Problems of implementing total quality management in the construction industry
For total quality management to be implemented in an organization there is a need to have a culture change in that organization. The process of changing culture in an organization is a difficult one to undertake. There is a lot of resistance while undertaking this one. The problem that is faced while undertaking the implementation of total quality management is that, it is neither a slogan nor a tool that will be used, but rather it is a paradigm in any organization. It is wide enough to be the framework that can be used by an organization in their culture. It is therefore in order to understand that dealing with total quality management might need to deal with replacement, and not modification alone, of the culture of the organization. In addition, the transformation of the western paradigm to that of total quality management will be a radical transformation in the organization (Dale, 2004).
Implementing TQM in construction industries is a difficult task because of the point of view of the industry from the leaders in the construction industry. Most leaders in the construction industry believe that this industry is different from the other industries and the management principles cannot be applied in the construction industry. They argue that the construction industry is unique in the way it is operated. Another issue that they cite is that it is difficult to undertake statistical analysis of the process that are done on construction sites because they are unique when compared to other industries. This is because they are competitive and unique in their operations (Hunt, & Daniel, 2007).
In construction industries, it is hard to invest training while someone is working. Most employees who are working in the construction sector are working on a short term basis. The people therefore do not have company loyalty as the environment in which they are working is harsh. In the construction industry, therefore, having employees to work on total quality management training is not effective. It does not help because the construction projects that employees in a construction company work will change from one place to another one. This is the reason as to why it is hard to have consistent employees as they keep changing.
It is also difficult to spend time on management as there is too much competition. Also, there is no time to undertake this training and investment in management. Total quality management is undertaken in management aspects. There will be a need to invest a lot of time and resources in training of employees. This is the requirement in order to have TQM effectively put in place (Idris, McEwan, & Belavendram, 2006).
There is no time to attend seminars in construction companies. The reason this is the case is that most work is done at the sites and there is no time to attend seminars and meetings. In most situations, the progress of the work in the sites should be monitored and given all the attention by managers. This is because the success of these tasks will depend on the close monitoring that they get (Love, Li, Irani, & Holt, 2005).
In the construction industry, it is widely believed that the word “product” should have a new definition so that it means the management of the service that is being undertaken and delivered in the field. It is believed that there is no service that is being offered in the construction industry. They believe that what they undertake is that of producing the product and there is no time to improve the service there is no service that is being offered. For this reason, there is a need to have a new definition of construction of a project so that it means the process of planning and executing a project so that we have a good product. Another definition that should be redefined in the construction industry is that of success. Most of the time, this definition has been taken to mean the successful competition of a construction of a project. They do not consider meeting of the expectations of the customer. This should be a new definition instead of defining success to be the ability of the company to make profits. The solution that they suggest is more theoretical than practical. The new definitions of success will be a difficult task to be undertaken as there is a need to have a new understanding of the whole process. This new definition will also mean that the practicability of the whole industry processes will be the most formidable challenges that will have to be overcome. The interest of the stakeholders cannot be relegated to the customer so that there is total quality management (Low, & Peh, 2006).
The challenges that are stated above could be real challenges for organizations could have decided to adopt a total quality management system. One of the major challenges that is experienced in the wider implementation of TQM is the obstacle that is brought about by conventional or traditional practice. One example of these practices is the traditional way in which bidding is undertaken. Traditional way of evaluating the bidding process, the price of the bidders is the most important thing that is considered. It is known that the client will choose the contractor but largely basing on the lowest bidder without much regard on the past experience that they have undertaken in the same field. Other issues like workload that they have are not considered. This does not give the contractors any reason as to why they should start adopting QQM (Culp, 2005).
Another challenge that is faced with adopting TQM in the construction industry is the long-term nature of TQM. The turnover of TQM is long. There are problems and challenges that companies in the construction industry face that will require them to have short-term solutions. They find the adoption of TQM might take forever and could make them be out of business if they wait for TQM to fully be operational and its benefits realized. They therefore seek for quicker solutions. The sudden changes in the conditions of the market could push the contractor out of business. This will mean that the contractor will redirect their focus from the long-term goals of TQM to short-term corrective means. These changes of construction firms make them reactive instead of becoming proactive.
