An investigation into the impact of quality management systems upon construction productivity at the site level

This study Is concerned with an investigation Into the impact of Quality Management systems upon construction productivity. The main aim of the study was to establish a relationship between the Implementation of formal quality systems and improvement in productivity at the site level. The main objectives of the study are: to compare the construction productivity at the site level of organisations with formal quality systems as well as those without, to identify and categorlse the key factors Influencing productivity and to assess the impact, if any, of formal quality systems upon postive control of these factors. The surrogate measure used In the assessment of productivity Is Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and the methodology used In comparing the productivity level of different projects was the construction of the Isoquant diagram and hence identifying the productive frontier. Assessment of the Impact of formal quality management systems upon productivity variables was carried out through questionnaires followed by interviews with practitioners at the forefront of the quality management movement. Results of the analysis of data of the first phase of the study pointed towards accepting the hypothesis that there Is relationship between the implementation of formal quality systems and Improvement in the productivity level achieved by different organisations. The percentage of projects present on the productive frontier were 71% completed with formal systems, compared to 29% with non-formal ones. The second phase of the investigation showed that productivity Improvement is a function of a set of managerially controllable variables (MCVs) and that the improvement in productivity Is dependent on the nature of management of these variables. Moreover, It was also revealed that the Implementation of formal quality systems lead to better management of those MCVs that determine productivity.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral-pg

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Strathclyde

Year dc:date.issued

1995

Author dc:creator

• Eltigani, Hadi Mohammed Ahmed

DOI

10.48730/k1c6-ef33

Identifier

uk.bl.ethos.298793
T8588

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:strathclyde:p8418n34x