Importance Of Quality And Productivity During Project Construction

A Company Can Do Well With Poor Quality Management.. For A While.

What is Quality? Some say it is fitness for use, some other believe that it is conformance to
requirements but the general statement we hear about is that it is the ability of a product or
services to meet the needs and expectations of the customer or client.
Quality can be judged by performance of structure in due course of time. It is most important
aspect that has to be maintained for good construction practice. Every organization has its own
quality policy which is well executed during project construction. Quality gives structure better
factor of safety.
Today is the world of competitive market. We can no longer live with commonly accepted levels
of delays, mistakes, defective workmanship. There is no place for poor quality in construction
industry.
For Example-If we are having better quality control for concrete production we get greater cube
strength and also reduction in standard deviation.

Project Quality Plan

The project quality plan is a documented description of the project management system and
must be approved by the AEM, in part to demonstrate his commitment to quality but primarily
it is the means by which technical and administrative authorities are delegated throughout the
project. All projects shall have field quality plan. Project engineer shall strictly adhere to field
quality assurance plan and modification can be done as per requirement of site.
It is easier to do a job right then to explain why you didnt

The aim of management is maintaining consistency of quality and productivity. There are
always time constraints in the project and nowadays time-over run and cost-overrun become
major problems during project execution. So sometimes organization would not be able to stick
to the quality plan strictly. But they should try to do stick to their quality plans as much
possible.

Requirement Of Quality

Ensures the quality of the materials and methods used at the site.
Conduct various tests in laboratory on cement,steel,water etc (fineness, consistency,
initial setting time, final setting time etc) , gradation of coarse aggregate and sand, silt
content, bulk and apparent specific gravity etc.
RFI ( Request For Investigation) And QRD( Quality Related Deficiencies).
Organizes and conducts the Management Review Meeting at regular intervals at the
site.
FQP (Field Quality Plan)& FQAP (Field Quality Assurance Plan)

Quality Policy
The quality policy is a statement from management, closely linked to the project construction
and commissioning. The quality policy is understood and followed at all levels and by all
employees. Each employee works towards measurable objectives.

The organization makes decisions about the quality system based on recorded data.
The quality system is regularly audited and evaluated for conformance and
effectiveness..
When constructing new projects, the organization plans the stages of development,
with appropriate testing at each stage. It tests and documents whether the productivity
meets design requirements, regulatory requirements, and user needs.
The organization regularly reviews performance through internal audits and meetings.
The organization determines whether the quality system is working and what
improvements can be made. It has a documented procedure for internal audits.
The organization deals with past potential problems. It keeps records of these activities
and the resulting decisions, and monitors their effectiveness.
The organization has documented procedures for dealing with actual and potential nonconformances.

Quality is always the result of high intension, sincere efforts, intelligent direction and
skillful execution

Certification (ISO 9001:2008)

ISO does not itself certify organizations. Numerous certification bodies exist, which audit
organizations and, upon success, issue ISO 9001 compliance certificates. Although commonly
referred to as 'ISO 9000' certification, the actual standard to which an organization's quality
management system can be certified is ISO 9001:2008. Many countries have
formed accreditation bodies to authorize ("accredit") the certification bodies. Both the
accreditation bodies and the certification bodies charge fees for their services. The various
accreditation bodies have mutual agreements with each other to ensure that certificates issued
by one of the Accredited Certification Bodies (CB) are accepted worldwide. Certification bodies
themselves operate under another quality standard, ISO/IEC 17021while accreditation bodies
operate under ISO/IEC 17011.
An organization applying for ISO 9001 certification is audited based on an extensive sample at
its sites, functions, products, services and processes. The auditor presents a list of problems
(defined as "nonconformities", "observations" or "opportunities for improvement") to
management. If there are no major non-conformities, the certification body will issue a
certificate. Where major nonconformities are identified, the organization will present an
improvement plan to the certification body (e.g. corrective action reports showing how the
problems will be resolved); once the certification body is satisfied that the organization has
carried out sufficient corrective action, it will issue a certificate. The certificate is limited by a
certain scope (e.g. production of golf balls) and will display the addresses to which the
certificate refers.
An ISO 9001 certificate is not a once-and-for-all award, but must be renewed at regular
intervals recommended by the certification body, usually once every three years. There are no
grades of competence within ISO 9001: either a company is certified (meaning that it is
committed to the method and model of quality management described in the standard) or it is
not. In this respect, ISO 9001 certification contrasts with measurement-based quality systems
such as the Capability Maturity Model.