Benefits of TQM to organizations
Total quality management comes with a lot of benefits in organizations. Some of the benefits that an organization will experience with the adoption of total quality management include:
Quality leadership
The employees of an organization are also key factors to success. Though many have claimed that bigger profits bring about success in a company, there this is not the case. Quality leadership is an important issue that will be developed when an organization adopts TQM. With the adoption of TQM, the top level leadership machinery will be fully committed towards their duties and responsibilities to ensure that organization achieves its objectives. They are oriented with the long term performance of their organization. With TQM, the top management of an organization will provide a well-developed and supporting culture in the organization which ensures that communication is effective; staff work as a team rather that individualism. They will also develop an environment where the decision making is participative. They have ensured that the subordinate staff workers undergo training in order to meet the needs of its customers; empowerment has also been embraced in the bank (Chileshe, 2006).
Organizational culture
In implementing the total Quality Management strategies, no value is added to the customer, but rather, failures that existed are redeemed. Customers will also not be left aside as their needs will have been satisfied. Moreover, in designing service, work processes will be improved and thus time will have been solved. Every strategy that is being laid down by an organization requires finances to make it a success. In this case, strategic planning will align it so that in the end, the organization becomes systematic and never uses its finances without focusing on the outcome (Burati, & Oswald, 2005).
TQM is also needed to handle today’s complicated workforce. This is because there are changes that have been seen in the workforce of today unlike the workforce that was seen in the days before. Workers of today expect to be involved in the change process.
Critical Success Factors of Total Quality Management
Total quality management (TQM) is a tool used by every organization to ensure that the customers’ need is fully met. It is, therefore, essential to use this tool whether in a profit making organization or nonprofit making organization. However, many companies across the world fail to adopt and implement the total quality management leading to poor performance of such companies. Managers and the top leaders in an organization should be critical when investigating the factors which might hinder successful implementation of TQM (Chase, 2006).
Scientific managers believe that organizations fail to utilize TQM when there is no commitment in the top management, strategic quality planning, poor process and training management. In the current study, the above factors need to be considered in order to ensure successful implementation of TQM. Furthermore, the review of literatures indicates that there are many critical success factors that can be pointed out as being vital for the successful implementation of total quality management.
According to Biggar (2007), the critical success factors for total quality management implementation in the road constructions are the improvement of tools and techniques, management leadership and work environment. Other empirical studies conducted by Biggar (2007) indicates that critical success factors for total quality management implementation is the involvement of the top management, focus on customer satisfaction, training of the employees and the ability to generate new ideas.
In this line of work, the study by Biggar (2007) in analyzing the key critical success factors in the implementation of TQM, found out that the strategic quality management is the most important critical factor in TQM (Brown, Hichcock, & Willard, 2004).
The empirical findings from Baden-Hallard (2008) study of 27 Nigerian road construction companies established that the critical factors that can ensure successful implementation of total quality management the customer management, leadership, employee involvement, information and analysis and the empowerment of the employees.
Baden-Hallard (2008) carried out research with the aim of identifying the critical factors that facilitate the success of total quality management in the Nigerian road construction company. He recommended the following six critical success factors for effective implementation of total quality management. These factors include supplier quality management, participation of top management, quality data and reporting, good relationship within the employees, training and the process management (McCabe, 2006).
However, as oppose to the findings above, organizational culture plays a key role because of its effect on behavior and attitudes at all the different levels of an organization. It determines the actions of employees in a company. Furthermore, the literature review undertaken reveals that there is a lack of enough research on critical success factors of TQM implementation such as product design, building teams, employees' satisfaction, and solving problems. This is because the four factors are related to other managerial approaches such as enterprise resource planning and just in time management and not necessarily total quality management only (McCabe, 2006).
Conceptual framework for TQM implementation in construction industry
Based on the literature review that has been shown in this paper, the following conceptual framework is proposed
References
Baden-Hallard, R 2008, Total quality in construction projects, Thomas Telford, London.
