Construction Engineering Management Quality Control and Quality Assurance

1. Quality Control and
Quality Assurance

3. What is Quality ?
 In manufacturing, a measure of excellence or a state of
being free from defects, deficiencies and significant variations. It is
brought about by strict and consistent commitment to certain
standards that achieve uniformity of a product in order to satisfy
specific customer or user requirements.
(http://www.businessdictionary.com)
the totality of features and characteristics of a product
or service that bears its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.
(ISO 8402-1986)

4. Common Meanings of Quality
• Quality is fitness for use
• Quality is meeting customers
expectations
• Quality is exceeding the customers
expectations
• Quality is superiority to competitors

5. Quality Control (QC)
- The standard(s) to which the construction or assembly of a building
component has been incorporated into the project’s design.

6. • Quality control is concerned with the operational
activities and techniques that are used to fulfill the
requirements of quality.
• The quality control process includes the activities
which ensure a high quality product. These activities
focus on identifying defects in the actual product
being produced.
• Quality control functions start once the project work
has begun. Quality control is a reactive approach and
helps you find defects in deliverables.

7. Quality Assurance (QA)
- Is all those planned and systematic actions
necessary to provide adequate confidence that
an entity will fulfill requirements for quality.

8. • Quality assurance is a process based approach whose
prime objective is to prevent defects in deliverables in
the planning process itself to avoid the rework, which
costs a lot.
• Quality assurance is a proactive process, and it starts
at the very beginning of the project to understand the
product’s stated and non-stated requirements and
expectations, and then develop the plan to meet
these requirements and expectations.
• Quality audit is an example of a quality assurance
process. Other examples of quality assurance are
training, process definition, selection of tools, etc.

9. The Difference between Quality Assurance and
Quality Control
QA
QC
• On the other hand in quality control,
you try to find defects and correct
them while making the product.
• Quality control is all about the
detection.
• Quality control is a product based
approach.
• Quality control is used to verify the
quality of the product.
• In quality assurance, you plan to
avoid the defect in the first place.
• Quality assurance is all about
prevention.
• Quality assurance is a process
based approach.
• Quality assurance involves
processes managing quality.

10. The Difference between Quality Assurance and Quality Control
QA
QC
• Inspection and testing are
examples of the quality
control process.
• Quality control identifies the
defects after the product is
produced but is not yet
released or is still in the
production phase.
• Quality audit is an example
of quality assurance.
• The goal of the quality
assurance process is to
develop a process so that
defects do not arise when
you are producing the
product

11. The Benefits of Quality Assurance and Quality
Control
• It gives you a high quality output.
• It increases the efficiency of operations.
• It brings customer satisfaction, which affects your
brand and helps you grow your business.
• If your product is of good quality, you will not need
much rework and there will not be much after-sale
support required. This will help you save a lot of
money.
• A high level of confidence and a motivated team.

12. Quality Begins with
Quality Design

13. Quality Design
- It means the intentions of the designers to
include/ exclude features in a product or service
i.e. the degree to which the quality characteristics
are embedded into the product/ service.

14. FMI/ CMAA Survey
• The process of computer-assisted design has not only greatly increased
productivity but has also resulted in less attention to single elements w/in
the design process.
• Owners, demanding compressed design time, compound the lack of
attention to details and problems associated with coordination issues.
• Tremendous pressure on design fees leads to less experienced individuals
working on design details.
• Mechanical and electrical subcontractors and their manufacturer
representatives often more aware of technological advances than design
engineers.
• The advances in materials and systems make design more complex;
therefore, shop drawing s are more accurate in detail than the designs
created by the architect.

15. Total Quality Management
(TQM)
- Encompasses elements that form the basis of a
company wide focus on quality- elements that extend
from the office to the field.

16. Elements of Total Quality Management in
Construction Process
MANAGEMENT
COMMITMENT
& LEADERSHIP
TOTAL QUALITY
MANAGEMENT
TEAMWORK
SUPPLIER
INVOLVEMENT
COST OF
QUALITY
CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC
FACTORS
TRAINING
STATISTICAL
METHODS
CUSTOMER
SERVICE

17. • Management Commitment & Leadership - TQM is a culture and philosophy that
must permeate an organization as the method of management. It can thrive only
under a senior management that establishes TQM as a top priority. This
commitment must be coupled with a thorough understanding of TQM. Only if
supported by this commitment and understanding, can senior management lead
the company toward the realization of higher quality in its undertakings.
• Training - There should be customized training plans for management, engineers,
technicians, home and field office staff, support personnel and field labor.
• Teamwork - TQM concept to the parties mentioned above in the form of joint
teams achieves higher customer satisfaction. These joint teams are responsible
for establishing joint goals, plans, and controls.
• Statistical Method - provide problem-solving tools to the TQM process.

18. • Cost of Quality - the primary tool for measuring quality. (Crosby, P. B., Cutting the Cost of Quality.
Farnsworth, Boston, 1967. ; Juran, J. M. (Ed.), Juran's Quality Control Handbook, 4th edn. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1988. )
• Supplier Involvement - The ability to produce a quality product largely depends on the
relationship among the parties involved in the process; the supplier, the processor, and the
customer.
• Customer Service - Customers may be either internal or external. Satisfying the needs of
these customers is an essential part of the process of supplying the final external customer
with a quality product.
• Construction Industry- Specific Factors
1. Quality of codes and standards - According to the ASCE manual, 2 the primary
purpose of codes and standards is to protect the public's health and safety.
2. Quality of drawings and specifications- Drawings and specifications are the two
sets of documents given to the constructor that provide technical information on
materials, performance of the constructed facility, and quality requirements.
3. Constructability of design-the design professional must consider the
requirements of the constructor. The project must be constructible by those
retained to build the project.

19. Benchmarking
- Is the procedure where a company seeks out and studies
the best practices in order to produce a superior
performance.

20. Forms of Benchmarking
• Internal Benchmarking- investigates
the practices and performance within
the company.
• External Benchmarking- compares
the company’s practices and
performance with world-class
performers.

21. • External Competitive Benchmarking- is comparison
of company’s activity with direct competitors
• External Industrial or Functional Benchmarking-compares
company’s functions with functions of
other companies.
• External Generic Benchmarking- broadens fields of
application of benchmarking process beyond the
limits of specific company and industry it belongs
to.