Assignment on

Construction Quality and Reliability Management

Elective II
Pokhara University
United Technical College,
Bharatpur, Chitwan.

Submited by: Submitted To:

Er.pradip Sigdel Prof.Er.Birat Ghimere
Msc construction management

April 2021

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 Quality Assignment (2077 Falgun)

Q.N.1: Explain history of quality. Who are the quality gurus?

The History of Quality

Quality issues have been of great concern throughout the recorded history of humans. During
the New Stone Age, several civilizations emerged, and some 4000–5000 ago, considerable
skills in construction were acquired. The pyramids in Egypt were built approximately 2589–
2566 BCE. Hammurabi, the king of Babylonia (1792–1750) BCE codified the law, according
to which, during the Mesopotamian era, builders were responsible for maintaining the quality
of buildings and were given the death penalty if any of their construction collapsed and their
occupants were killed. The extension of Greek settlements around the Mediterranean after
200 BCE left records showing that temples and theaters were built using marble. India had
strict standards for working in gold in the fourth century BCE.

The quality movement can trace its roots back to medieval Europe, where craftsmen began
organizing into unions called guilds in the late 13th century. These guilds were responsible
for developing strict rules for product and service quality. Inspection committees enforced
the rules by marking flawless goods with a special mark or symbol.

QUALITY IN THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Until the early 19th century, manufacturing in the industrialized world tended to follow this
craftsmanship model. The factory system, with its emphasis on product inspection, started in
Great Britain in the mid-1750s and grew into the Industrial Revolution in the early 1800s.
American quality practices evolved in the 1800s as they were shaped by changes in
predominant production methods.

Craftsmanship

In the early 19th century, manufacturing in the United States tended to follow the
craftsmanship model used in the European countries. Since most craftsmen sold their goods
locally, each had a tremendous personal stake in meeting customers’ needs for quality. If

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quality needs weren’t met, the craftsman ran the risk of losing customers not easily replaced.
Therefore, masters maintained a form of quality control by inspecting goods before sale.

The Factory System

The factory system, a product of the Industrial Revolution in Europe, began to divide the
craftsmen’s trades into specialized tasks. This forced craftsmen to become factory workers
and forced shop owners to become production supervisors, and marked an initial decline in
employees’ sense of empowerment and autonomy in the workplace. Quality in the factory
system was ensured through the skill of laborers supplemented by audits and/or inspections.
Defective products were either reworked or scrapped.

The Taylor System

Late in the 19th century the United States broke further from European tradition and adopted
a new management approach developed by Frederick W. Taylor, whose goal was to increase
productivity without increasing the number of skilled craftsmen. He achieved this by
assigning factory planning to specialized engineers and by using craftsmen and supervisors
as inspectors and managers who executed the engineers’ plans.

Taylor’s approach led to remarkable rises in productivity, but the new emphasis on
productivity had a negative effect on quality. To remedy the quality decline, factory
managers created inspection departments to keep defective products from reaching
customers.

The Evolution of Quality

Over the past few decades there have been several leaders who have been instrumental to
developing the concept of quality as understood today.

Joseph M Juran is one of these key figures. Using eastern philosophies learnt in Japan, he
advocated the idea that quality related to "fitness for use".

Juran believed that this definition of quality fell into two key areas. Higher quality products
had a greater number of features which fit with the requirements of the consumer and also
had fewer defects.

His book "Managerial Breakthrough" published in the 1960s was the first to offer a step-by-
step sequence for improvement, while the Juran Trilogy, published in the 1980s, produced
the three definitive quality management processes; quality planning, quality improvement
and quality control.

Another founding father of quality, W Edwards Deming also took what he learnt in Japan
and brought it to the west. His 14 points were presented in his work "Out of the Crisis",
published in 1982 and had been learnt in Japan following the second world war.

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His approach led to the creation of the theory of total quality management and linked the
concept of quality with efficient management.

Deming said managers were required to have a system of profound knowledge,

Another founding father of quality, W Edwards Deming also took what he learnt in Japan
and brought it to the west. His 14 points were presented in his work "Out of the Crisis",
published in 1982 and had been learnt in Japan following the second world war.

His approach led to the creation of the theory of total quality management and linked the
concept of quality with efficient management.

Deming said managers were required to have a system of profound knowledge, comprised of
appreciation of a system, theory of knowledge, the psychology of change and knowledge
about variation.

Philip Cosby is the man behind the four absolutes of quality management and furthered the
idea that quality was about conforming to a series of requirements, rather than reaching a
poorly defined benchmark of goodness.

His absolutes centred about the concept that quality should be prevented rather than detected
and corrected, the standard for performance should be zero deficits and quality should be
measured by the price of non-conformity.

Crosby laid out 14 steps for quality improvement, ensuring that the principle is embedded
throughout the organisation and throughout all business processes.

Indeed, one of Crosby's most commonly quoted phrases is "If quality isn't ingrained in the
organisation, it will never happen."

Quality Gurus

Deming
William Edwards Deming is recognized as the leading management thinker in the field of
quality. His philosophy espouses cooperation, and continual improvement for both
individuals and organizations.

Juran

Dr. Juran has a well-deserved reputation as the founder of a range of quality management
techniques. His quality management approach is based on three key principles: the Pareto
principle; quality management principles; and the Juran Trilogy – quality planning, quality
control, and quality improvement.

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Feigenbaum
Armand V. Feigenbaum is known for his work on total quality control, and quality costs. He
is the originator of the concept of the “hidden plant,” the assertion that a proportion of the
capacity of every factory is wasted due to not getting things right first time.

Shewhart

Walter A Shewhart honed his skills while working at Bell Telephone, where his work
focused on reducing variation in a manufacturing process. He was recognized as the
originator of statistical quality control (SQC) and also created the “Shewhart cycle”, or
“Plan-Do-Check-Act” (PDCA).

Shingo
Shigeo Shingo was a frontrunner in continuous process improvement and operational
excellence. He developed the concept of the Single-Minute Exchange of Die (SMED), aimed
at cutting waste in manufacturing processes. His ideas have impacted Lean Six Sigma
principles such as increasing operational efficiency, and nurturing a culture of continuous
process improvement.

Crosby

Philip Crosby found fame on publication of his book Quality is Free, in 1979. In addition to
that, he is known for the principle of “doing it right the first time” (DIRFT) and the Four
Absolutes of Quality. (The performance standard of “Zero Defects” is the third absolute.)

Taguchi
Genichi Taguchi’s methodology pushes the concepts of quality and reliability back to the
design stage. It constitutes an efficient technique for designing product tests prior to the
commencement of manufacturing, so ensuring quality, not defect, is designed in. In 1960 he
was awarded the Deming Application prize.

Ishikawa
Kaoru Ishikawa introduced the concept of quality circles and was a fervent believer in the
need for quality to be company-wide. He is arguably best-known for the Ishikawa Diagram –
also known as the fishbone or cause and effect diagram – used to identify the root cause of an
event and commonly employed in quality defect prevention initiatives.

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BEYOND TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

As the 21st century begins, the quality movement has matured. New quality systems have
evolved beyond the foundations laid by Deming, Juran, and the early Japanese practitioners
of quality.

Some examples of this maturation in quality management include:

Most recently in 2015, the ISO 9001 standard was revised to increase emphasis on risk
management.

In 2000, the ISO 9000 series of quality management standards was revised to increase
emphasis on customer satisfaction.

Beginning in 1995, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award added a business results
criterion to its measures of applicant success.

Six Sigma, a methodology developed by Motorola to improve its business processes by

minimizing defects, evolved into an organizational approach that achieved breakthroughs and
significant bottom-line results.

Quality function deployment was developed by Dr. Yoji Akao as a process for focusing on
customer wants or needs in the design or redesign of a product or service.

Sector-specific versions of the ISO 9000 series of quality management standards were
developed for such industries as automotive (QS-9000 and ISO/TS 16949), aerospace
(AS9000) and telecommunications (TL 9000) and for environmental management (ISO
14000).

Quality has moved beyond the manufacturing sector into such areas as service, healthcare,
education, and government.

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Q.N.2: Why quality is so important for construction business?

Quality has different meanings for different people. The American Society for Quality (ASQ)
glossary defines quality as

1. The characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy

stated or implied needs.
2. A product or service free of deficiencies.

It further states that it is

 Based on customers’ perceptions of a product’s design and how well the
design matches the original specifications.
 The ability of a product and service to satisfy stated or implied needs.
 Achieved by conforming to established requirements within an organization.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO, 1994a) defines quality as “the
totality of characteristics of an entity that bears on its ability to satisfy stated or implied
needs.”
Quality in construction industry can be defined as the attainment of acceptable levels of
performance from construction activities. This performance would be attained when the
activity meets or exceeds the requirement of the client or the owner. The quality of any
product or service is achieved when it conforms to the desired specifications.

Achieving quality in construction industry in long run is a tough issue and has been a
problem. Inefficient or no practice of quality management procedures will result in great loss
of time, money, material, resources.

For example, in construction site, the designer would specify a particular grade of concrete.
The contractor will use the ingredients of the concrete such that the desired grade of concrete
is obtained.

Objective of Quality in Construction

The quality in construction relates to the following objectives

1. Satisfaction of Contract Specifications

2. Completion of Project within Time
3. Enhancing Customer/ Owner Satisfaction
4. Motivation and Empowerment of Employees
5. Avoiding Disputes and Claims
6. Performance based on Purpose

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 The Quality schemes will carry out the studies for

1. selection of types of material and methods to be included in design,

2. Ensure design in accordance with all applicable codes and regulation
3. Control construction on the project based on standards and contracts
Phase 1: The pre-installation phase (Planning)
The pre-installation phase starts at the beginning of each major scope of work. During this
phase, we will conduct pre-installation meetings with the design team, the owner, the project
management team, the superintendent, trade contractors and anyone else involved with the
project. These meetings include:

 Shop drawing review

 Detailed schedule review
 Trade partner coordination
 Coordination with existing conditions

By establishing the expected level of quality at the start of a project, we’re able to streamline
those expectations all the way until post construction.
Phase 2: The installation phase (Construction)
During this phase, our superintendent, project management team and dedicated quality
control manager work closely with the trade contractor responsible for construction.
Initially, we will always oversee the start of construction to ensure it complies with the
contract requirements and the parameters set during the pre-installation phase. To verify that
all aspects of work meet our quality control guidelines, we may:

 Create mock-up and sample comparisons

 Coordinate with the proper inspection agencies
 Implement early reviews by design team members and other consultants

As a result, we can determine whether or not each person involved with the construction
process has a full understanding of our quality protocols.
Phase 3: The follow-up phase (Review)
The follow-up phase is a series of weekly check-ins that we conduct until the construction
project is complete. We use these weekly reports to create a quality control checklist to
record and document the process and compliance of the work put in place. At the end of the
day, we don’t want to guess everyone is on the same page with quality, we want
to know without a doubt that trade partners and other contractors are doing everything they
can to meet expectations.
Keep in mind all projects can and will change. Therefore, we are always adapting our site-
specific quality control plan to adjust to changes. For example, we may have to revisit and
adjust planning and coordination items we set in place during the pre-installation phase to
maintain a high level of quality. Remember, quality is a proactive culture, meaning you

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should expect your general contractor to remain flexible and always thinking of ways to
make a project better.