Biggar, JL 2007, ‘Total quality management in construction’, Journal of Management Engineering, Vol 14, Issue 1, Pg 1–4.
Brown, MG, Hichcock, DE, & Willard, M 2004, Why total quality management fails and what to do about it, Irwin, New York.
Burati, JL., & Oswald, TH 2005, ‘Implementing total quality management in engineering and construction’, Journal of Management Engineering, Vol 9, Issue 4, Pg 456–470.
Chase, GW 2006, ‘Effective total quality management process’, Journal of Management Engineering, Vol 9, Issue 4, Pg 433–443.
Chileshe, N 2006, ‘An investigation into the problematic issues associated with the implementation of Total Quality Management within a constructional operational environment and the advocacy of their solutions’, MSc dissertation, Sheffield Hallam University, U.K.
Costin, H 2004, Readings in total quality management, Dryden, New York.
Culp, G 2005, ‘Implementing total quality management in consulting engineering firm’, Journal of Management Engineering, Vol 9, Issue 4 Pg 340–355.
Dale, BG 2004, Managing quality, 2nd Ed., Prentice-Hall, New York.
Hunt, V, & Daniel, G 2007, Managing for quality: Integrating quality and business process, Irwin, Burr Ridge, Ill.
Idris, MA, McEwan, W, & Belavendram, N 2006, ‘The adoption of ISO 9000 and total quality management in Malaysia’, The TQM Magazine, Vol 8, Issue 5, Pg 65–68.
Love, PED, Li, H, Irani, Z, & Holt, GD 2005, ‘Rethinking total quality management: Toward a framework for facilitating learning and change in construction organizations’, The TQM Magazine, Vol 12, Issue 2, Pg 107–116.
Low, SP, & Peh, KW 2006, ‘A framework for implementing total quality management in construction’, The TQM Magazine, Vol 8, Issue 5, Pg 39– 46.
McCabe, S 2006, ‘Creating excellence in construction companies: UK contractors’ experiences of quality initiatives’, The TQM Magazine, Vol 8, Issue 6, Pg 14–19.
Questionnaire
- Work position: ____________________________________
- What quality measures has your company taken? (Tick where appropriate):
Improve the quality of projects
Improving the professionals being hired
Improving the equipment being used
Improving the training to the existing workers
Increasing the in-house training about quality production.
- What construction projects does your organization engage in?
Real estate Road construction Others (Specify: _____________)
- What is the size of your organization?
1-50
51-100
101-500
501-1000
Above 1000
- In terms of quality, doe your organization, does your organization apply total quality management?
No Yes
- If you answered Yes in the above questionnaire, which models of TQM did it Acquire?
ISO 9004 MBNQA
EFQM
UMIST
Xerox Not specified
Other (Please specify: _____________________________________)
- If you answered No in (9), what issues hinder the acquisition of TQM?
The assumption that it takes time for the benefits to be realized
The assumption that TQM is meant for other industries.
Lack of proper guide on how to undertake the process.
Other (Please specify): __________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
- Are there other quality practices that your organization engage in?
No Yes
- If you answered Yes in (12), please tick the models that are practiced
Quality Cycle
BS8800/SMS
SA8000
FMEA
Quality Function Deployment
Quality Cost Analysis
Flexible Manufacturing
Benchmarking
Balanced Scorecard
Others, specify: _________________________________________
- If your company has been certified with either ISO or TQM, please answer questions 14(a) – 14(b)
- What is the difference in the cycle time estimate that was experienced 3 years before and after installation of the quality tool?
No substantive difference
5-10% longer than the initial state
Above 10%longer than before
5-10% shorter
Above 10% shorter than before
- What are the estimates of the customer satisfaction 3 years before and after installation of TQM?
No substantive difference
5-10% more than the initial state
Above 10%more than before
5-10% less than before
Above 10% less than before
- What other benefits did your organization get after implementation of the quality tools?
Enhanced productivity
Increase morale of the employees
Reduced number of complaints
Improved teamwork
Improved facility use
- What side effects did your organization get from installing TQM?
Reduced productivity
Weakened morale of employees
More paper
Higher staff turnover
Decreased number of building projects undertaken
