Posts in category: Quality management

Quality management is an important part of the overall management of construction projects. Without proper quality control measures, standards can quickly deteriorate, especially when working with contractors and large-scale construction projects.

Construction projects must adhere to strict standards regarding the quality of materials used and the craftsmanship involved in building and construction projects. Quality management helps ensure that all aspects of a project are completed according to safety regulations and industry best practices and that the end result meets standards.

What is construction quality management?

Quality management in construction involves establishing standards, procedures and protocols to ensure that a project is built to required specifications. This means, among other things, that all materials used are of the highest quality and that the finish meets the standards.

These could be activities such as:

• Risk assessment
• Quality assurance and control
• Inspections
• Testing and validation.

What is a construction quality management plan?

A quality management plan is a set of quality control processes specific to a particular project, location or contract. This ensures that all elements of the construction project are completed in accordance with the contract and to agreed quality standards.

The importance of quality management in construction

It is critical that project managers, contractors and subcontractors are familiar with quality management systems and processes as they are often expected to adhere to them to successfully complete a project. This means that all parties involved must understand the requirements of the project and how best to achieve them.

• Increasing productivity on location
• Make sure your contract is fulfilled on time
• Meeting and exceeding customer expectations
• Ensure consistent, high-quality results
• Minimizing operational layoffs
• Improving efficiency
• Reduce the risk of human error

Quality management systems and construction

A quality management system is the most important element in ensuring consistent, high-quality output for your construction company. It helps ensure that all legal requirements are met while providing a framework to ensure that each project is built to the required standards.

Examples of quality management in the construction sector

1. Establishing project specifications and establishing quality benchmarks.
2. Conducting inspections of materials and workmanship throughout the construction process.
3. Documenting any changes in specifications or deviations in the final product.
4. Ensure that proper safety protocols are followed during construction, including appropriate requirements for all workers.
5. Using advanced testing methods to ensure that the quality of materials and workmanship meets industry standards.
6. Creating a good system for documenting non-conformance issues during the construction process.
7. Developing corrective action plans in response to any identified quality assurance or control issues.
8. Implement a system for monitoring the progress of a construction project to ensure that tasks are completed on time and meet required expectations.
9. Keeping records of materials used, materials tested and results of tests conducted during the construction process.
10. Regularly review quality management processes and make improvements where necessary

One of the fundamental pillars of ISO certification is continuous improvement: the concept of continually assessing and improving internal processes, policies and procedures to ensure your organization is the best it can be.

Implementing a continuous improvement strategy is the easiest way to ensure your company’s commitment to continuous improvement. If you are intentional and strategic about your continuous improvement, it will benefit your organization far more than simply leaving it to chance.

Definition of continuous improvement

Continuous improvement in business refers to the process of continually assessing and improving internal processes, policies and procedures to ensure your organization is the best it can be. The easiest way to ensure your company’s commitment to continuous improvement is to implement a continuous improvement strategy.

Embracing the continuous improvement cycle

The point about improving your organization is that this will never happen. Just as a city is constantly able to repair, demolish, rebuild and upgrade, so too do your organization’s policies, procedures and processes.

A continuous improvement cycle moves an organization through the phases of improvement in an endless loop. Think of it as an upward spiral: each time the cycle starts again, you are higher than before.

This continuous improvement cycle diagram shows the phases of continuous improvement that leadership must go through to ensure it keeps pace with the changing needs of the organization.

