ABSTRACT
Clients and other project stakeholders today place much
emphasis on attaining quality on their projects, within stipulated time and
budget. Total Quality Management (TQM) is counted as an advanced system in the
field of quality, making it needful for construction companies to implement
this system in order to attain quality on their projects. It is against this
background that specific objectives were set to investigate the implementation
of TQM by identifying quality management practices that improve stakeholder’s
satisfaction, its implementation benefits from stakeholders’ perspectives in
the Ghanaian construction industry. Questionnaires employed to fulfil the study
objectives were developed based on the information gathered from literature
review. In the questionnaire, five point Likert scale was used to gather
information on the quality management practices that improve stakeholder
satisfaction and its benefits. The data obtained were analyzed using the
Relative Importance Index (RII). Analysis of the data revealed that the
implementation of Total Quality Management had not taken full effect in Ghana,
nonetheless the quality management practices identified that improve
stakeholders’ satisfaction comprise employing specialists to carry out key
aspects of the project, ensuring the use of quality standards, offering a
beneficial and safe working environment, ensuring the construction activities
meet the required standards and employing on site testing procedures for
materials. However, the implementation will require top management commitment,
employee involvement and the organizations ability to adapt the TQM change. The
benefits gained from implementing TQM comprise reduction in rework and waste,
reduction in construction cycle time, reduction in client’s complaints and
savings on cost incurred. The study has made a substantial contribution to the
knowledge of TQM in the Ghanaian Construction Industry by throwing more light
on the practices that can be adopted towards achieving quality on construction
projects.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Workmanship flaws, time as well as
cost overrun have been the difficulties faced by the construction industry
(Harrington et al., 2012). Key project stakeholders therefore find it essential
to attain high quality outcomes on their construction projects making quality
management an important component in managing construction projects (Tang &
Andrew 2009) as cited by (Gherbal et al., 2012). Construction companies are
tasked to constantly create additional value and provide great quality products
to appeal to their clients or customers.
The aspect of meeting the
aesthetic, functional and legal conditions of projects can be termed as
quality. While in construction; quality is meeting the specifications of the
project team and regulatory agencies (Asim et al., 2013). Correspondingly,
Arditi and Gunaydin (1997) as cited by Asim et al. (2013), are of the opinion
that quality in construction is achieved by meeting the client’s needs, design
specifications, aesthetic requirements and functional requirements in conformance
with appropriate laws, regulations, codes and policies etc.
Studies on quality in the
construction industry has been extensively carried out taking into
consideration the main parties involved in the project lifecycle such as
clients, project donors, projects and construction managers and contractors of
building and infrastructure projects (Achterkamp & Vos, 2008; Arditi &
Gunaydin, 1997). For quality to be achieved, there is the need to have
efficient quality management hence the need for Total Quality Management.
Quality management involves the
process of planning, organizing and control with the objective of attaining
quality work at reasonable cost whilst ensuring customer approval and enhancing
the company’s reputation. The key focus of an organization applying quality management is to formulate customer
satisfaction strategies which meet their needs and outlooks while improving the
effectiveness of the business (Mazher et al., 2015). Gherbal et al. (2012)
identified Total Quality Management as an approach to ensuring the execution of
projects are to stakeholder requirements.
Total quality management is defined
by Dean and Bowen (1994); Grant et al. (1994) and Shiba et al. (1993) as cited
by Colurcio and Mele (2006) as a complete approach based on organization
processes and continuous improvement focus by all to satisfy the client and
stakeholders requirement. Total Quality Management is a development process for
firms encompassing the relationship with suppliers, customers and other
interested parties. The role of Total Quality Management to a firm’s
effectiveness certainly makes it essential for them to identify and reinforce
their strength and to eliminate any weaknesses (Dean & Bowen, 1994; Hackman
& Wageman, 1995) as cited by (Colurcio & Mele, 2006). The construction
industry has achieved developments in value, productivity and competitiveness
by ensuring the achievement of set standards through Total Quality Management
(Bakar et al., 2011).
1.2 Problem Statement
The Ghanaian Construction Industry
has seen a major growth since the country attained middle-income status in 2010
in addition to its discovery and production of oil in commercial quantities
(Wikipedia, 2010). This growth has resulted in increasing global competition
and the higher demand for building and civil engineering products. This makes
it crucial for the construction industry in Ghana to implement effective
quality management practices to address the persistent shortfalls of poor
performance, poor quality of works, and lack of innovation and professionalism
(Ahadzie, 2009).
Ofori (2012) emphasized that
Ghanaian contractors had not been successful in achieving quality on their
projects since Total Quality Management principles were not employed.
Construction companies are faced
with many management related issues such as planning, effective communication,
customer satisfaction, availability of materials and equipment, health and
safety awareness, low level of skilled personnel, lack of teamwork, poor
organization and scheduling and controlling techniques (Fugar &
Agyarkwa-Baah, 2010; Amoah et al., 2011; Ofori, 2012). In agreement to this
Imbeah (2012) pointed out that Total Quality Management has not been
successfully implemented in Ghana since no such mechanism is in existence for
practical implementation of these standards. Asim et al. (2013) mentioned that
projects have not been accomplished within budget and on time due to the
presence or non- existence of quality management practices.
The issues raised points to the
need of Total Quality Management implementation in the Ghanaian construction
industry to increase performance, reduce waste and rework and increase customer
satisfaction. (Harrington et al., 2012).
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