OVERCOMING CONSTRUCTION CHALLENGES IN AFRICA There are ways to overcome the difficulties and challenges of infrastructure development in Africa, according to Evert Lategan, managing director of project management company Integrated Solutions, which specialises in the refurbishment of hotels. One of the latest projects Integrated Solutions completed is the four-star Mammy Yoko Hotel project in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Its great that South African companies are given opportunities to work in Africa. Working in many of the developing countries has its own set of obstacles and challenges, ranging from difficulties with procurement and sourcing the right materials to completing construction on time against tight deadlines and at the correct quality," said Lategan. The Mammy Yoko Hotel, re-branded as the Mammy Yoko Radisson Blu is a 172-key multi-storey establishment, which was abandoned during Sierra Leone's civil war. As potential main contractors had little or no experience in hotel refurbishment, construction management issues were overcome by employing a multitude of various artisans, who ensured that the construction works were implemented. Quality issues: "With increased supervision and quality control measures in place, excellent standards of quality and workmanship were achieved. Integrated Solutions provided the correct training, supervision, and guidance throughout the duration of the project," said Lategan. Even language barriers were overcome by site staff learning the basics of the local dialect and making use of local translators when necessary." The introduction of incentives improved the pace of work of local employees and the lack of local technical know-how was overcome by introducing expatriate consultants. As noted by one of the project managers, modern quality management and project management are complementary, they both emphasize customer satisfaction. Quality leads to customer satisfaction. The main objective in quality management is making sure that the project meets the needs that it was originally created to meetnothing more, nothing less. In other words, to ensure quality you must meet the needs of the stakeholder. At the beginning of the project, requirements are determined with the stakeholders. These requirements become the foundation for the work of the project. After that, the project managers job is to ensure that the agreed work is done, no extras included. Quality is not about giving the customer extras, which are often based on possibly erroneous perceptions of what you believe the customer wants. These extras add time, possibly costs, and other impacts to a project, but do not always result in increased customer satisfaction. Extracted from: https://www.fin24.com/Companies/Industrial/Overcoming-construction-challenges-in-Africa20141201 1.1 As mentioned in the case study project quality management has become a priority among project managers within the construction as a result of the associated costs. In light of this, examine the significance of Dr W Edwards Deming in contributing to quality excellence in the construction sector. (15 marks) 1.2 In order for the construction project highlighted in the case study to be delivered successfully you have been informed that the team needs to dedicate more effort towards project planning. As an expert in quality management processes discuss the key elements that need to be considered by the project managers to ensure that a sound project management plan is created. (15 marks