Quality control
Contents |
Abstract
When managing conformance in construction projects an important aspect is quality control (QC), in order to assure high quality of outcome as well as in the project process. Thus the main purpose of performing QC is to determine if the established quality requirements and the project objectives are achieved. Furthermore an important part of QC is to investigate the causes of the arising problems, as well as finding ways to eliminate unsatisfactory performance.
As quality control techniques are needed in order to perform QC, two quality control techniques are introduced in this article. The first technique introduced is “cause and effect diagrams”, which focus on correcting the non-conformance after it has occurred, which is the focus of most quality control techniques. The idea of the technique is to find the roots to the problem and visualizing them by creating a fish bone diagram. The possibilities and limitations to the technique will be clarified. “Statistical process control” is a tool to prevent unsatisfactory performance and is the second technique introduced in the article. This technique deals with statistical analysis of data obtained from similar projects, and control chart can be used to determine if the outcome of the analysis is tolerable. As this technique requires data logging of previous projects, the possibility of implementation of the technique in a construction process is discussed as the complexity and conformance requirements in construction projects can make the technique less effective even though the construction process is a repetitive process overall.
Quality control
Product quality control
Process quality control
Performing quality control
Continuous control, Early quality control, Quality control at delivery
Monitoring
Manual inspections
Digital tools for inspections
Quality control techniques
Corrective techniques
Preventive techniques
Implementation of preventive techniques
Discussion
What is good quality control
Benefits of good quality control
Consequences of poor quality control
Limitations
The requirements have to be clear
Project specific control
Time – there have to be time to do it.
Knowledge – people have to understand the process in order to control them.