Quality Assurance (QA) in Construction

Quality assurance are certain schemes that is implemented in construction in
order to maintain the standard or the quality of the work in a consistent manner.
Quality assurance forms the integral management system in a construction
company.

The companies generally will have a quality assurance chart that will specify
various checks at different levels. In general, a quality assurance plan will involve
the following:

1. Training Programs for Workers and Employees

2. Efficient Safety Program.
3. Effective Procurement system to obtain quality resources and suppliers
4. Reward scheme for innovative works
5. A competitive career progress scheme

Quality Control (QC) in Construction

Quality control in construction involves periodic inspection of the construction
activities and facilities in order to meet the desired standardization as per the
contract. Quality Control is undergone by the team of QC engineers or special
trained teams.

For example, the quality control for compaction work conducted for highway
project is performed by measuring the soil density. Slump test helps in
determining the workability of the concrete.

Quality assurance forms a scheme for good management of construction

activities while quality control undergoes inspection or sampling processes.

Quality control focuses on:

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 1. Setting and Practicing specific standard for construction
2. Determining the deviations from the standards
3. Bringing and taking corrective measures to reduce variation
4. Standard Improvement with time

Elements of Quality
The basic element of quality in construction is

1. Quality characteristics
2. Quality of design
3. Quality of conformance
1. Quality Characteristics
A quality characteristic is related to the parameters with respect to which quality
– control processes are judged. Quality characteristic includes strength, colors,
texture, dimension, height etc. Example in compressive strength of concrete,
usability of concrete in slump, etc.

2. Quality of design
It refers to the quality with which the design is carried out. It primarily related to
meeting the requirement of the standard, functionally efficient system and
economical maintainable system.

3.Quality of conformance
It is referred to the degree to which the constructed facility conformed the
design and specification. Quality of conformance is affected by field construction
methodology and Inspection
Factors Affecting Construction Project Quality
The quality of construction project is influenced by various factors which are
mentioned below:

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1. Project Requirements
Quality of any construction project is meeting the respective project
requirements. This will satisfy the designer’s requirements, the constructors &
the owner’s requirements. Below figure-1 shows the basic project requirements.

2. Construction Organisation
Based on different studies considered it is concluded that the commitment and
the leadership criteria of an construction organisation will affect the quality of
the project. There is decline in construction productivity, if the management
practices are poor.

3. Quality Teams
A structured environment is provided by having quality teams for the project.
Practices are implemented structurally and continuously with regular quality

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checks. Quality teams will have structural engineers, environmental engineers,
electrical, civil engineers, architects and owners to bring quality goals.

4. Participation of Team Members

The participation of the quality team members are not only important in the
planning stage but also during the construction phase of the project.

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Q.N.3: What is the difference between QC & QA?

QA: It is an Assurance activity, emphasizing on the standards and procedures to be

followed while developing an application

o It is a Preventive action taken before hand to ensure the product that developed
are defect free
o It is a systematic action necessary to provide enough confidence that a product or
service will satisfy the given requirements for quality.
QC: It is a Corrective action
o Inspection if the developed application follows the standards and procedures by
using the checklists

QA PROVIDES METHOD WHEREAS QC ENSURES ACCURATE APPLICATION

QA ESTABLISHES PROCESSES, WHEREAS QC SELECTS ACCORDING TO ESTABLISHED
STANDARDS

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Quality Assurance
Quality Assurance (QA) is a set of planned and systematic activities which are laid
out before a building project starts. The aim of this activity plan is to give confidence
that quality requirements will be fulfilled. We can put it simply, like this:

Quality Assurance is planning to do the right things at the right time and the right
way.

Whereas Quality Assurance defines a method for determining the how and when for
construction standards, Quality Control ensures that fieldworkers, operators and
management correctly respond to the specified QA standards. Quality Assurance
defines a methodology that enables your team to evaluate and identify construction
standards that best satisfy:

Building code specifications

Legal provisions

Construction safety necessities

AND Customer quality expectations.

Quality Assurance crafts procedures that enable management and work crews to
identify properly qualified suppliers. It sets the specs for supplier selection, including
requirements for:

Visit and inspection of supplier facilities

Materials testing

Existence of a supplier-side QA program

and Any other criteria necessary to ensure that the proposed supplier is qualified to
meet the company-established Quality Assurance specs.

Quality Control
Quality Control (QC) are observation techniques and activities which aim to identify whether
the final product actually fulfills customer requirements. Quality Control also identifies the
need for corrective measures. In other, simpler, words:
Quality Control monitors work as it happens and ensures that the results satisfy the
requirements specified.

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Quality Control verifies correct applied quality methodology, material selection, and labor
performance efficiency. QC is also responsible for testing finished goods and services to
ensure compliance to the QA standards.

Quality Control examines the established QA standards, certifies that prospective suppliers
meet the criteria, and follows through by testing supplied parts and services as dictated by the
existing company-establish construction project QA program.

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Q.N.4: Why it is important to include a process for formal documentation
for quality control?

"Formal documentation provides important data on how a firm has performed historically in
terms of quality control, which can be used to improve the existing process."
A quality system is a framework for quality management. It embraces the organizational
structure, procedure, and processes needed to implement quality management. The adequacy
of the quality system and the quality of products, services, and processes are judged by their
compliance to specified/ relevant standards. Standards have important economic and social
consequences. They are useful to industrial and business organizations of all types, to
government, and to other regulatory bodies, to conformity assessment professionals, to
suppliers and customers of products and services in both the public and private sectors, and
to people in general in their role as customers and users. Standards provide governments with
a technical base for health, safety, and environmental legislation.
A quality management system (QMS) is a formalized system that documents processes,
procedures, and responsibilities for achieving quality policies and objectives and thus
consistently delivering a quality product or service to the customer. A QMS helps to
coordinate and direct an organization’s activities to meet customer and regulatory
requirements and continually improve its effectiveness and efficiency. The QMS
documentation must accurately and succinctly document the organisation’s structure,
procedures, processes and resources.
A well designed documented system has many benefits, it ensures quality standards are
routinely met, minimizes the potential for error, reduces downtime when deviations occur
due to being able to quickly access relevant data, and allows for easy monitoring of the
processes such that process outputs are analysed and appropriate adjustments are made.
QMS documentation fulfills many functions such as communication of information,
providing evidence of conformity and sharing knowledge and as such many different types
and levels of documents are needed, for example a quality manual, quality policy,
documented procedures and work instructions.
A one size fits all approach won’t work, each document type must be fit for purpose such that
it is readily understood by relevant personnel and can be effectively implemented.
Documentation must also be lean, as too many documents will result in the processes and
respective QMS being harder to both use and maintain while also being bureaucratic.
Documentation is also required for regulatory purposes and must demonstrate the effective
planning, operation and control of the organisation’s processes and the implementation and
continual improvement of the effectiveness of its QMS. It is evident that good
documentation is critical to a functioning QMS, in fact it forms the foundation of the
organisation’s QMS as it gives effect to the QMS for the life-cycle of the product/service
being delivered.
.
purpose QMS documentation and Process to achieve it.

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 Realisation of fit for purpose documentation is based on PDCA (Plan-do-Check-Act) cycle
and can be achieved in 5 steps which are detailed below. Fit for purpose documentation must
be lean to facilitate implementation and maintenance while the documents must clearly
describe all QMS processes using simple, concise unambiguous language to ensure that
processes are understood and can be easily implemented.
To achieve fit for purpose documentation you must first identify the documentation that your
organisation needs for implementation of its QMS and the medium you want to use either
hard copy or electronic media. The amount of documentation needed depends on the size of
the organisation and its business, the complexity of the processes and their interactions and
the competence of the personnel. Many organisations find it useful to use a process map to
document the processes and their interactions and use this as a tool to decide on what
documents are needed, good planning at this stage will save time and effort later.
Step 1: Identify documentation
Identify all your processes and the interaction between them using a Process Map, analysis of
the processes should then be used to determine the amount of documentation needed for the
QMS. QMS standards will determine mandatory documents, for example ISO13485:2016
lists Quality Manual, Quality Policy, Quality Objectives, Quality Records and six procedures
as listed below as mandatory documentation:
1. Control of Documents
2. Control of Records
3. Internal Audit
4. Control of Nonconforming Product
5. Corrective Action
6. Preventive Action
Thereafter you only require procedures to cover each section of the standard that applies to
your business and the complexity of the business will dictate the amount of documentation
and level of detail needed.
Step 2: Identify structure of documentation.
This structure is applicable to all organisations regardless of its size or complexity and we
would recommend that this structure is adopted for your organisation.

Figure 1 describes a typical QMS documentation

hierarchy with different document types at each level as follows:
Quality Manual
Describes both the QMS in place and what you are going to do as an organisation to
implement the QMS. The Quality Manual should include the scope of the QMS, details of

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 and justification for any exclusion, references to documented procedures and a description of
the processes of the QMS and their interactions which is usually presented as a diagram.
Quality procedures
Describes how the organisation implements the QMS by documenting the applicable
processes. Format can include text, flowcharts, tables, a combination of the above as best
meets the needs of the organisation. Procedures usually cross reference work instructions.
Work Instructions
Describe an activity within a process and provide detailed descriptions of how to perform and
record tasks. The structure, format and level of detail required depends on the complexity of
the work, methods used, training undertaken and competence of personnel who execute the
work instructions.
Quality Records
Serve as evidence that the organisation has done the work documenting the actions of an
activity or process.
Step 3: Generate QMS documents
QMS documents detail the organisation’s structure, procedures, processes and resources and
when followed result in a quality product or service being consistently delivered to the
customer. Good documentation will determine employees understanding of the processes
such that they can implement and document them accordingly as quality records, thus
documents need to be easy to read, have a natural logical flow, use simple & clear language
and be concise. These attributes will ensure an understanding of the content and information
being conveyed. If time and effort is employed at this stage in getting the documents to
required standard it will avoid time and effort later in revision of documents.
Documents should be generated by the process owners as they are the people who best
understand the processes. The first documents that need to be generated are the quality
procedures of which the document control procedure should be drafted first. The document
control procedure describes the structure of all document types within the QMS and so is the
first building block in the design of QMS documentation. The document control procedure
addresses the following:
 Review and approval of documents for adequacy prior to issue
 Review of documents and update as necessary and re-approval
 Ensures correct revision status of and changes to documents are identified
 Ensures relevant versions of applicable documents are available at points of use
 Ensures documents remain legible and readily identifiable
 Ensures documents of external origin are identified and their distribution controlled
 Prevents deterioration or loss of documents
 Prevents unintended use of obsolete documents and application of suitable
identification to them.
The next quality procedure documents to be generated should be those mandated by the
quality standard your organisation is following and as you draft these documents you can
start generating the Quality Manual which will reference these documents.
The last documents to be generated are those required to cover each section of the standard
that applies to your business. Once all the quality procedures are generated you can start
drafting the work instructions, and once all the procedures and work instructions are
generated cross check them against your Quality Manual to ensure the Quality Manual gives
an accurate overview of your QMS.
Step 4: Implement documentation system

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Document control procedure details the documentation system in place and how it is to be
implemented. The system in place must ensure that all documents are controlled, legible,
readily identifiable, retrievable, available at points of use and reviewed regularly for ongoing
suitability throughout product/service lifecycle. This procedure must be followed for all
controlled documents. Documents detail the organisation’s structure, procedures, processes
and resources and are needed as objective evidence for regulatory compliance and are
auditable thus document control procedure is critical as if it isn’t operating properly you will
very quickly run into compliance problems and will have to apply costly resources to address
problems.
Step 5: Maintenance and Improvement
Maintenance and continuous improvement of documentation is very important.
Documentation needs to be maintained in line with document control procedure such that the
organisation is in compliance with QMS and regulations. Documentation needs to be
regularly reviewed and data from QMS processes evaluated to identify any changes required.
Updates and improvements are identified because of changes in processes, non-
conformances, audits, training, identified improvements and changes to standards.
Conclusion
Good documentation will greatly improve your organisations effectiveness and efficiency by
ensuring that your QMS has a strong foundation. Good documentation is easily achieved by
following the 5 basic steps outlined above particularly if you are at the start (designing the
process) of the process. If you have identified that there is a need to update your QMS
documentation you need to decide whether it is the structure, content or a combination of
both that is the root cause of the problem, this can be done by auditing your QMS
documentation.
RRL can help your organisation design, generate and implement quality documentation and
an efficient and effective documentation system or help you update your existing QMS
documentation to ensure it is fit for purpose and therefore ensure your QMS delivers a
quality product /service to your customer.

