Total quality management practices in construction companies kerala

1. Proceedings of the International Conference on Emerging Trends in Engineering and Management (ICETEM14)
30 – 31, December 2014, Ernakulam, India
230
TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN
CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES (KERALA)
[1]
Ms. AISWARYA.K.LALAJI, [2]
Ms. SIVAGAMI.M
[1], [2]
Civil Engineering, RVS Technical Campus-Coimbatore/Anna University-Chennai/India
ABSTRACT
Total quality management (TQM) process is considered as a modern system in the field of quality, after quality
assurance, quality control and ISO in the Construction sector. Recently many organisations have resorted to the
application of total quality management, with a view to assessing the level of quality and to improve it. But most of the
companies find it difficult to plan and implement the Total Quality Management concepts. This paper aims to identify the
TQM practices in construction companies in Kerala, the level of effectiveness of TQM in construction companies, and
problems in relation to the implementation of TQM in construction companies. The study entails questionnaire
development and analysis of its response from large and medium scale companies in Kerala. The study also includes
interviews with the project managers, contractors etc. For analyzing purpose, chi square test, frequencies and response
rate are used in this paper. It is hoped that the outcomes of this study may provide a proper knowledge on TQM,
guideline to the owners of the construction industry and help them understand the notion of Total Quality Management in
its real term.
Keywords: Construction Companies, Customer Satisfaction, Implementation, Total Quality Management,
TQM Practices.
1. INTRODUCTION
In order to comprehend the need for improvement in the construction industry and to better manage our projects
and construction companies, we need to look for a method to do so. Construction managers need to improve their
performance. Construction costs are becoming far too high. Construction project management is more difficult than it
should be. When turnaround at the end of a project becomes a gut-wrenching experience with unnecessary disputes
(which must be settled) that arise due to insufficient quality or indifference to quality, settlement by negotiation,
arbitration, or even litigation imposes a serious drain on the financial resources of a company and limits profit potential.
To be competitive in today’s market, it is essential for construction companies to provide more consistent quality and
value to their owners/customers. Now is the time to place behind us the old adversarial approach to managing
construction work. It is time to develop better and more direct relationships with our owners/customers, to initiate more
teamwork at the jobsite, and to produce better quality work.
Such goals demand that a continuous improvement (CI) process be established within the company in order to
provide quality management. Ancient Greeks referred to the concept of continuous improvement as well as the Chinese.
Recently continuous improvement has been referred to as Total Quality Management (TQM). Whichever name is
preferred; the concept must be understood and applied to a firm’s operations. Implementing total quality management /
continuous improvement in managing everyday construction activities is relevant to all those who participate in and
contribute to the construction process.
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2. Proceedings of the International Conference on Emerging Trends in Engineering and Management (ICETEM14)
30 – 31, December 2014, Ernakulam, India
231
From the preliminary studies it is clear that the concept of Total Quality Management is not clear to the construction
companies and the organizations still follow Quality control practices. Many companies find it difficult to implement
total quality management completely due to several limitations.
The main aim behind this paper is to study the Total Quality Management Practices in construction companies
in Kerala region. The objectives are to study:
• Practices of total quality management in construction projects.
• Level of commitment of management towards the implementation of quality management in construction
projects.
• Problems in relation to the implementation of quality management in construction projects.
2. TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT
“Quality management” is commonly substituted, “Total Quality Management”. Before the concept of TQM is
defines, it is necessary to define the concept of quality management.
According to ISO 8402, Quality management can be defined as follows: “All activities of the overall
management function that determine the quality policy, objectives and responsibilities, and implement them by means
such as quality planning, quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement within the quality system”
Total Quality Management is a philosophy gradually evolved from the management theories such as
management by objectives, quality circles, strategic planning etc. To understand the concept, it is better first to
understand the three words constituting the concept, i.e., Total, Quality and Management.
1) Total: Everyone in the organization is involved in creating and maintaining the quality of the services and products
offered by the organization. It is a comprehensive way of dealing with complex sets of interacting issues involving
everyone at all levels and addressing all major issues.
