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format. If you prefer the old one, click here. Have any thoughts? Leave us your feedback. inShare Embed Doc Copy Link Readcast Collections Comments Download 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 General The construction industry is characterized being a highly fragmented and extreme lycompetitive business. The contractual arrangement of the construction industry creates alarge number of problems. The four major participants owner, contracto r,Architect/Engineer (A/E), and supplier have different and conflicting interest s andpriorities. Total Quality Management (TQM) can help to bring all the partie s involved inthe construction industry closer to meeting their expectations. Als o, it can help to reduceadversarial relations and increased litigations.The cons truction industry differs from the manufacturing industry where TQM hasproven it s effectiveness, in a way that makes the introduction of TQM more challenging.Wh ile the manufacturing industry is characterized by a steady-state process, theco nstruction industry is a one-time process. The construction industry is unique f or thefollowing factors: (1) the mobility of labour, (2) diversity in the types, forms and shapesof construction projects, (3) geographical dispersion, (4) the contractual relationships, (5)the susceptibility to weather, and (6) the fact th at almost every job is a prototype.Nesan and Holt (1999) indicated that the part icipants in the construction industry tend tobe reactive to changes being impose d on them such as economics, political, andtechnological pressures, which result s in poor performance in the industry. Love et al (1998) proposed that TQM can make the organization cope with the change as the norm,rather than being reactive to such pressures of change.Love et al (2000b) s uggest that the construction industry problems will remain until allparticipants in the construction take their responsibility for initiating changes within the irown organization. Love et al indicated that such change can be initiated through theeffective implementation of TQM.Some of the construction problems such as fluctuation of demand (non-stea dy state)create difficulties in TQM implementation and TQM could only help the o rganization tocope with such fluctuations. In other words, while TQM could be a solution for theconstruction industry problems, some of the construction industr y problems arethemselves obstacles for TQM implementation. In fact, the problems of the constructionindustry can be classified into internal and external proble ms. Generally, an organizationis in a position to deal with the resolve internal problems since they are related to thebusiness processes of the organization an d management. For example, a construction firmwith a high rate of project re-wor

k due to poor workmanship should be able to improvethe situation and resolve suc h a problem. On the other hand, the resolution of externalproblems is a more cha llenging task, and in most cases the industry has no control oversuch difficulti es. The possible negative impact of labour laws and taxes, for example, are3 two of the external problems facing the industry. At the same time, many such ex ternalchallenges could be resolved through direct Government involvement.1.2 Overview The literature review focuses upon recent definitions of TQM and the useful dis tinctionto be made between TQM, Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC). This isfollowed by a discussion of the various elements, which are typical (in one combinationor another), of TQM implementation. The benefits of implementing TQM are discussedalongside the very real issue of obstacles to implementation. I mplementation cost is alsolooked at prior to a discussion of TQM measurement.1.3 The Concept of Total Quality Management (TQM): Towards A Definition In 1980s and 1990s, the world witnessed what could be called a quality revolution dueto the globalization of the marketplace and increased competition. As a resul t, TotalQuality Management (TQM) became one of the dominant managerial themes in the1990s. The successful experience of the manufacturing sector within both Jap an andUnited States in implementing TQM in the 1980s encouraged other nations, a s well asother sectors, to adopt the approach. Indeed, the widespread interest i n adopting TQM hasspread beyond profit-oriented organizations into public servic es organizations.The British Standards (BS4778) defines TQM as: A management philosophy embracing all activities through which the needs and ex pectations of the customer and the community and the objectives of theorganizati on are satisfied in the most efficient and cost effective way bymaximizing the p otential of all employees in a continuing drive for improvement. The BS 4778 definition for TQM is a comprehensive and inclusive definition for T QM.The key word in this definition is that TQM is a philosophy. The American Society for Quality (ASQ) defines TQM as: The management approach of an organization centered on quality, based on the par ticipation of all of its members and aiming at long-term success throughcustomer satisfaction and benefits to all members of the organization and tosociety The key word in this definition is that TQM is approach .On the other hand, Integrated Quality Dynamics, Inc., a consultant firm defines TQM as:4 A structured system for satisfying internal and external customers and supplier sby integrating the business environment, continuous improvement and breakthroug hs with development, improvement, and maintenance cycles whilechanging organizat ional culture .This definition considers TQM as a structured system .From the review of various definitions of TQM, it seems that academics and qual itygurus perceive TQM to be a philosophy or concept; while consultants and pract itionersprefer to think of TQM as structure or system. Perceiving TQM as a philo sophy orconcept liberates TQM from constraints. On the other hand, perceiving TQ M as astructure or system could push TQM away from one of its main essences, whi ch iscontinuous improvement and adaptability to change.At the same time, it is n ecessary to translate TQM as a philosophy or concept into a set of actions in a form of structure or system in order to implement it. Therefore, it can be saidt hat TQM is a philosophy by definition and structure by implementation . It is important,therefore, to have a reciprocal interaction between TQM as a p hilosophy and its structureor system.Aims of TQMThe aims of TQM are to achieve c ustomer satisfaction, cost effectiveness, and defect-freework. The customer will be satisfied only if the product has a very low rate of defect(literally none)