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Q.N.5: What is the difference between TQM and 6 SIGMA?

These are among others, 2 approaches used in supporting operations management with
different degree of emphasis on degree of change to the operation. TQM stress more to
gradual change whereas 6-sigma to slightly towards rapid change. TQM is more of a
philosophy stressing on total quality of quality improvement of the throughout the
organization. It's more descriptive and comprises of 8 main components from input- process
to output. 6-sigma on the other hand stress on DMAIC on the firm's processes, all its
transactions, and the products aiming at no defects, emphasizing very much on statistic with
specialist who are graded on color of belts, green, black.... to support its quantitative
approach on arriving at a decision.

Both Six Sigma and Total Quality Management are effective tools for quality management
but a thin line of difference does exist between them. Although the methodologies and
procedures involved in both the two appear quite similar but there are certain major
differences.

Six-Sigma is a relatively newer concept than Total Quality Management but not exactly its
replacement. The basic difference between Total Quality Management and Six Sigma is that
TQM delivers superior quality manufactured goods whereas six sigma on the other hand
results in better results. Total Quality management refers to continuous effort by employees
to ensure high quality products. The process of Six Sigma incorporates many small changes
in the systems to ensure effective results and better customer satisfaction.

Total Quality Management involves designing and developing new systems and processes
and ensures effective coordination among various departments. New Processes are developed
based on various customer feedbacks and researches.

The main focus of Total quality management is to maintain existing quality standards
whereas Six Sigma primarily focuses on making small necessary changes in the
processes and systems to ensure high quality.

The process of Total quality management involves improvement in existing policies and
procedures to ensure high quality. Six-Sigma focuses on improving quality by
minimizing and eventually eliminating defects from the system.

Total Quality management is a less complicated process than Six Sigma. Six-Sigma
involves specially trained individuals whereas total quality management does not
require extensive training.

Six-Sigma is known to deliver better and effective results as compared to total quality
management. The process of Six Sigma is based on customer feedbacks and is more
accurate and result oriented.

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Quality Perspective of TQM and Six Sigma
“Quality” is a subjective term. One of the ways TQM and Six Sigma differ is how they both
define “quality.” TQM defines “Quality” as a measure of how well a product’s features are
manufactured by a company that meets its customer requirements. Here a “good quality
“product refers to the product that is in alignment with the customer demands. Likewise, a
“bad quality” product refers to something which the customer won’t be interested in
investing in.

Six Sigma, on the other hand, defines “quality” as the measure of the number of defects a
product or service may have. Since Six Sigma believes that error-free services and minimum
defect in products grab more customer satisfaction, the term “good quality” refers to
something with the least possible (or no) defect.

The ultimate goal of Six Sigma and TQM

Six Sigma and TQM have the same ultimate goal: Customer satisfaction. The
methodologies to attain the same is what makes them different. They share some common
working objectives as well, which act fuel to the whole process to attain their ultimate goal.

Focus and Scope

One difference between the two systems lies in their areas of focus. While TQM
concentrates on individual departments and more specific quantitative goals, TQM's
ultimate focus is customer satisfaction. The path that takes the business toward that final
goal is secondary. TQM must be redefined when the predetermined goals are
accomplished. Six Sigma, however, aims at continuous improvements and is self-propelled.
Six sigma, when correctly applied, will continue to yield benefits after the original goals
have been realized as it instills a culture that forever aims to improve performance.

Six sigma is also different from TQM in that it is fact based and data driven, result
oriented, providing quantifiable and measurable bottom-line results, linked to strategy and
related to customer requirements. It is applicable to all common business processes such as
administration, sales, marketing and R & D. Although many tools and techniques used in
Six Sigma may appear similar to TQM, they are often distinct as in Six Sigma, the focus is
on the strategic and systematic application of the tools on targeted projects at the
appropriate time. It is predicted that Six Sigma will outlast TQM as it has the potential of
achieving more than TQM.

Both Six Sigma and TQM have the following goals in common:

Production of high quality of services

Monitoring of overall quality of the end product or service
Keep the number of defects in the process and the product to a minimum
Understand the area of defect and subsequent rectification
Keeping employees in a happy and satisfying workplace.

21
Q.N.6: What is standard? What are the benefits of using standards?

Standards are documents used to define acceptable conditions or behaviors and to

provide a base line for assuring that conditions or behaviors meet the acceptable
criteria. In most cases standards define minimum criteria; world class quality is, by
definition, beyond the standard level of performance. Standards can be written or
unwritten, voluntary or mandatory. Unwritten quality standards are generally not
acceptable.

"Specification: A detailed description of the dimensions, construction, workmanship,

materials etc., of work done or to be done, prepared by an architect, engineer etc."
A specification is the document that describes in words what cannot be visualised or
explained on a drawing or model. This is not only applicable to construction; the
same principles apply to all industries, from aerospace and oil and gas to
automobiles and manufacturing. In construction, the specification can cover
everything:

 Site establishment.
 Contract type.
 Asset performance criteria.
 Systems and product quality.
 Applicable standards and how they are executed.
 Specific products to be used.

Benefits of using standard.

Standards educate: They set forth ideals or goals for the guidance of manufacturers
and users alike. They are invaluable to the manufacturer who wishes to enter a new
field and to the naïve purchaser who wants to buy a new product.

Standards simplify: They reduce the number of sizes, the variety of process, the
amount of stock, and the paperwork that largely accounts for the overhead costs of
making and selling.

Standards conserve: By making possible large-scale production of standard designs,

they encourage better tooling, more careful design, and more precise controls, and
thereby reduce the production of defective and surplus pieces. Standards also benefit
the user through lower costs.

Standards provide a base upon which to certify: They serve as hallmarks of

quality which are of inestimable value to the advertiser who points to proven values,
and to the buyer who sees the accredited trademark, nameplate, or label.

22
Standards are used to ensure that a product, system, or service measures up to its
specifications and is safe for use. Standards are the key to any conformity assessment
activity.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has given the importance of
standards as follows:

Standards make an enormous contribution to most aspects of our lives. ensure

desirable characteristics of products and services such as quality, environmental
fitness, safety, reliability, efficiency, and interchangeability and at an economical
cost.

When products and services meet our expectations, we tend to take this for granted.
And be unaware of the role of standards. However, when standards are absent, we
soon notice. We soon care when products turn out to be poor quality, do not fit, are
incompatible with equipment that we already have, are unreliable or dangerous.
When products, systems, machinery and devices work well and safely, it is often
because they meet standards.

Standard setting is one of the first issues in developing a quality assurance system, and
increasingly organizations are relying on readily available standards rather than developing
their own. Each standard should be
 Clearly written in simple language that is unambiguous
 Convenient in understanding
 Specific in setting out precisely what is expected
 Measurable so that the organization can know whether it is being met
 Achievable, that is, the organization must have the resources available to meet
the standard
 Constructible

2.2 Background of Quality Standards (context of Nepal)

NIS: Nepal Institute of Standards

NBS: Nepal Bureau of Standards
NBSM: Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology
NCS: Nepal Council for Standards

Nepal Institute of Standards (NIS) was established in 1976 (2031 BS). NIS worked to
develop national standards and also to formulate concerned acts and rules. Nepal Standards
(Certification Mark) Act 2037 and Rules 2040 were promulgated (publicized) in the
following days.
In 1981, Nepal Institute of Standards (NIS) was renamed and restructured into the Nepal
Bureau of Standards (NBS).

In 1986, it was felt that standardization and quality control activity couldn't go along without
the help of metrology since the verification of weights and measures is an integral part of
standardization and certification activities.

23
In 1988, Department of Weights and Measures was merged with the Nepal Bureau of
Standards and was again restructured into the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology
(NBSM).
Nepal Bureau of Standards & Metrology is the National Standards Body of Nepal.

Industrial development is possible only through the quality production in compliance with
required standards. Under the "Nepal Standard Act 2037", Nepal Council for Standards was
formed as the governing body for Quality, Standards, Testing and Metrology activities in
Nepal.
NBSM is to act as the secretariat to this council.
NBC 101:1994 is the Nepal Standards for materials and specification which was prepared in
1993. This standard deals with the requisite quality and effectiveness of building construction
materials.
In this standard, standards of some materials for which NS do not exist are included from
Indian Standards.
NBC 101:1994 spells out that - all building materials shall be stored in such a manner that no
deterioration or loss or impairment of their structural and other inherent properties takes
place.
2.3 Standards Organizations

There are many organizations that produce standards; some of the best known organizations
in the quality field are
1. International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
2. International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
3. American Society for Quality (ASQ)
4. American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
5. American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
ASTM International - American Society for Testing and Materials - is a scientific and
technical organization that develops and publishes voluntary standards on the
characteristics of material, products, systems and services
6. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
National standardization activity started in India in 1947 with the establishment of the
Indian Standards Institution (ISI) as a society under the Societies Registration Act
1860, to prepare and promote the adoption of national standards.
7. European Committee for Standardization (CEN)
8. European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC)
9. American Society for Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers
(ASHRAE)
10. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
11. British Standards Institution (BSI)
12. Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS)
Japanese Standards Association - JSA
Standards produced by these organizations/institutes are recognized worldwide. These
standards are referred in the contract documents by the designers to specify products or
systems or services to be used in a project.