2) Quality: The organization through individual and collective actions focuses on meeting customer’s needs, at lowest
cost, first time and every time and hence recognizing that it is the customer’s perception that identifies quality. Total
quality therefore refers to the fact involved in achieving quality according to some requirements or laid down.
3) Management: While managing the system, the emphasis should be towards continuous improvement and not on quick
fixes. Then only Quality can be achieved. This requires everyone in the organization to be responsible for managing their
own job. TQM portrays a whole systems view for quality management. TQM builds on the idea that an organization is an
interactive network of communication and control.
Total Quality Management is a management system for a customer focused organization that involves all
employees in a continual improvement of all aspects of the organization.
TQM is a comprehensive management system which:
• Focuses on meeting owners’/customers’ needs by providing quality services at a cost that provides value to the
owners/customers
• Is driven by the quest for continuous improvement in all operations
• Recognizes that everyone in the organization has owners/customers who are either internal or external
• Views an organization as an internal system with a common aim rather than as individual departments acting to
maximize their own performances
• Focuses on the way tasks are accomplished rather than simply what tasks are accomplished
• Emphasizes teamwork and a high level of participation by all employees
3. METHODOLOGY
The methodology adopted for the study can be categorized as below:
• Study of literatures related to TQM
• Preliminary survey on the need for study
• Preparation of questionnaire
• Questionnaire survey and personal interviews with the managers and engineers
• Analyzing the questionnaire
• Formulation of result

3. Proceedings of the International Conference on Emerging Trends in Engineering and Management (ICETEM14)
30 – 31, December 2014, Ernakulam, India
232
35 large and medium scale companies were selected randomly from all regions of Kerala. Questionnaire is
divided into four parts consisting of 32 questions. The questions are based on the perception of quality, quality
management program in the organization, knowledge about TQM, data acquisition methods and training given to the
employees. Personnel interviews will be carried out with the management and engineers to reach out the problems in the
implementation of TQM in construction companies and to know the commitment of top management in the
implementation of TQM.
The data collected through questionnaire survey will be analyzed using the non parametric test-Chi square test.
The test helps to identify the significance of each parameters and ranking will be given based on the chi square value.
The survey helps to identify the level of TQM practices in the construction companies of Kerala. From the results, tools
and techniques for the implementation of TQM and suggestions regarding the current status of TQM practices will be
given.
4. BENEFITS OF TQM
Quality experts in private industry and government feel that there are four key measurable areas of an
organization’s operation that could demonstrate the impact of TQM practices on corporate performance. These benefit
areas include:
1) Better employee relations: One of the most important features in implementing a successful TQM system is attaining
a highly involves and motivated workforce. Leading companies are using several key indicators to measure the extent to
which their focus on quality leads to improvement in employee job satisfaction, attitude and behaviour. These key
indicators include employee satisfaction, employee attendance, employee turnover, safety and health and number of
suggestions made to improve quality and lower costs.
2) Improved operational performance: Organizations operational performance indicators measure the quality and cost
of their products and services. Leading companies are using measures to access the impact of quality management on
their operations. These measures includes reliability, timeliness of delivery, order processing time, production errors,
product lead time, inventory turnover, quality costs and cost savings.
3) Greater customer satisfaction: Many companies have changed their traditional view that quality involves merely
meeting technical specifications. They now recognize that the customer defines quality and that companies must focus on
meeting customer needs and expectations. Customer satisfaction is defined in terms of new customer referrals, fewer
customer complaints and high customer retention.
4) Increased financial performance: The impact on a company’s “bottom line” or operating results was measured by
several ratios. One important measure used is market share. Companies that build market share on the basis of improved
product/service quality and value believe it is the route to increased profitability. Other measures include productivity
and profitability expressed as sales per employee and sales per a comparable retail store, return on assets and return on
sales.
