MANAGING QUALITY ON CONSTRUCTION SITES IN SOUTH AFRICA

In South Africa, construction projects still experience non-conformance to quality requirements as well as cost and schedule overruns to the detriment of clients. For project success to be attained, conformance to these parameters is the minimum expectation in the face of other considerations related to client satisfaction. Thus, through the use of existing literature, and a field study conducted among site management employees working for general contractors (GCs) in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, the management of quality on construction sites was examined.

The construction industry contributes immensely to the global economy. As a result, there appears to be a relatively vigorous competition among construction firms for various business reasons. Most firms therefore compete with their prowess in production efficiency. The quality of site production activities are often taken into consideration in order to satisfy internal and external stakeholders while building good reputation for the firm. However, the literature is full of examples of project deviations in the form of non-conformance to quality requirements and other objectives. These deviations constitute a hindrance to the competitiveness of the firm on one hand, and the entire industry on the other hand. Oakland and Marosszeky (2005) state that organizations compete on reputation for quality, reliability, price and delivery, and as such people now recognize that quality is crucial to the sustenance of a competitive advantage.

As an illustration, when firms become known for poor quality product, it could take a long time to recover that reputation. Hence, quality is a key competitive weapon in the construction industry (Oakland and Marosszeky, 2005). In particular, the industry in South Africa is currently facing problems related to the standard of construction quality expected by clients (Emuze and Smallwood, 2011). It is notable that project delivery that occurs within expected duration, cost, healthy and safe conditions, and to quality standards is a difficult task because least duration and minimal cost tend to conflict with quality and health and safety (H&S) (Patrick, 2004). According to Ali and Kamaruzzaman (2010), scope, cost, time, and quality are the four fundamental constraints needed to be considered when managing construction projects, regardless of location.

The quest for optimum reputation by a general contractor (GC) in the construction industry demands project performance considerations that would improve the satisfaction of clients. General contractors (GCs) gain reputation through fulfilling the needs of clients and the gain of reputation is the major requirement for a GC to be more competitive in the sector (Ashworth, 2004). The interdependence between the business and project aspects of construction management has been argued to be crucial in the quest for improved profitability in the sector (Smallwood, 2006). The interdependence can be gleaned from various construction management related researched findings from South Africa. Ncwadi and Dangalazana (2006) report that South African construction is faced with productivity and quality problems. The authors contend that productivity and quality in South Africa has dropped, while H&S have only marginal improved. As a result, the industry is continuously experiencing confrontations with regard to dissatisfaction of clients (Ncwadi and Dangalana, 2006). This may suggest that contractors have realized the importance of H&S in the construction industry, and then started to focus on H&S, at the expense of other project considerations such as quality. The lack of quality is recognized through nonconformance of work to the established requirements that is evident when constructed project does not meet clients needs and specifications (Battikha, 2002).

QUESTION 2

With reference to the construction sector and using relevant examples examine the benefits associated with investing in quality management.