24
Q.N.7: A Quality manual is important documents for construction.
Explain.

A Quality Manual is a very useful document that not only gives guidance and direction to an
organization's own personnel, but gives a potential customer, inspector or auditor an
appreciation of an organization from the outside. If designed well it can be used as a tool
to sell an organization, to show what a positive quality ethos (Culture) they have and can
show how good an organization is and how seriously it takes its Quality Management
System.
A quality manual is an organization-wide document that provides the reader with
a complete understanding of the expectations of the organization. It considers the risks that
the organization is likely to face from both inside and outside the organization and defines
how it will deal with those risks. In some cases, the organization will decide that the risk can
be mitigated by implementing a process that is intended to manage the behaviors of staff at
all levels. In other cases, the organization may decide that the potential for
the risk manifesting is so low that it will note it and keep a weather eye out. A quality
manual can also be used to indicate to those outside the organization that suitable
arrangements exist. This provides confidence that there is a
robust management system in place that is effective and usable by staff, customers and
other interested parties.

Quality control manual must cover following items:

1. Authority & responsibility.

2. Organization.

 Relationship between different departments such as management, purchasing,

construction, quality control, & each group’s function & its related
responsibility for quality control must be established.

3. Drawings.

 Establish some procedures to ensure that latest drawings are used for
construction & examination processes.

4. Material control.

 Establish process to ensure incoming material receiving in construction site

are properly inspected, identified, & stored in accordance with required
quality standard.

5. Examination & Test.

25
  Generate some procedures for proper execution of all required examinations
& tests.
 Establish examination & test plan to identify in which construction stages
inspector will attend for witnessing specific test or inspection.

6. Correction for nonconformities.

 Identify process for corrective action for all nonconformities found by

inspector or quality control personnel.

7. Record keeping.

 Establish system for keeping quality control records.

Objectives of quality assurance in construction are:

1. Fit for purpose: i.e. construction should be suitable for intended purpose.
2. Right first time: i.e. mistakes in construction work should be eliminated.

Quality assurance is a system of activities whose purpose is to provide assurance that

overall quality control is in fact being done effectively.

Quality assurance includes quality control as one of its elements.

Quality control is the responsibility of contractor, while quality assurance also includes
acceptance.

• Acceptance involves sampling, testing, & assessment of test results to determine

whether or not quality of construction is acceptable in terms of specifications.
• Construction planning is complex dynamic process, it must be kept up-to-date.
• Failure to keep construction planning dynamic & up-to-date can create confusion &
delays.
• Quality assurance efforts in construction must be continuously monitored & changes
in construction plan must be communicated quickly to concerned personnel.
• Quality assurance is concerned with many quality-related activities such as quality
planning, quality control, quality improvement, quality audit, & reliability.
• Quality assurance emphasizes in prevention rather than cure so that job is done
correctly, the very first time & every time.
• A good construction Quality Management System (QMS) program can ensure a
smooth and trouble-free transition with minimal defects, to the commissioning phase.
Poor quality will have a negative effect on the project and the construction company.
Issues can be rectified after taking a RCA.

Quality assurance aims:

• To impart confidence to clients, assuring that their needs will be consistently met
(external QA).

26
• To achieve quality through systematic & planned actions avoiding fire-fighting or
crisis management (internal QA).

QA system should include:

1. Formal quality plan spells out how fitness for use & needs of owner’s satisfaction will
be achieved?
2. System of quality training to enhance skills & knowledge of employees to assure
quality in construction.
3. System of quality circles for continuous improvement in construction & services.
4. System of benchmarking quality to compete & increase market share.
5. System of corporate culture in company.
6. System of quality monitoring & control to assure conformance to requirements.
7. System of inspection of incoming materials & equipment.
8. System of in process quality inspection & test.
9. System of reviews to verify, if quality plan are being followed, that will result in
fitness for use.
10. System of independent audits to verify that quality plans are being followed.
11. System to provide data on quality achieved.
12. System of re-engineering for dramatic improvement & achievement in quality

27
Q.N.8: What is the purpose of quality manual?

The quality manual is a document that describes the quality management system of an
organization (ISO 15189). Its purpose is to:
1.  clearly communicate information
2.  serve as a framework for meeting quality system requirements
3.  convey managerial commitment to the quality system. As the quality
manual is an important guide or roadmap, all persons in the laboratory should
be instructed on its use and application. The manual must be kept up to date,
and responsibility for the updating should be assigned,
Purpose of Quality Manual

4. Demonstrates its ability to provide quality service that meets customer’s

requirements
5. Addresses customer’s satisfaction through effective application of system,
including processes for continual improvement & prevention of
nonconformity.
6. To improve department’s performance for innovative action through
employee empowerment.
7. To maintain high level of service & accommodate technological change for
continual improvement of technical skill & capability through change
management.
8. Quality manual provides overview of quality policies & key requirements for
department.
9. Quality manual is source of reference for all matters dealing with quality.
10. Quality manual should be available for inspection by customers, potential
customers, third party quality auditors, & regulatory agencies.

A good quality manual should give the reader a clear picture of how the organization
addresses the requirements of the standard. ISO defines quality as the ability to meet
requirements. The standard is the requirement, and the policy manual is the plan for meeting
that requirement.

This is the document which needs to be provided to all members within an organization and
each of them should know about it, because this is the document which “drive” QMS.
Manual should outline policies and procedures of the company which team should follow to
produce quality outcomes and compliance to the Standard.

Quality Manual could be used to introduce overall company and QMS capabilities to
customers, vendors, other organizations and, of course, to auditors.The content of quality
manual is completely up to company. But, for everything which is said that is done, you
evidence that is really done must be shown! So, when creating manual, companies should be
careful what include and they should make sure the policies reflect actual practices.

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Q.N.9: What are the benefits of quality checklists?

Checklist

"Comprehensive list of important or relevant actions; or steps to be taken in a specific order"

A quality control checklist goes by many names—an inspection criteria sheet (ICS), a QC
checklist, a quality assurance checklist or quality control sheet. All these names refer to a
document that outlines quality requirements and specifications in a clear and concise manner
for your supplier.

Inspection checklists are one of the simplest, yet most effective, ways to clarify requirements
and prevent defects in your goods.

Why create quality control inspection checklists?

Quality control inspection checklists serve two main purposes:

1. Outline quality standards and product requirements the supplier is expected to meet
and
2. Provide objective criteria for inspecting the product to ensure it meets customer’s
expectations

It’s helpful to share a detailed quality assurance checklist with your supplier, even before
starting production. This gives the supplier an opportunity to review your requirements and
notify you if any are unreasonable or need adjusting before mass production.

A QC checklist would likely prevent the dimensional issues in the keychain example used
earlier, since a checklist typically specifies dimensional tolerances and measuring methods.
Your supplier can refer to this document, along with an approved sample, to understand your
requirements throughout production.

Key benefits of checklist include:

Use - Checklist can be used for quality inspections, safety inspections, material receiving,
tests & audits, commissioning, daily QC logs.

Help - Checklist helps in setting quality, safety expectations.

Make improvements - Checklist make improvements by knowing who, what, when, & how
often rework occurs.

Reduce risks - Checklist reduces risks having permanent record of completed inspections,
tests, & conditions.

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Save time - Checklist reduces waste of time.

Gain Consistency - Checklist help in gaining consistency as new & experienced employee
follow same QA/QC process.

Increase profits - Checklist help to improve quality, & safety that raises profits.

An effective quality control (QC) checklist most often serves this purpose. A quality control
checklist is basically a written guide for your products’ contents, packaging, color, barcodes,
appearance, possible defects, functions and special requirements. It’s also sometimes called
an “inspection criteria sheet” or inspection checklist.

Checklists for similar products often share common inspection criteria. But typically, each
importer often has specific requirements for their product. That's why it's important for
importers to tailor a quality control checklist to their unique needs.

FIVE KEY ELEMENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE QUALITY CONTROL CHECKLIST

There are five elements of a quality control checklist that are vital in making them effective.
Some are more obvious to importers, while others are often unknown or neglected. The five
elements include:

Product requirements

Packaging requirements

On-site tests and checks

Defect classification

Collaboration between the importer, supplier and QC staff

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Q.N.10: Explain, Structure of good inspection report.

Inspection Report

An inspection involves checking something, i.e., examining and assessing something. We

may inspect a building or organization to make sure that it meets specific standards. The
inspectors need to ensure that nothing is faulty and that nobody is breaking any laws. They
also have to make sure that whatever they are inspecting is safe.

Well-written inspection reports will lead to action to finish the job. What are some ideas to
write an effective report? What are some practical solutions? Following are five key steps:
1. Know your audience:

Relevant information is presented to a particular audience. Recognize the differences among

internal, external, executive, and confidential reports.

Internal reports are intended to stay within the company, but this can convey a false sense of
security, as these reports do not always remain internal.

External reports include those of suppliers, service providers, customers, regulators, and
others outside the business.

Executive reports usually require brevity.

A confidential report is another false sense of security as these reports may not remain
confidential

Many reports are conveyed by email, and they should be considered external and permanent.
Ensure that everyone understands the truth of the saying: “Once on the Internet always on the
Internet.” Read your reports through the eyes of your audience. Will they understand the
wording? Have you described the facts? What action is needed from them? Do they get the
message?

2. Four sections are included in a well-written inspection report.

“Title” page or cover memo summarizing date, subject, recipients, purpose, participants,
description of activity and other basic information.

 “Executive brief” summarizing the main issue(s) which are usually a few systematic
flaws leading to numerous observations. Priorities are established in this executive
summary section. (Note that executives seldom read past this section.)

31
  “Contents” – a chronological or systematic order of observations. Each observation
should have a recommendation. Although discussions should be noted, be cautious
with writing opinions. It is better for analysis and opinions to come out during a
review meeting. The recommendation may not be the right solution as an idea may
lead to a better solution. Listing observations without recommendations is writing just
part of the story.
 “Conclusion” highlighting key points, planned actions, and next steps.

3. Good writing tips. Well-written inspection reports follow similar characteristics, such
as describing facts. For example, “Observed insect trails in approximately 20 pounds of flour
on floor under a leaking sifter pipe.” This description is better than “Observed a lot of flour
on the floor.” Other tips are to have short sentences, avoid repeating, write with clarity, use a
numbered listing, avoid acronyms, send a short message with the first sentence of each
paragraph, use a direct precise writing style, proofread your report a few times, use an easy-
to-read font and spacing. Another characteristic is to recognize the good with the bad. Many
inspection and audit reports do not recognize industry best practices. A written “pat on the
back” or “atta-boy” helps build the relationship with the inspector.

4. Formal reports require formal responses. Responses should be made within one
or two weeks, or a month, depending upon the nature of the report (i.e., potential
consequences). Most responses should be the result of a follow-up meeting documenting
what has been done, if it can be done, when it will be done and by whom. To better manage
follow-up activities, consider using the original report with two blank columns on the right
side, titled “assigned to” and “completed on.” A well-written inspection report, formatted for
action, is documenting action all in one place.

5. Require a follow-up process. Although different approaches exist, follow-up is

fundamental to corrective action. Almost anyone can determine priorities and identify
accountability, assignments, and target dates by pulling information from a report. If the
report is written with good structure, one can utilize the report itself as a management tool for
follow-up activity. Discussions help responsible persons understand the issues, both acute
and chronic, and develop best solutions. The team agreeing to assignments with agreeable
completion dates is a necessity for corrective action. Documenting action and dates on one
report is an approach to help prevent repeating problems.

