Quality Activities

Each individual (in construction) entrusted with the position of managing the quality management system in a construction project shall comprehend that there are activities that he or she needs to plan, assure, and control during the whole construction tenure. What are the major activities? or does he/she simply requires instructions from his/her superiors?

Therefore, if you are appointed as a QAQC Manager for a project, what is your strategic direction of quality management for the whole projects? The quality activities below may give your brief framework on the activities that you shall focused on.

Quality activities consist of four main pillars, which include:

Strategic Direction

Strategic direction is important to ensure the project management team is on the right track and that the management of the project is within acceptable limits and under control from time to time. Even if companies with quality management system certification (e.g., ISO 9001) already have their vision, mission, and policy set up at HQ, there must be one that cascades down to the project organization team, at least project quality objectives. In normal practice (especially in Malaysia), general objective templates are drafted by HQ, and project personnel completely adapt the objectives into their projects, which is not wrong but not quite accurate. Project personnel is advised to draft their own project objectives because they are the ones who are familiar with the project management circle's environment (including the client, contract administrator, and project organization team), and keep in mind that objectives will be audited regularly for achievement, and evidence of achievement must be recorded. It is thus important that the project management team defines its objectives, which should reflect the values, aims, and overall strategy of the organization that are in line with HQ.

In a typical construction project management, when we talk about what our objectives are at the end of the project, people always relate it to the golden triangle of project management (you can google the keyword and find thousands of references to it). When speaking from a quality management system point of view, the edges of each triangle are as follows:

1. Scope: You need to understand the scope, requirements, standards, codes, and laws referring to each construction activity that you need to do. If you follow these rules, you are meeting quality requirements. According to Prof. David Arditi and H. Murat Gunaydin, quality in construction means that the structure you build is functional, looks good, and follows local laws.

2. Time: To get right to the point, your construction project must be finished within the time frame agreed upon by the client. This must be one of your project objectives and be checked on from time to time with the help of proper schedule management control.

3. Budget: This is also important; the project budget must be within an acceptable limit and the financial boundaries of the organization; however, the cost issue is always kept concealed and is usually not included in the project objectives.

Therefore, at the beginning of the project, it is important for the quality personnel in a construction project to effectively communicate and distribute the information regarding the strategic direction of Quality Management from headquarters to all project staff. This includes sharing Policy and establishing project objectives. The project objectives are not a one-time occurrence; they need to be continuously monitored for progress throughout the duration of the project.

Process and Procedure

What is process, and what is procedure? According to the Oxford dictionary, a process is a series of things that are done in order to achieve a particular result, while a procedure is a way of doing something, especially the usual or correct way. As a result, what we do is called process, and how we do it is called procedure.

The word "procedure" is not unique to Malaysians, as we have been through the pandemic era where there are a lot of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that we need to adhere to ensure that we will not be infected by COVID-19.

It is recognised that there are two aspects to the application of quality management in construction projects; that of the project's work processes and that of the project’s product. A failure to meet either of these dual aspects may have significant effects on the project’s output, the project’s owner and other interested parties, and the project's organisation.

The whole single construction project itself is a process; therefore, according to ISO 10006: Guideline for Project Management, project management includes the continual planning, organizing, monitoring, controlling, reporting, and taking necessary corrective actions on all sub-processes of the project that are needed to achieve the project objectives.  The experience gained in developing and implementing its own processes or those from other/previous projects should be cascaded to the project organisation team by the HQ. The project organisation team shall take this experience into account when establishing the project’s processes, but it may also need to establish processes that are unique to the project that he/she attached at the moment and it shall be according to existing client-oriented.

Thus, it is imperative for a quality personnel to ensure the establishment and maintenance of project quality management process documents throughout the duration of the project. This process is commonly referred to as the Project Quality Plan (PQP) or by other similar names. The PQP will serve as the primary document governing all quality-related activities, including inspections, tests, establishment and adherence to procedures, and so on. It shall act as a 'dictionary' for main reference on how to manage a quality system.

Documentation

When a construction project is initiated, especially during the construction stages, the project organization needs to establish a document management system. The system is critical to ensuring that documents flow smoothly within an organization.

In a certain construction project, especially a big or mega project, which consists of a vast organization consisting of hundreds of vendors (contractors, suppliers, consultants, laboratories, etc.), several documents correspond on a daily basis amongst these organization, even interdepartmentally within the organization. As a result, a strong document management system is required to ensure that all document flows are under control, and tracable.