Quality Key to Project Management Triangle

When project management triangle is to analyze or understand the difficulties that may arise
due to implementing and executing a project. All projects irrespective of their size will have
many constraints.
Although there are many such project constraints, these should not be barriers for successful
project execution and for the effective decision making.
There are main three interdependent constraints for every project; time, cost, and scope. This
is also known as Project Management Triangle.
The Three Constraints:
The three constraints in a project management triangle are time, cost and scope.
If you are doing something the same way you have been doing for 10 yrs, the
chances are you are doing it wrong

Project Management Triangle

Time
A project's activities can either take shorter or longer amount of time to complete. Completion
of tasks depends on a number of factors such as the number of people working on the project,
experience, skills etc.
On the other hand, failure to meet the deadlines in a project can create adverse effects. Most
often, the main reason for organizations to fail in terms of time is due to lack of resources.
Cost
It's imperative for the organization to have an estimated cost when undertaking a project.
Budgets will ensure that project is developed or implemented below a certain cost.
Sometimes, project managers have to allocate additional resources in order to meet the
deadlines with a penalty of additional project costs.
Scope
Scope looks at the outcome of the project undertaken. This consists of a list of deliverables
which need to be addressed by the project team.
A successful manager will know to manage both the scope of the project and any change in
scope which impacts time and cost.
Quality
Quality is not a part of the project management triangle, but it is the ultimate objective of every
delivery. Hence, the project management triangle represents implies quality.
Many managers are under the notion that 'high quality comes with high cost', which to some
extent is true. By using low quality resources to accomplish project deadlines does not ensure
success of the overall project.
Like with the scope, quality will also be an important deliverable for the project.

You seldom increase quality by cutting costs, but you can often cut costs by
improving quality

Some practices to be avoided in order to give Quality Management its desired destination:

Eliminate numerical goals, posters and slogans for the workforce asking for new levels of
productivity without providing methods.
Eliminate work standards that prescribe numerical quotas.
Remove barriers that stand between the hourly worker and his right to pride of
workmanship.

Relationship Between Quality and Productivity

Quality and Productivity are like two sides of a coin. Productivity not only means getting
progress of work only it is about getting progress without trespassing the quality.
Initially there was a mentality that if we go for quality in construction work during project
execution it will indirectly effect the productivity of the project.

Traditional Approach
Modern Approach shows as we increase the quality of work during execution of work
productivity will also increase proportionally.

Modern Approach

Quality is not an act, it is a habit

Quality Up, Productivity Up-Everybody Wins

The chain reaction goes like this: whenever quality is improved, Cost decreases because
of less rework, fewer mistakes, fewer delays, snags, better use of machine time and
materials. As a result of it, productivity improves.
Meaningful change can only take place from within focus on the competition will not
ensure survival. Focus on the customer, not the competition. Encourage effective twoway communication and other means to drive out fear throughout the organization so
that everybody may work effectively and more productively for the company.
Fear is a barrier to improvement: wherever there is fear, we get the wrong figures. Fear
in work is opposite to joy in work. Fear of change is a big barrier to be overcome people
dont resist change, they resist being changed! The need is for everybody to be part of
the change, and to own the change process.
Remember that after all it is the self-satisfaction that matters in the end. This comes
with quality and thus the productivity. At individual level, it provides employment
security in a no-job security world. They also help to get more of the things money will
buy and many more of the things that money cant buy. Youve got to be before you can
do and do before you can have.

Benefits of quality in project construction:

High cost of catastrophic failure can be avoided.

Happier and satisfied people on the job
More jobs
Improved morale
Profitability-greater profits to the organization.

Quality means doing it right when no one is looking

Optimum Quality & Productivity at Minimal Cost

In every project various costs incurred for quality and productivity purpose can mainly be
divided in two categories.
Two categories of costs:

Unavoidable Costs: It is that cost which occur in preventing defects (inspection,

sampling, sorting, QC etc.)
Avoidable Costs: It is cost incurred due to defects and product failures (scrapped
materials, labour for re-work, complaint processing, losses from unhappy customers

It helps us to control the cost of quality. As we go further to improve quality avoidable cost
decreases but unavoidable cost increases. Our aim should not be just to increase quality
aimlessly but to consider a point of optimum quality which gives minimum total cost.
Our thinking should be like that everyone is responsible for Quality and Productivity. It should
come from within us. Nobody teaches us to select or purchase the quality goods when we go to
shop, it is our instinct which tells us that we should purchase the best among all existing for the
price we are paying.
Quality can be improved at the designed level but more sophisticated and effective
programmes require initial investment. But once design is fixed it depends on the way we
handle the equipments i.e. regular check, maintenance etc. All these call for Quality
Management Programmes to be followed effectively. Earlier philosophy was to rectify the
problems as they occur. Our aim should not only be to detect the faults and errors but to
prevent them from occurring again. All these changes cannot be realized in a single day or two.
Remember greatness requires time. Management must ensure that immediate action is taken
on reports of inherited defects, maintenance requirements, poor tools, fuzzy operational
definitions, and other conditions detrimental to quality. For long term benefits we will have to
act in short term. Todays short-term measures have long-term impacts.
Quality is a journey and not destination