Writing an effective report is not an easy task, although good reports are deceptively simple.
Effective reports are concise, factual, and well-structured. Check with readers to see if your
reports are concise, factual and well-structured. When inspection reports become shorter,
something is working right. Good writing is a skill natural to some and learned by others;
but, once learned, it will stay with you. The discipline, style, or structure needed for an
inspection report is likely different than other reports. Yet it is similar in its key points: Know
your audience, understand the purpose of the report, and know how the report is being used
by the audience. This will help you write effective reports overall.

32
Q.N.11: Importance of quality assurance system.

Quality assurance (QA) is any systematic process of determining whether a product or

service meets specified requirements.

• Quality is totality of all attributes & characteristics of construction as specified,

required & expected.
• Quality assurance in construction can be defined simply as making sure that quality
of construction is what it should be.
• Quality assurance involves all those planned & systematic actions necessary to
provide evidence & confidence among all concerned, that quality function is being
effectively performed.

Quality assurance is a system intended to demonstrate to company leadership and to the

public that a product or service is up to standards of quality, often set by industry or
regulators. It is sometimes called quality control, although quality control has more to do
with the product after it’s made. Quality control became commonplace in manufacturing in
the 1920s as a way to define and control the quality of products. In the 1950s, quality
assurance became important in public health and public safety.

Today, quality assurance measures the standards that go into a product or service before it
goes out to the public. Quality assurance uses auditors, sometimes independent and
sometimes in-house, to evaluate the methods that go into making products and providing
services. When a company has a good quality assurance team, that lets corporate
management, customers, regulators and government officials know that a product or service
meets quality requirements.

1. Quality Assurance Saves You Money and Effort

2. Quality Assurance Prevents Corporate Emergencies

3. Quality Assurance Boosts Client’s Confidence

4. Quality Assurance Enhances User Experience

5. Quality Assurance Creates More Profit

6. Quality Assurance Improves Customer Satisfaction

7. Quality Assurance Promotes Efficiency and Productivity

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Quality control is focused on fulfilling quality requirements, and as related to clinical trials, it
encompasses the operational techniques and activities undertaken within the quality
assurance system to verify that the requirements for quality of the trial-related activities have
been fulfilled.
Quality assurance, on the other hand, is focused on providing confidence that quality
requirements are fulfilled. As related to clinical trials, it includes all those planned and
systemic actions that are established to ensure that the trial is performed and the data are
generated, documented (recorded), and reported in compliance with GCP and the applicable
regulatory requirements

BENEFITS OF QUALITY SYSTEMS

The importance of properly established and managed quality control and quality assurance
systems with their integral well-written SOPs and other quality documents for the
achievement of Company business objectives cannot be ignored. They serve as a passport to
success by assisting the Company to achieve high-quality processes, procedures, systems,
and people, with eventual high-quality products and services and enhancement of the
following:
 Customer satisfaction, and therefore, customer loyalty and repeat business and
referral;
 Timely registration of drugs by eliminating waste and the need for rework;
 Operational results such as revenue, profitability, market share and export
opportunities;
 Alignment of processes with achievement of better results;
 Understanding and motivation of employees toward the Company quality policy and
business objectives, as well as participation in continual quality improvement
initiatives; and
 Confidence of interested parties in the effectiveness and efficiency of the Company as
demonstrated by the financial and social gains from Company performance and
reputation.

34
Q.N.12: what is project monitoring and control? Explain its objectives.

Monitoring and Control

Once planning and scheduling are complete and the project is under way, progress on the
project must be monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure that the goals and objectives on
the project are being met. Monitoring and control of a construction project are necessary
during the execution of the project, and its aim is to recognize any obstacles encountered
during execution and to apply measures to mitigate these difficulties.

Monitoring is collecting, recording, and reporting information concerning any and all
aspects of project performance that the project manager or others in the organization need
to know. Monitoring of construction projects is normally done by collecting and recording
the status of various activities and compiling them in the form of a progress report. These
are prepared by the consultant or contractor and distributed to the concerned members of
the project team.
Monitoring involves not only tracking time but also resources and budget. Monitoring in
construction projects is normally done by compiling the status of various activities in the
form of progress reports. These are prepared by the contractor, supervision team
(consultant), and construction/project management team.
The objectives of project monitoring and control are to
1. Report the necessary information in detail and in an appropriate
form that can be interpreted by management and other concerned
personnel to provide them with information about how the resources
are being used to achieve project objectives
2. Provide an organized and efficient means of measuring, collecting,
verifying, and quantifying data reflecting the progress and status of
execution of project activities, with respect to schedule, cost,
resources, procurement, and quality
3. Provide an organized, efficient, and accurate means of converting
the data from the execution process into information
4. Identify and isolate the most important and critical information
about the project activities to enable decision-making personnel to
take corrective action for the benefit of the project
5. Forecast and predict the future progress of activities to be performed

Once the scheduled plan has been prepared and execution has commenced, control over
progress of work has to be exercised to ensure completion of the work by the stipulated
time. A project control mechanism can be used to determine deviations from the basic

35
plan, the precise effect of these deviations on the plan, and to re-plan and reschedule to
compensate for the deviations.

Based on the progress of work and the revised durations of unfinished activities due to
delays, the network diagram is re-planned and rescheduled; this process is known as
updating. If the completion date is beyond the milestone dates, then the contractor is
required to submit a recovery plan to compensate for the delay in execution of the project.
Project control involves a regular comparison of performance against targets, a search for
the cause of deviation, and a commitment to check adverse variance. It serves two major
functions:
1. It ensures regular monitoring of performance.
2. It motivates project personnel to strive for achieving project objectives.
A construction project control is exercised through knowing where to put in the main
effort at a given time and maintaining good communication. There are mainly three areas
where project control is required:
(1) Budget, (2) Schedule, and (3) Quality.

In most contracts, the cost and time required to complete the specified scope of works are
defined in project documents. Control is thus a matter of reporting and regular progressing
of project activities against fixed targets. Control of quality of materials and workmanship
is achieved through a proper quality control plan and its implementation through a preset
level of quality control, and inspection of various activities and materials.

Budget control is done through monitoring progress payments and variation costs.

The schedule is monitored by ensuring timely approval of materials, shop drawings, timely
procurement of materials and execution of works as planned.

Quality control is achieved through inspection of works during the construction process,
ensuring the use of approved materials and workmanship.

36
Q.N.13: What Are the Quality Principles?

Total Quality Management is a structured system for satisfying internal and

external customers and suppliers by integrating the business environment,
continuous improvement, and breakthroughs with development, improvement, and
maintenance cycles while changing organizational culture.

Total quality management is the practice of promoting and ensuring excellence and
safety in products by involving all relevant stakeholders, including but not limited to:
 Employees
 Leadership
 Suppliers
 Manufacturers
 Customers

There are 8 quality principles such as

1. Customer focus
2. Leadership,
3. Involvement of people,
4. process approach,
5. System approach to management
6. Continual improvement
7. Factual approach to decision making, Mutually beneficial supplier
relationship
Total Quality Management is a structured system for satisfying internal and external
customers and suppliers by integrating the business environment, continuous
improvement, and breakthroughs with development, improvement, and
maintenance cycles while changing organizational culture.
The task force set up for revising the ISO (International Organizational for
Standardization) 9000 series of standards decided that organizations can
continually improve their performance if they follow the following (eight) principles
of quality management-

37
Principle # 1. Customer Focus:
All organizational activities are directed towards producing goods and services that
will satisfy the present and future customer requirements. Being aware of customer
requirements and always satisfying them is the integral part of TQM.

Principle # 2. Leadership:
Organization should have good and effective leaders who provide unity of action and
direction to all those working in the organization. The leaders should strive the
organizational efforts towards achievement of overall goals.

Principle # 3. Involvement of People:

Structures, systems and technology by themselves do not provide quality unless
people who run the organization fully exploit their abilities to work for the
organization’s progress and benefits. Unless people understand what to do, how to
do and obtain feedback on their performance, they cannot be encouraged to take
responsibility for quality of their work. Greater involvement of people will lead to
greater customer satisfaction.
Principle # 4. Process Approach:
Organizational goals can be achieved when resources and activities are managed as a
process. “A process is a combination of methods, materials, manpower and machines
that, taken together, produce a product”. Quality improvement aims at reducing
variations amongst different processes by removing the causes of variations and
bringing the process under control.
Principle # 5. Systems Approach to Management:
An organization should be viewed as a system with interrelated set of activities that
link the internal organizational environment with its external environment and help
to efficiently achieve the goals in terms of quality products.
Principle # 6. Continual Improvement:
TQM is not an end. It is the road to achieving the end, the quality improvement. It is
a continuous process of incremental change that aims at improving organization’s
operational efficiency according to improvement in competitors’ policies and
customers’ requirements.
Principle # 7. Factual Approach to Decision-Making:
Managers should know their current quality standards in order to improve upon
them. The decision to improve depends upon available information and its

38
dissemination to all concerned and, therefore, it is necessary that right and accurate
information is available to managers through effective information systems.
Principle # 8. Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relationships:
The organization and its suppliers should work for mutual benefit of each other to
provide value to overall organizational activities.

Total Quality Management Principles – 10 Main Principles of

TQM
Total quality management can be summarized as a management system for a
customer-focused organization that involves all employees in continual
improvement. It uses strategy, data, and effective communications to integrate the
quality discipline into the culture and activities of the organization. Total Quality
Management consist a set of core values and principles on which the organization is
to operate.
Total quality management is the continuous management of quality that includes all
aspects of an organization. It stems from the belief that mistakes can be avoided and
defects can be prevented. It leads to continuously improving results, in all aspects of
work, as a result of continuously improving capabilities, people, processes, and
technology and machine capabilities.
A central principle of total quality management is that mistakes may be made by
people are due to faulty systems and processes. This means that the root cause of
such mistakes can be identified and eliminated, and repetition can be prevented by
changing the process.
The main principles of total quality management are:
1. Delighting the customer. The term delight means bring the best of what really
matters to the customers
2. All the decisions relating to quality will be based on facts to ensure that the quality
decisions are meaningful
3. Continuous improvement in quality and for quality monitoring
4. Customer focused organization
5. Involvement of employees
6. TQM is supported by quality system
7. TQM is quality team work with team accountability
8. TQM is quality corporate culture
9. TQM focuses the need for strategic quality planning

39
10. TQM is led by senior quality managers with strong leadership to establish
credibility.

Main principles of TQM are as follows:

(i) Quality can and must be managed.
(ii) Everyone has a customer and is a supplier.
(iii) Processes, not people are the problem.
(iv) Every employee is responsible for quality.
(v) Problems must be prevented, not just fixed,
(vi) Quality must be measured.
(vii) Quality improvements must be continuous.
(viii)The quality standard is defect free.
(ix) Goals are based on requirements, not negotiated.
(x) Life cycle costs, not front end costs.
(xi) Management must be involved and lead.
(xii) Plan and organize for quality improvement

40
Q.N.14: What are the major activities and functions of quality assurance
department?

The Quality Assurance Department’s

The Quality Assurance Department strives to support the achievement of predefined goal.
This is done, in part, with the resolution of product and process related concerns in a timely
and professional manner. In addition, the Quality Assurance department is also responsible
for continuously improving the effectiveness of Quality Management systems.