and is competitive in price with offerings from other suppliers. TQMachieves cus tomer satisfaction through focusing on process improvement, customer andsupplier involvement, teamwork, training, and education.TQM is a culture advocating a to tal commitment to customer satisfaction, throughcontinuous improvement and innov ation in all aspects of the business. The customer, inthe TQM culture, does not mean only the final recipient of the organization s end productor services. The cus tomer is also every individual or department stakeholder within theorganization.T QM can be viewed as a new way of thinking about organizational theory and a newa pproach to management. Adopting TQM as the guiding philosophy of an organization gives that organization a better chance of surviving and, further, flourishing i n the presentcompetitive market place. The impact of TQM implementation is not m erely inenhancing the quality of the final product or service, which might have a substantialeffect on marketing, but also goes to the foundation of the organiz ation.5 TQM and Construction IndustryThe construction industry has tended to confuse TQM and Quality Control (QC) andQuality Assurance (QA), believing that compliance w ith QA Standards is all that there isto the application of TQM on construction p rojects (Jaafari, 2001). This confusion has ledto the use of these expressions i nterchangeably. QA and QC may be considered asseparate sub-elements of TQM. Howe ver, QA and QC do not represent the only elementsof TQM. TQM is a much more comp rehensive and broader concept. QA and QC areapplied during project implementatio n while TQM is a strategic philosophy adopted byan organization and implemented on a continuous basis, even if the organization iswaiting to perform a new proje ct.The TQM culture varies from one company to another and from one industry to a nother.However, the TQM culture, regardless of its differences, aims to achieve commonobjectives: namely, removal of waste, reduction of costs, improvement of r eputation andincreased market share. As can be observed, TQM objectives are dyna mic in their natureand this dictates continues updating and upgrading. 2. Elements of TQM TQM can be modeled by structure that consists of the basic elements of TQM. Thes eelements represent the basic ingredients or the philosophical pillars of TQM. T he numberand priority of these elements vary from one author to another. Figure below shows thestructure of TQM. The structure consists of nine elements where t heir importance mightvary from one organization to another.It is worth mentionin g that most of the literature which addresses the elements of TQMelements is old . The recent literature to address TQM does not emphasize the elements of TQM, s ince these elements have been exhaustively addressed in the literature thatappea red when the TQM was in its introductory stage. Sufficient writings about TQMand its elements appeared in late 1980s and early 1990s. The recent literature is m orefocused on difficulties and the appropriate approaches of TQM implementation. 6 CONTINUES IMPROVEMENTSUPPLIERINVOLVEMENTFOCUS ONEMPLOYEESPROCESSIMPROVEMENTCUSTO MERSATISFACTIONIMPROVEDCOMMUNICATIONSTEAMWORKMANAGEMENTCOMMITMENT ANDLEADERSHIPT RAINING The Structure of TQM (Modified from Chase, G.W. (1993)) Training and Management commitment and leadership represent the two basic elemen tsfor the structure and they can be considered to be the foundation for the TQM structure.Improved communication and teamwork represent the linkage between the foundationand the other elements of the TQM structure. The improved communicatio ns element liesbelow the teamwork element to indicate that improved communicatio n has higher prioritythan teamwork. The customer satisfaction, process improveme nt, focuses on employees,and supplier involvement elements are parallel to indic ate that they are equal in theirimportance. Continuous improvement lies on the t op of the structure as an umbrella thatcovers the rest of the elements.7 5 / 27 Leave a Comment

Murtaza Ali Akbar Submit Characters: 400 Tqm the Construction Industry 3,918 Reads More Info Download or Print Uploaded by ducsonkt16 Related Documents 43 p. Tqm Report From Umesh Kumar 43 p. Tqm Report From Umesh Kumar 7 p. Fraley Tqm Success Failure Essay From nirranjen Next Upload a Document Search Documents Follow Us! scribd.com/scribd twitter.com/scribd facebook.com/scribd About Press Blog Partners Scribd 101 Web Stuff Support FAQ Developers / API Jobs Terms Copyright Privacy Copyright 2012 Scribd Inc. Language: English