Quality Manual, Quality Audit Report, Quality Management System Procedure Manual (controlled documents) to assess the current practices, policies, procedures and attitudes throughout the organizations under the literature survey on a self assessment basis. SCHEME OF THE STUDY The above stated objectives have been accomplished in five chapters. The first chapter presents the introduction part of this study. In the second chapter, a brief summary of the Role of ISO 9000 Standards in the construction Industry and its basic elements including importance of certification for the construction industry. The third chapter gives descriptions of Infrastructure services are often monopolistic in nature, - they usually involve high upfront costs and long payback periods, and investments are typically bulky and lumpy. They are also characterized by the existence of externalities, which make it difficult for infrastructure entities to recoup investment costs and operational expenses through levy of user charges. The fourth chapter gives a brief description of the application of TQM to construction project. The fifth chapter gives first a brief outline of the case study