Project organization adheres to the highest quality product standards. In addition to

complying with ISO 9001 Standards, all organizations are committed to have own
internal Quality Policy.

Organization is committed to remaining certified to the International Organization of

Standardization’s ISO 9001:2015 Management System Standard. ISO International
Standards ensure that products and services are safe, reliable, and of good quality. These
standards are based on the principle of continuous improvement, which promotes reduction
in costs by minimizing waste and errors while increasing productivity.

The Quality Assurance Department’s Policy is to:

 Support all efforts to provide products and services that meet or exceed the needs
of customers (internal and external)
 Work with all levels of the organization to continually improve our products and
processes
 Establish and regularly review Quality Objectives throughout the organization
 Facilitate teamwork and participation within organization to improve the quality
of products and services, communications, problem-solving, systems, procedures,
and processes
 Foster long-term relationships with internal and external customers and suppliers,
since they are all crucial to the success of business
 Train all employees to fully understand and comply with established and
approved procedures and systems

Major activities & functions of quality assurance department are:

1. Company-wide planning.
2. Producing executive reports on quality.
3. Auditing outgoing quality.
4. Auditing quality practices.
5. Coordinating & assisting with improvement projects.
6. Training for quality.
7. Consulting for quality.

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 8. Developing new quality methodology.
9. Transferring activities to line departments.

In any company, the quality department will be in charge of (1) inspectors, (2) information
systems, (3) standards, and (4) procedures. In many companies, the quality department has
become so embroiled in its "system" of procedures and audits that quality staffers lose the
perspective of parts and customers. Rigorous compliance to procedures won't necessarily
deliver good quality results, nor will rigorous evaluation of processes guarantee
improvement. So how can a quality department work in a manner that supports lean?

There is no doubt a quality department and a quality management system can have an
important role to play in a lean organization in terms of (1) maintaining a quality information
system that helps spot problems so that managers can go and see immediately, ( 2) knowing a
lot about how to distinguish a good part form a bad part and where in the process problems
are likely to come from and coaching frontline managers to quality problem solving and (3)
continuously developing knowledge on how to test products and processes, as well as
conducting live-tests for an ongoing check that both parts and processes continue to behave
in the way they're expected to. And all of this with less resources as well. No easy answers in
lean, but it's never dull!

42
Q.N.15: Explain, Role of Quality Manager.

Role of Quality Manager

The role of a quality manager in an organization is one that ensures all the company's
products and services meet and exceed the customers' expectations. When the products and
services are of superior quality and consistently reliable, the quality manager is making an
impact on the organization. The quality manager can also be called a "quality assurance
manager," "quality control manager" or "director of quality." Despite the job titles, the
quality manager role is responsible for various duties within the organization.

 To implement quality programs

The quality manager is responsible for implementing a quality program throughout

the organization. She must work with all areas of the organization to understand the
impact of the quality program on each area's operations. Pertinent questions to ask
each area are: how would a quality program impact the budget, are there any
associates versed in quality theories and has the area attempted any quality programs
in the past. Ask the department head to be candid about his impressions of quality
improvement programs. These types of conversations aid in understanding the types
of obstacles to be overcome before implementing a quality program.

 Serve as quality subject matter expert (SME)

The quality manager serves as the SME (subject matter expert) in quality. He should
be the "go to" person for questions about quality, quality measures and "best in
industry" specifications. As a quality manager, spend time with the research and
development department. In companies, this department is usually responsible for the
creation of new products and services. By spending time with the research and
development team, she helps instill quality into new products and services. Visit
industry and quality conferences to remain up-to-date on the latest in quality
initiatives and programs. Open up the communication lines with the quality
departments of other companies. Share best practices and industry standards.

 To implement quality measures

To monitor quality improvements in products and services, quality performance

measures must be implemented. This is a responsibility of the quality manager.
Performance measures should include those measurements critical to customer
satisfaction. For example, if the company is involved in providing repair service, one
of the measurements critical to customer satisfaction is that the item is fixed right the
first time. To understand the qualities critical to customer satisfaction, just ask the

43
customer. Use customer satisfaction surveys to understand what the customers
consider important. Implement quality measures to address and monitor, the
organization's performance against the customers' expectations.

 To teach others about quality

The quality manager cannot impact an organization's quality alone. Teach others the
importance of quality and how low and high quality affects the organization. Invite
experts to speak to and teach selected personnel about quality. The newly educated
personnel can go to their respective departments and educate others on quality.
Implement monthly best practice workshops to keep the organization updated on
policy and procedure changes, quality programs the company implements and the
company's quality measures.

 To check the production process

The quality manager is also responsible for inspecting, sampling and testing the
production process. Check to ensure that the quality of products and services meet the
customers' expectations. Each step in the process should be documented and
measured for its effectiveness. Record the measurements, compare where they are
versus where the measurements should be. Work within the company's departments
to eliminate any unnecessary steps in the production process.

44
Q.N.16: Write down duties & responsibilities of QA/QC engineer in
construction business?
As a quality assurance management your duties may include:

 Meeting with clients to understand their business needs

 Developing company quality procedures, standards, and specifications
 Matching processes with standards
 Coordinating activity required to meet quality standards
 Conducting internal audits and inspections
 Presenting project proposals to clients
 Discussing materials with suppliers
 Writing management and technical reports
 Overseeing budgets
 Collecting and sharing statistics
 Dealing with any issues that arise with customers or projects
 Staying on top of customer expectations
 Following legal regulations
 Working on-site and in an office.
 Perform all internal and external audits on behalf of the company’s management.
 Verify contractor quality requirements are specified to vendors and contractor
documentation submittals.
 Review quality inspection personnel qualifications and training requirements.
 Monitor the progress and effectiveness of the project quality management system.
Recommend and implement improvements when required.
 Coordinate all QA/QC activities with the site managers.
 Coordinate all quality related correspondence with the customer's representatives.
 Action and close all customer complaints.

QA/QC Engineer Duties and Responsibilities in Construction Industry:

 Responsible for the quality and workmanship of every activity, thorough

knowledge of all phases of engineering construction relating to Civil,
Architectural and Structural discipline interfacing the multidisciplinary
operations.
 Taking care of QA/QC documents of the entire project including certificates,
calibration, test results, inspection requests, non-compliance reports and site
instruction/observations, permanent materials delivered and other QA/QC
documents.
 Develop and determine all standards to perform inspection and tests on all
procedures and oversee all testing methods and maintain high standards of
quality for all processes.
 Review quality of all materials at the site and ensure compliance with all
project specifications and quality and collaborate with the department for all
material procurement and maintain a quality of materials.

45
  Supervise effective implementation of all test and inspection schedule and
ensure adherence to all procedures and coordinate with various teams to
perform quality audits on processes.
 Assist with employees to ensure knowledge of all quality standards and ensure
compliance to all quality manual and procedures and collaborate with
contractors and suppliers to maintain the quality of all systems.
 Manage to lift of all types of equipment and handle the efficient storage of all
hazardous materials and perform quality audits as per required schedule.
 Analyze all products and non-conformance processes and evaluate all
documents to ensure the maintenance of optimal quality and prepare monthly
reports to evaluate performance.
 Monitor an efficient system and record for all project activities and analyze all
processes to ensure all work according to quality requirements.
 Manage all work methods and maintain knowledge on all quality assurance
standards and monitor continuous application for all quality assurance
processes and recommend corrective actions for all processes.
 Develop a method statement for the activity including risk assessment and job
safety environmental analysis and Inspection Test Plan and Checklist based on
specifications of the project.
 Liaise the Technical Engineer for submission of material submittals to
Consultant
 Coordinate with the consultant’s representative and Site In-charge for
inspection.
 Report to the QA/QC Manager, control, and monitor all activities related to
Quality.

Core skills:
 Based on the job postings we looked at, employers are seeking QA/QC
Engineers with these core skills. If you want to become a QA/QC Engineer,
focus on mastering the following:
 Excellent written and verbal communication skills
 Ability to work in a cross-functional team environment
 Extremely detail-oriented
 Great troubleshooting skills
 Working knowledge of product development and manufacturing processes
 Excellent organization and time-management
 Ability to juggle multiple projects simultaneously
 PC software proficiency

Advanced skills:
 Knowledge of International Organization for Standardization quality systems
 Perform all daily inspection and test of the scope and character necessary to
achieve the quality of construction required in the drawings and specifications
for all works under the contract performed ON or OFF site.

46
 Carry out inspection and checking for all quality related procedures in the site
and ensures activity at the site is as per approved method statement and
inspection test plan.
 Coordinate with the consultant’s representative and Site In-charge for inspection
and meeting about quality problems including the closure of Non-Compliance
Report.
 Report to the QA/QC Manager, control, and monitor all activities related to
Quality Management System, QMS.
 Taking care of QA/QC documents of the entire project including certificates,
calibration, test results, inspection requests, non-compliance reports and site
instruction/observations, permanent materials delivered and other QA/QC
documents. Responsible for the closure of Non-conformance, NCR and Site
Instruction, SI.
 Responsible for the quality and workmanship of every activity, thorough
knowledge of all phases of engineering construction relating to Civil,
Architectural and Structural discipline interfacing the multidisciplinary
operations.
 Develop a method statement for the activity including risk assessment and job
safety environmental analysis and Inspection Test Plan and Checklist based on
specifications of the project.
 Verify contractor quality requirements are specified to vendors and contractor
documentation submittals.
 The preparation and control of project quality system management
documentation prior to project commencement.
 Review quality inspection personnel qualifications and training requirements
 Monitor the disposition of all issued nonconformance reports.
 Monitor the progress and effectiveness of the project quality management
system.

47
Q.N.17: Quality culture is important in project organization, Explain.

quality culture is an environment where team members genuinely care about the
quality of their work, and make decisions based on achieving that level of quality.

Developing Quality culture

What is quality culture?
 Quality culture is the pattern of human habits, shared beliefs, values, attitudes,
institutions, and behavior patterns that characterize the members of a
community or organization.

Technology and Culture

An organization is the integration of two major systems:
1. The technical system (touches the head)
2. The social system (touches the heart)

So to become superior in quality, we must pursue two course of action:

1. develop technologies that meets customer needs
2. Stimulate a culture throughout the organization that continually views quality
as a primary goal

Create and maintain awareness of quality

I. Planning
a. Support & resources
b. Your current situation
c. Your target & goal setting
d. Message & communication channels
II. Implementation
a. When to start
b. Assigning roles & responsibilities
c. Gather & prepare promotional materials
d. Lunch the program

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 III. Checking and reviewing
a. measure the success of the program
b. Get staff to feed back ideas, comments & suggestions
c. Report to staff & management
IV. Maintaining
a. An culture
b. New employees
c. Maintaining momentum

Provide evidence of management & empowerment

 Management commitment is necessary but not sufficient
 To inspire action within a company, the most important element is
management leadership in quality
 The leadership role includes establishing, aligning & developing quality goal
& strategies & then serving on a quality council to lead the quality effort.

