Development of quality culture in the construction industry

Abstract

The construction industry is being viewed as one with poor quality emphasis compared to other sectors like the manufacturing and service sectors. Many criticisms have been directed to the construction industry for generally shoddy workmanship. It not only the final product that is subject to criticisms but the processes, the peoples, the materials etc are under tremendous pressure for better quality in construction. Total quality management (TQM) is increasingly being adopted by construction companies as an initiative to solve quality problems in the construction industry and to meet the needs of the customer. TQM has the potential to improve business results, greater customer orientation and satisfaction, worker involvement and fulfilment, teamworking and better management of workers within companies. However, construction firms have been continually struggling with its implementation. Cultural change is being recognised as an important aspect of total quality development. However, the issue surrounding quality culture has not been comprehensively studied. This paper will discuss the issues of quality culture and its development in the construction industry.