5. OBSTACLES IN TQM
From the initial study on TQM, the obstacles to implement TQM seem endless. The obstacles that plague
organizations most often are as follows:
1) Lack of top management commitment and vision: When the senior officers of the firm/company are not committed,
TQM cannot be implemented. The strength in the commitment is manifested during periods of trouble.
2) Company culture and management style: When TQM is to be introduced; it needs adjustments in work practices
and culture of the organization. Changing the company culture takes a long time. This can be achieved easily by taking
the departments and people into confidence.
3) Department based thinking and actions: TQM implementation plan should cover all the departments. There should
be enough communication between departments. Companies should shed their department based thinking style in order
to implement TQM effectively.
4) Poor appreciation of the concepts and principles of TQM: TQM has been effective in bringing about a good
change in many companies. The experiences of senior managers from these companies can be shared, so that TQM
concepts and principles can be appreciated by all.

4. Proceedings of the International Conference on Emerging Trends in Engineering and Management (ICETEM14)
30 – 31, December 2014, Ernakulam, India
233
5) Lack of structure for TQM activities: Quality improvement techniques are not generally taught as part of the
curriculum- people learn it out of experience. Lack of an organised training program and not the assessing the needs of
various individuals and departments are the main obstacles in implementing TQM.
6) Deciding how to start: TQM is a continuous process which has no starting point and no end- point. The only
objective is quality improvement; therefore, companies usually waste a lot of time in, “deciding how to start”. This is one
of the barriers to TQM implementation.
7) Ineffective leadership: TQM is a group activity. It needs an effective leadership. The team members and leaders have
to be adequately trained and given the responsibility to do improvements in their work area. This is also known as
Empowerment. Ineffective leadership, inadequate empowerment, and lack of trust are barriers to TQM implementation.
8) Ignore external processes: The advantages with TQM are that it will require its managers to concentrate immensely
on internal processes of the company. But a major drawback is that, if managers concentrate too much on internal
processes, the external processes like keeping in touch with shifting perceptions and preferences of customers will be
ignored and the company is bound to take beating.
9) Fail to understand relationship: In a lot of cases managers fail to understand the angles of relationship with suppliers
and customers. Mutual trust and support are the keys to success.
10) Content with certifications or awards: Achieving certifications like ISO 9001-2000 or ISO 14000 or QS 9000 or
any other awards is not the end to TQM but beginning in the journey of quality. Managers often feel they have achieved
quality by certification or awards.
11) Difficulty in implementation: Quality should be understood in the same spirit and language both by the
management and employees, otherwise implementation becomes difficult.
Among all the obstacles mentioned above, very often it is the management commitment that becomes an
impediment to the implementation of quality improvement processes. We have to keep in mind that there are some
requirements that need to be in place for continuous improvement efforts to succeed.
Management of the organization that requires TQM need to have a non-superficial understanding of
organizational change processes, leadership skills, quality improvement concepts, organizational culture etc. Managers
also need to identify their own management biases and philosophy, not in an abstract way, but with respect to their day-
to-day actions. Managers also need to help to establish a climate in which disagreement is managed effectively, and
finally, managers need to recognize situations where they would benefit from third party intervention.
6. CONCLUSION
It can be summarized from the study that majority of the companies are unsure as to why they would implement
TQM. Practices in an organization reflect the true factual happenings that take place on projects. ‘Resistance to change’
shown by most of the companies reflects their lack of interest in adopting new technologies as they do not want to break
away from the established norms. Employees should be empowered to make decisions on the matters of quality and
encouraged to propose solutions related to their work problems. It is suggested that through effective communication and
improved project coordination, workers must be motivated to improve their work performance.
TQM can improve business quality, increase customer satisfaction, reduce cost, save time and much more. The
reason that the construction industry has arrived late to TQM is that the construction professionals unaware of the TQM
principles and techniques. To bring these benefits to the construction industry, more efforts must be made to spread the
culture of TQM among the construction professionals and TQM courses must be in the engineering under graduated
programs.
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30 – 31, December 2014, Ernakulam, India
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