Qualities for successful leader:

1. An internal locus of control
2. A greater tolerance for ambiguity
3. Flexibility & a curiosity about the issues involved

Upper management should be:

1. Establish quality policies
2. Provide the resources
3. Provide problem oriented training
4. Stimulate improvement
5. Provide for award & recognition

Time to change the culture

 It's very difficult to change culture instantly
 But necessary to change when quality get low or due to completion
 New ideas, suggestion or better plans for attraction
 Before change organization should identify & review the planning

A true quality culture is, of course, fundamental to making a product that’s safe and
effective in order to improve patient lives. If your team has that in mind at all times,
odds are you already have a good quality culture.

 If not, the issue isn’t that your company doesn’t care about its end
users - the quality culture just hasn’t been fully fostered, leaving you
with a great opportunity to make improvements that will trickle out into
every aspect of your business and raise the standard of everything that
you do.

49
Q.N.18: How you define cost of quality in project construction.

Cost of Quality

Quality has an impact on the costs of products and services. The cost of poor quality is the
annual monetary loss of products and processes that are not achieving their quality objective.

According to Gryna (2001) the concept of quality costs emerged during the 1950s, and
different people assigned different meaning to the term. Some people equated quality costs
with the costs of attaining quality; some people equated the term with the extra costs incurred
because of poor quality. He further states that

The cost of poor quality is the annual monetary loss of products and processes that
are not achieving their quality objectives. The main components of the cost of low
quality are
1. Cost of nonconformities.
2. Cost of inefficient processes.
3. Cost of loss opportunities of sales revenue.

Juran and Godfrey (1999) also state that “the term quality costs have different meanings to
different people. Some equate quality costs with the cost of poor quality (mainly the costs of
finding and correcting defective work); others equate the term with the costs to attain quality;
still others use the term to mean the costs of running the quality department”.

Quality Cost in Construction

Quality of construction is defined as

1. Scope of work
2. Time
3. Budget

Cost of quality refers to the total cost incurred during the entire life cycle of
construction project in preventing nonconformance to owner requirements
(defined scope). There are certain hidden costs that may not directly affect the
overall cost of the project; however, it may cost the consultant/designer to
complete the design within the stipulated schedule to meet owner requirements
and conformance to all the regulatory codes/standards, and for the contractor to
construct the project within the stipulated schedule meeting all the contract
requirements. Rejection/non approval of executed/installed works by the
supervisor due to noncompliance with specifications will cause the contractor
loss in terms of

• Material

50
 • Manpower
• Time

The contractor shall have to rework or rectify the work, which will need
additional resources and will need extra time to do the work as specified.

This may disturb the contractor’s work schedule and affect execution of other
activities. The contractor has to emphasize the “Zero Defect” policy, particularly
for concrete works. To avoid rejection of works, the contractor has to take the
following measures:

1. Execution of works per approved shop drawings using approved material

2. Following approved method of statement or manufacturer’s recom-
mended method of installation
3. Conduct continuous inspection during construction/installation process
4. Employ properly trained workforce
5. Maintain good workmanship
6. Identify and correct deficiencies before submitting the checklist for
inspection and approval of work
7. Coordinate requirements of other trades, for example, if any open- ing is
required in the concrete beam for crossing of services pipe

Timely completion of a project is one of the objectives to be achieved. To avoid

delay proper planning and scheduling of construction activities are necessary.
Since construction projects have the involvement of many participants, it is
essential that the requirements of all the participants are fully coordinated. This
will ensure execution of activities as planned resulting in timely completion of
the project.
Normally, the construction budget is fixed at the inception of the project;
therefore, it is necessary to avoid variations during the construction process as it
may take time to get approval of an additional budget resulting in time extension
to the project. Quality costs related to construction projects can be summarized
as follows:

Internal Failure Costs

• Rework
• Rectification
• Rejection of checklist
• Corrective action

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 External Failure Costs
• Breakdown of installed system
• Repairs
• Maintenance
• Warranty

Appraisal Costs
• Design review/preparation of shop drawings
• Preparation of composite/coordination drawings
• On-site material inspection/test
• Off-site material inspection/test
• Pre-checklist inspection

Prevention Costs
• Preventive action
• Training
• Work procedures
• Method statement
• Calibration of instruments/equipment

Quality costs during the design phases are different from those of the
construction phase. Costs of quality during design phases are mainly to ensure
development of project design and documents to ensure conformance to the
client’s requirements/TOR (Terms of Reference)/Matrix of Owner’s
Requirements. Quality costs related to design development/contract documents
of construction projects can be summarized as follows:

Internal Failure Costs

• Redesign/redraw to meet requirements of other trades
• Redesign/redraw to meet fully coordinated design
• Rewrite specifications/documents to meet requirements of all other
trades

External Failure Costs

• Incorporate design review comments by client/project manager
• Incorporate specifications/documents review comments by
client/project manager
• Incorporate comments by regulatory authority(ies)
• Resolve RFI (Request for Information) during construction

52
 Appraisal Costs
• Review of design drawings
• Review of specifications
• Review of contract documents to ensure meeting owner’s needs,
quality standards, constructability, and functionality
• Review for regulatory requirements, codes

Prevention Costs
• Conduct technical meetings for proper coordination
• Follow quality system
• Meeting submission schedule
• Training of project team members
• Update of software used for design

CII product no. EM-4A (1994) states that “the cost of quality is the penalty paid for an
imperfect world. It is the costs of all the extra work we do beyond merely doing a task
correctly the first time to meet the requirements and expectations. The simple formula for
defining the cost of quality is
Cost of Quality = Cost of Prevention and Appraisal + Cost of Deviation Correction”.

53
Q.N.19: What are the conformance Vs non conformance cost?

Cost of Conformance
The costs incurred while building in, or ensuring, quality are called the costs of
conformance.
Costs of conformance can include activities such as process documentation, training,
inspections, and audits. This is money spent to avoid failures.
These activities each consume resource hours and thus need to be included in your project
schedule, resource assignments, and cost estimates.

Cost of Non-Conformance
However, if there is a choice made not to conduct quality activities, there is a potential for
costs associated with any resulting problems. These costs are referred to as the costs of non-
conformance. This is money spent because of failures.
Costs of non-conformance can include things such as payments made out on warranties, re-
work or scrap, and/or damage to reputation.
It is easy to see that there is a potential correlation between the amount of money spent on
conformance versus the cost implications of non-conformance.
Needless to say, the costs of conformance need to be appropriate for the product or project.

Cost of conformance consist of two components:

 Prevention cost and

 Appraisal cost.

54
 Prevention Costs
 training,
 documentation,
 equipment, and
 sufficient time
Appraisal Costs
Appraisal costs are the (financial and non-financial) resources that are consumed to assess
and measure the quality of the deliverables of a project. This relates to quality assurance and
money invested in activities that identify quality issues. Thus, corrective actions can be
taken, and issues can be fixed during the project.

 testing,
 destructive testing loss (i.e. testing the durability of a product which can involve
losing the amount spent to produce that piece; crash tests are an example of
destructive testing), and
 inspections or quality checks.
Other types of appraisal costs are

 external quality audits,

 measurement of quality indicators (e.g. quality gates), and
 mystery shopping (i.e. testing a product or service from a customer’s perspective).

What Is Cost of Non-Conformance?

Cost of non-conformance is used as a synonym for failure cost. It refers to the resources that
are required to fix failures and take corrective actions but also to indirect effects from quality
issues, such as negative business impact.

55
 Considering cost of
non-conformance as a function of quality, it is also subject to diminishing marginal utility,
reflected in a flattening curve. In other words: the higher the quality the lower the saved non-
conformance cost per quality unit.

Cost of non-conformance consists of two elements:

 Internal failure costs and

 External failure costs.
Internal failure costs are costs for those failures that are discovered by the project or the
organization itself. External failure costs are referring to resources required to address
customer complaints or lost business due to customer dissatisfaction.

Internal Failure Costs

Internal failure costs relate to corrective actions taken to fix failures that were identified
within a project or an organization. The PMBOK mentions rework and scrap as examples.

External Failure Costs

The category external failure costs covers the costs that are spent to respond to customer
complaints on the quality of a product or deliverable liabilities,

 warranty work,
 lost business (i.e. losses arising from customers not doing business with a
company because of previous or current quality issues).

56
While this type of failure cost is often hard to measure and even harder to predict, it is crucial
to make the COQ concept work. This is because external failure costs tend to cause a
massive impact if they occur.

Customer satisfaction is a goal of almost all companies and quality issues could lead to a
quickly deteriorating reputation of a product or a brand – which is often followed by
declining sales, prices and lower revenues.

How to Calculate Cost of Quality in Projects?

While the assessment and prediction of the components of cost of quality (especially the
failure costs) are challenging, the calculation of COQ itself is rather straightforward. The
formula to calculate cost of quality is:
COQ = Cost of Conformance + Cost of Non-Conformance (or failure costs)
where:

57
Q.N.20: As a quality manager, how you mange quality training for
effective results?
Quality Training
Training constitutes a basic concept in human resource development. It is concerned with
developing a particular skill to a desired standard by instruction and practice. Training is a
highly useful tool that can bring an employee into a position where they can do their job
correctly, effectively, and conscientiously. Training is the act of increasing the knowledge
and skill of an employee for doing a particular job.

Dale S. Beach defines training as ‘the organized procedure by which people learn knowledge
and/or skill for a definite purpose’. Training refers to the teaching and learning activities
carried on for the primary purpose of helping members of an organization acquire and apply
the knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes needed by a particular job and organization.

According to Edwin Flippo, ‘training is the act of increasing the skills of an employee for
doing a particular job’.

Quality training mean that any training conducted by individuals, Reputed training
organization, site trainers or others is of a standard that meets the industry’s needs, conducted
in a timely fashion and assessed to agreed industry standards.

Management of quality training

 A delineation of responsibilities for who contributes and in what ways

 A strong and unswerving focus on the customer – Internal and External
 A plan established with clear strategies and tactics for quality training
 A budget to fund the plan

Responsibilities

Training for Quality and TQM system, the training supports can succeed only if there is
accountability and responsibility for its implementation and effectiveness.

