ISO 9000 critical quality elements for a construction project team

Abstract

It is learnt from the experiences of the countries that had pioneered the ISO 9000 Quality Management System in the construction industry, one of the main factor that impedes the success of implementing the system at its infancy stage is the quality consultants’ lack of understanding of the industry [1]. Trying to apply the principles of ISO 9000 generic quality elements without understanding the processes and the parties involved in the construction industry will mount problems, far away to achieve a quality corresponding to the client’s requirements and to the budget and time allocated for a particular project. As a generic quality model the ISO 9000 is designed with flexibility in mind [2]. As such each industry or organisation can develop its model according to its particular needs. Indeed, the ideal ISO 9000 system for manufacturing industry would be totally different from that of construction industry.