benefits of creating a continuous improvement process

• Improved Collaboration – A continuous improvement strategy ensures that your business is always striving to be the best it can be. It can also help improve communication and collaboration within your organization by providing everyone with a centralized hub and framework for communicating improvement ideas.
• Identify problems before they happen. By proactively assessing and improving internal processes, you can identify areas where your business may be falling short and take steps to correct them before they become a serious problem.
• Consistent improvement across the company. A continuous improvement process allows every department and branch of your organization to work under the same framework, ensuring consistent improvement across the board.
• Improved leadership engagement. A continuous improvement process pushes your leadership teams to improve. Part of the ISO ethos of continuous improvement is a top-down approach where leadership teams take ownership of improvement processes and are responsible for ensuring that all employees participate in improving the company’s policies, processes and procedures.
• Keep your team motivated. Employees will feel empowered and more motivated to perform at their best when they know their input is constantly solicited and valued. A continuous improvement process will implement measures to facilitate employee collaboration and communication, such as incident reporting and regular meetings with senior management, giving employees greater ownership of the organization’s improvements.
• Improved product or service quality. Embracing the continuous improvement methodology ensures constant improvement of your products or services. This allows you to proactively identify areas for improvement and deliver a higher quality product to your customers.
• Improved customer satisfaction. A continuous improvement strategy can help increase customer satisfaction by anticipating customer needs and ensuring they are always met. A continuous improvement process can include collecting customer feedback to ensure a constant cycle of improvement and better customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• Improved efficiency. A continuous improvement process can help you identify and eliminate inefficient areas within your business, minimizing your environmental impact and reducing costs.
• Stay informed about new challenges. Stay relevant and stay ahead by continuously improving your processes. If you wait to improve your business until you’re already falling behind, you’ll struggle to update your processes. A proactive approach to innovation ensures you stay ahead of the competition.
• Create a culture of excellence. Implementing a your improvement process can help create a culture of excellence within your organization. Employees will feel motivated to continue striving for better results, leading to an internal culture and an external reputation for excellence.

Business owners are often hesitant to hire a management consultant. After all, what would an outsider know about their company that they don’t? But it is this outsider that makes a business management consultant valuable. They can look straight at the core of a business and identify inefficiencies and, most importantly, opportunities that would otherwise be missed.

In this blog we explore how a management consultant can take your company to the next level.

What does a business management consultant do?

The role of a business management consultant is to provide an expert, external assessment of a business and identify areas for improvement in current management practices.

These are the main duties of a business management consultant.

• Gain a deep understanding of their customers’ businesses through customer interviews and data gathering, collation and analysis.
• Use financial models, current industry research and trends, and industry literature to make expert recommendations.
• Provide performance reviews and feedback from employees and management
• Develop policies, procedures, business proposals and other important documentation
• Developing and implementing business strategies
• Providing practical recommendations for process improvement
• Advising on sustainability, health and safety, IT security and quality control

A business management consultant tailors their services to your needs and can provide everything from a one-off audit and advice to a complete overhaul of your business.

Practical ways a business management consultant can help

Here are practical ways a business management consultant can help you improve your business.

Offer a fresh perspective and a holistic view of your business

As you delve into the day-to-day operations of your company, it can be difficult to identify important opportunities for improvement. Even when you’re surrounded by dedicated, knowledgeable staff, it’s nearly impossible to identify shortcomings, obstacles, and areas for improvement if you’re too close to the project. Hiring a management consultant solves this problem.

How does the management consultant do this?

Business management consultants can provide an unbiased assessment of your business and make objective recommendations for improvement. They can monitor your business over a typical day or several days to gain an in-depth understanding of how your business is running and identify opportunities for improvement.

How will this help my business?

This identifies shortcomings and potential improvements that you didn’t know were there. Instead of putting out fires or making ad hoc improvements, you can get a clear, holistic view of the improvements needed to take your business to the next level.

Share expertise from other sectors and companies

It’s always useful to know what competitors in your industry are doing. Are your processes in line with best practices? Is there a new piece of technology, a new way of doing business or a fresh management approach that your team could benefit from? Then a business management consultant can advise you on competitors’ best practices and thus strengthen your current procedures.

How does the management consultant do this?

A business management consultant can draw on their cross-sector experience to provide highly informed advice to your business. They combine what they see in action with their business theory and best practices to provide your team with training and advanced troubleshooting.

How will this help my business?

Because of their extensive experience, business management consultants can easily identify your business’s core challenges and provide proven strategies to overcome them. Chances are that whatever issue you’re facing has already been addressed by your advisor, putting you one step ahead of where you would be if you tackled the issue yourself.

Develop and implement more efficient processes

When you’re wrapped up in your daily work, it can be difficult to see the forest for the trees. Consultants are trained to identify obstacles, inefficiencies and outdated processes and provide entrepreneurs with solutions.

How does the management consultant do this?

A business management consultant shadows employees and examines existing processes to assess your current operations. They then identify areas for improvement and optimize existing processes, or develop new ones where no process currently exists. They then help you implement the process through training and the development of guidelines, instructions and other process documents.

For example, a company may not have a contact management process. The consultant can assess the company’s contract management needs, develop a process and create a roadmap for implementing the new process.