Identifying criteria for a quality management system in a construction company

Abstract

Quality has become an essential element in completing a construction project in South Africa. In the last decade, various construction failures have been reported in the news, with some incident causes directly related to poor quality work. Through incidents like these, companies have realised that a good quality product is crucial in commercial development and success (Dharani & Ganapathy Ramasamy, 2015:605). Quality is also an essential and competitive strategic tool that various companies have implemented to ensure product and service development (Dilawo & Salimi, 2019:1138; Masindi, 2019:24) as customers evaluate construction companies based on their reputation for quality, reliability, price, and delivery (Emuze & Mhlwa, 2015:1225). This reality creates a challenge for various small to medium-sized companies as they are not equipped or experienced in implementing a quality management system (QMS). This is exacerbated by a lack of QMS guidelines in South Africa, causing various companies to implement a partial QMS or no QMS at all. The study investigated a QMS in a South African construction company. The primary objective of the study was to identify five criteria for the implementation of a QMS. This qualitative study included three companies within the construction industry specialising in three sectors, namely, building, civil and mechanical works. Nine participants were interviewed, using open-ended questions to gain data to answer the primary and secondary objectives of the study. Four themes were identified relating to implementing a QMS, benefits and limitations, criteria for implementation and recommendations for implementing a QMS. A new amended model for implementing a QMS was designed and discussed to provide implementation guidelines and recommendations for construction companies, especially small to medium companies that finds it difficult to achieve ISO accreditation. A matrix provided correlate comparitive findings between literature and findings of the study.