Based on the author's experience, the most common documents that need to be handled by a team are an "inspection request" or "request for inspection," or however named (we'll discuss the purpose of this document in a later post), and construction drawings (either working drawings, shop drawings, or as-built drawings) come in second.

Therefore, the construction project shall appoint a capable document controller to identify and manage all documents in and out of the office. The document controller post shall be the gatekeeper for all documents before they pass through the office and are released. In some case a slight mistake in document arrangement may have a major impact on the organisation.

And in normal practises in Malaysia as well, document management will be handled by the quality department; it is very seldom projected that the DC will be parked under a different department, and if there is, there will usually be a communication problem interdepartmental. The quality department knows best about document management for the whole project, apart from quality assurance and quality control for the projects.

This approach differs from other sectors in Malaysia. For instance, in manufacturing, the quality department is responsible for conducting inspections and tests and granting approvals for release. However, they do not manage documentation. In contrast, the quality department in construction oversees a large amount of documentation, while inspections and tests are primarily carried out by the site supervisor and client representative (Inspector-of-work).

In order to have a strong document management plan, the document management team shall be able to identify not just internally produced documents but also those sourced from external sources (either authority, vendors, clients, or other interested parties), then establish SOPs for preparation, collection, identification, updating, distribution, filing, storage, protection, retrieval, retention time, and disposition of all the documents identified. The procedures shall contain this information:

1. What type of document needs to be prepared internally or received externally.

2. Why? —the purpose of the documentation.

3. When: when the documentation is expected to be received, established, or initiated, when the live document will change to record, and when the documents will be taken over or handed over interdepartmentally or interorganizational.

4. Who will be responsible for the documentation, including the initiator and receiver.

5. Where will the document be retained when it becomes a record.

Control of Resources

In a book (Toyota Way Fieldbook by Jeffrey K. Liker and David Meier), Toyota uses the 4Ms as one of its methods for locating the sources of issues (either originating from material, man, machine, or method). So, if we can figure out that this is major cause of the problem, we can control the resources and get rid of (or at least lessen) the problem before it happens. Therefore, before any construction work commenced, we need to make sure we know:

1. What are the resources needed?

2. Why is it needed?

3. When are the resources needed?

4. Who shall verify and validate the resources?

5. How will the resources assist in completing the process?
   

Material

Material is necessary for construction; this is a matter of course. There is some material used because construction entails fixing, installing, building, or demolishing a structure or a portion of a structure. (Just so you know, concrete is the most widely used building material in the world.) As with any other construction material, we must choose the materials we will use for the entire project. When are the resources needed (to assist with procurement)? Will the material content need to be approved before use?

Machinery

One of the most important resources to make sure the work is done in the right order during installation and fixing is machinery to do the work. The contractor is solely responsible for determining the kind and size of the machinery required for the job, as well as who will operate and inspect it. In addition to machinery, this section also includes plants and equipment, which can be classified under the machinery section. Plants, machinery, and equipment are a part of the support system for the manufacturing process' support, according to Dr. Joseph M. Juran.

Manpower

Manpower is another important resources for any job. It doesn't matter how good the machinery and materials are if there aren't enough people to operate them and put them in place. In addition to making sure there is enough manpower, the contractor must also make sure that the people who will operate the machinery or do the work are competent to do so. ISO 9002 says there are three ways to get competencies: through formal education, relevant training, or verified experiences. In construction, usually there are three tiers of competencies: unskilled workers, semi skilled workers, and highly skilled workers; nevertheless, the contractor shall establish the threshold of competencies required for every trade of work that the contractor plans to commence.

Method

Another resource that is required is method, but unlike the other 3 resources mentioned above, method is intangible and can only be visualised when the contractor creates a Work Method Statement. The most crucial factor, however, is that the workforce be able to effectively translate their competencies into workmanship and finish the task. The ability to predict the sequence or method of work from start to finish is necessary to ensure the competencies of workers; if not, they are not capable or competent enough to perform the job. This is another point that I didn't fully develop in Section "Manpower" (so I'll save it for this section).

In conclusion, it is not the responsibility of quality personnel to ensure the availability of resources. This task should be handled by project managers or other relevant departments. However, quality personnel should ensure that information pertaining to the resources is available. This includes ensuring that materials have been approved, work methods are accessible at the work site, evidence of competent manpower is present, and machines are in good condition (although collaboration with other department such as safety department can be sought to ensure this).