 Executive leadership – The executive team bears the responsibility for creating a
quality culture in the organization
 Human resource – The Human Resource (HR Dept.) bears the responsibility for
implementing the Quality training strategy
 The quality professionals – The quality professionals (Quality Dept.) bear the
responsibility to collaborate with the HR professionals to share their technical
expertise on quality

Focusing on the Customer

58
While drafting a Training program following factors should be taken into account for
effective and positive deployment of the plan

 Customer Need
 Customer Expectation
 Customer Satisfaction
 Customer Perception

Developing a training plan for quality

Quality Awareness:

 Why quality is important

 What quality means in our environment
 How quality affects our daily work
 Where we can begin to apply quality concepts and techniques

Executive education:

 Modular training
 Just – in – time training
 Mentoring
 Lecture by peers
 Self Study
 Conferences

Resources

 There must be a purposeful effort to identify the staffing and materials funding
necessary to achieve quality training goals
 There has to resource commitment made that is visible and actionable for carrying out
the training program
 Resources include the following factors:

 Budgeting

 Any training program requires a dedicated financial commitment

 They need to be committed specifically to a strategy and tactics that
support training for quality

 Staffing – Various staffing structures are as follows

 Centralized
 Hun and Spoke
 Decentralized
 Shared

59
  External quality consultants

Curriculum Design

 Curriculum design is the mainstay of a successful quality training system

 The process by which the subject matter is selected and shaped into a curriculum is of
critical concern
 Key elements of this process are :

 Analysis of customer needs – Trainee needs

 Instructional design – It consists of developing specific learning events or
educational techniques that can assist an individual in translating written
words into knowledge
 Content development – It is influenced by performance needs , Job
requirements and Audience
 Pilot testing – Once the content is developed the Quality training should be
pilot tested with a group of objective participants

Implementation & Delivery

 Training for quality is usually delivered in two steps :

 Implementation of planning and preparation

 Delivery

 Instructional Techniques – Before selecting delivery media the implementation

designer must decide the instructional techniques will be most appropriate for
delivering the training

 Delivery systems, media , Devices –

 Live lectures
 Audience response system
 Workbooks and course study
 Audio tape
 Live video
 Recorded video tape
 Multimedia control

External Vs internal sourcing

 For maximum training effectiveness the quality of the delivery system and especially
that of the trainer is very important
 For this reason the sourcing of delivery system and trainers is an important decision
while implementing the plan

60
  The decision usually depends on two factors:

 The size of the training budget

 Training policy

Training Methods

 Conventional Training

 On job training
 Independent study
 Self directed learning
 Group learning

 Technology – Based Training

 Computer supported learning

 Computer managed instruction
 Computer assisted instruction
 Distance learning

Collaborative training systems

 These systems are the most advanced versions of computer teleconferencing

 The three major developments that have contributed to the growth of participative,
on-line training and collaborative work sharing are :

 The significant increase in the internal training needs of the organization in

both public and private sector
 The advent of work-process-oriented relationships based on team work
 The development of groupware

Measurement

 The success of training and collaborative projects is not obvious from casual
observation, it has to be measured in terms of specific , widely accepted and
understood metrics

 These metrics include:

 Learning metrics
 Cycle time
 Work product quality
 Individual and team productivity
 Cost

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Evaluation

 Evaluation is critical to effective training for quality.

 Systematic approach to training Evaluation:

 Trainee’s reaction
 Trainee’s learning
 Whether and how trainee’s are using what they learned
 Whether and how the use of learning has enhanced job performance

Quality training process

IDEA CONCEPT DESIGN

EVALUATION INTRODUCE

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Q.N.21: Why quality training is needed?
Advantage of quality training

 Mistake proofing
 Value addition
 Balancing capacities
 Precise cost definition
 Positively controlled management
 Diagnosis & troubleshooting
 Time effective production
 Increased productivity

Globalization has created a high level of awareness regarding quality and its importance
among the organizations.

In organization the prime role of training is to develop work related skills.

Training for quality supplies quality management expertises that have major impact on
customer relationship and global market.

Need for Training:

Every organization should provide training to all the employees irrespective of their
qualifications and skills.

Specifically the need for training arises because of following reasons:

1. Environmental changes:
Mechanization, computerization, and automation have resulted in many changes that require
trained staff possessing enough skills. The organization should train the employees to enrich
them with the latest technology and knowledge.

2. Organizational complexity:
With modern inventions, technological upgradation, and diversification most of the
organizations have become very complex. This has aggravated the problems of coordination.
So, in order to cope up with the complexities, training has become mandatory.

3. Human relations:
Every management has to maintain very good human relations, and this has made training as
one of the basic conditions to deal with human problems.

4. To match employee specifications with the job requirements and organizational needs:

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An employee’s specification may not exactly suit to the requirements of the job and the
organization, irrespective of past experience and skills. There is always a gap between an
employee’s present specifications and the organization’s requirements. For filling this gap
training is required.

5. Change in the job assignment:

Training is also necessary when the existing employee is promoted to the higher level or
transferred to another department. Training is also required to equip the old employees with
new techniques and technologies.

Types of Training:
Various types of training can be given to the employees such as induction training, refresher

training, on the job training, vestibule training, and training for promotions.

Some of the commonly used training programs are listed below:

1. Induction training:
Also known as orientation training and given for the new recruits in order to make them
familiarize with the internal environment of an organization. It helps the employees to
understand the procedures, code of conduct, policies existing in that organization.

2. Job instruction training:

This training provides an overview about the job and experienced trainers demonstrates the
entire job. Addition training is offered to employees after evaluating their performance if
necessary.

3. Vestibule training:
It is the training on actual work to be done by an employee but conducted away from the
work place.

4. Refresher training:
This type of training is offered in order to incorporate the latest development in a particular
field. This training is imparted to upgrade the skills of employees. This training can also be
used for promoting an employee.

5. Apprenticeship training:
Apprentice is a worker who spends a prescribed period of time under a supervisor.

Importance of Training:
1. Help in eliminating employee’s weakness.

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 2. Refresh & enhance employee’s skills & knowledge.
3. Familiarize with organizational mission, vision, rules & regulations.
4. Improves morale of employees.
5. Retain good people in organization.
6. Improvement in employee’s performance.
7. Consistency in duty performance.
8. Ensure employee satisfaction.
9. Share responsibility of higher level job.
10. Improvement in productivity.
11. Improvement in quality.
12. Reduction in supervision.
13. Reduction in costs.

Manualisation of Operation
• Manualisation of operation aims at writing up manuals for all production processes,
thereby reducing training time required for new employees & promoting internal staff
mobility.

Manual can be used as training guide as well as a reference.

Examples of manuals already completed are:
• Machine start-up.
• Machine maintenance
• Typical breakdowns, detection & solution.
• Robot (automation) programming.
• Description of machine cycles
• Machining operations

Activities of product focused organization are of repetitive nature, method of performing

activity can be manualised.

Therefore, strict monitoring of activity performance can be done.

Manualisation has another advantage that skill can be transferred from working as per
manual as nobody as any longer indispensable

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Q.N.22: What is benchmarking? Mention its features.
"Benchmark” is a point of reference, or standard that can be used for reference.

WHAT IS BENCHMARKING?
At its simplest, benchmarking means: "Improving ourselves by learning from others"

 Benchmarking is the process of improving performance by continuously identifying,

understanding, and adapting outstanding practices found inside and outside the
organization.

Benchmarking is a process where you measure your company’s success against

other similar companies to discover if there is a gap in performance that can be
closed by improving your performance. Studying other companies can highlight what
it takes to enhance your company’s efficiency and become a bigger player in your
industry.
Benchmarking is the process of comparing one's business processes and performance metrics
to industry bests and/or best practices from other industries.
 Why are others better?
 How are others better?
 What can we learn?
 How can we catch up?
 How can we become the best in our industry?

The Benefits of Benchmarking

 Competitive Analysis
 Monitor Performance
 Continuous Improvement
 Planning and Goal Setting
 Encourage Ownership
 Understand Your Companies Advantages

BENCHMARKING FEATURES
Benchmarking has three main features:
1. Continuous method of measuring and comparing a firm's business process against
those of another firm
2. Discover performance gaps between one's own process and those of leading firms.
3. Incorporate leading firm's processes into one's own strategy to fill the gaps and
improve performance.

A benchmark is an organization recognized for its exemplary operational performance.

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There are many benchmarks in the world including:

Toyota for Process

Intel for Design
Motorola for Training

Kingfisher Airlines for Service

Honda for Rapid product development

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WHY BENCHMARKING?
 Traditional performance improvement trends seem not to be sufficient for the highly
competitive markets. In other words, external environment and market conditions
change rapidly
 Customers’ expectations are highly liquid and are driven by standards set by best
performer. Any product or service just below these standards may not catch the eyes
of customer.
 Prevents the “Re-inventing the wheel”.
 Benchmarking gives us the chance of gaining:
 Better Awareness of Ourselves (Us)
 What we are doing
 How we are doing it
 How well we are doing it
 Better Awareness of the Best (Them)
 What they are doing
 How they are doing it
 How well they are doing it
 Benchmarking is a more efficient way to make improvements. Managers can
eliminate trials and errors.
 Benchmarking speeds up organization’s ability to make improvements. Today, time is
of the essence.
 Benchmarking has the ability to bring your performance up as a whole significantly.
 Learn from others’ experiences
 Set realistic but ambitious targets

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THREE MAJOR ADVANTAGES OF BENCHMARKING

Product and Process Improvement:

By implementing benchmarking activity, organizations can improve their operation process

Time & Cost Reduction:

Bench marking is time and cost efficient because it involves imitation and adaptation rather
than pure invention.

Competitive Strategy:
By implementing benchmarking activity, organizations can improve their operation process.

DISADVANTAGES
 What is best for someone else may not suit you
 Poorly defined benchmarks may lead to wasted effort and meaningless results
 Incorrect comparisons
 Reluctance to share information

Differences Between Benchmarking and Competitor Research

Benchmarking Competitor Research

Focuses on best practices Focuses on performance measures

Strives for continuous improvement Bandage or quick fix

Considered corporate spying by

Partnering to share information some

Needed to maintain a competitive edge Simply a “nice to have”

Adapting based on customer needs after Attempting to mirror another

examination of the best company/process

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70
Q.N.23: What is Quality Circle? Why it is needed?

Quality Circle is a small group of employees who work-in same work area meets at
periodic intervals to discuss work-related issues and to offer suggestions & ideas for
improvements in production methods and quality control.
It is a voluntary group of employees, who are doing the same or similar type of job,
meet together on a regular’ basis to identify, analyze and solve their work related
problems leading to improvement in their work, performance and- enrichment of
their work life. The number of circle members could vary from 5 to 15 but the ideal
size of a circle is 7 or 8 members. The number of members should be such that the
circle is effective
Every business organization wants to improve their productivity, but not at the cost
of their people, rather at the expense of wasted time, unnecessary work and
products of poor quality. Quality circles involve minds and hands of the people who
work for the organization.
BASIC PRINCIPLE
“Employee participation in decision making and problem - solving improves the quality of
work”
Quality Circle is:
 Group of employees
 Work on similar area
 Solve problems related to work
 Improve production techniques
 Improve quality
Quality Circle History:
 Started in 1962 in Japan
 Kaoru Ishikawa is the creator of Quality Circles
 Movement in Japan is coordinated by Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers
(JUSE)
 In India Quality Circles is promoted by QCFI (Quality Circle Forum of India)

Operation of quality circle:

 Problem selection
 Problem analysis
 Generate alternative solutions
 Select the most appropriate solution
 Problem identification
 Prepare plan of action
 Present solution to management for approval
 Implementation of solution

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Objectives of Quality Circle
 Create problem solving capability
 Build an attitude of problem prevention
 Reduce errors and enhance quality and productivity
 Improve communication in the organization
 Inspire more effective team work
 Increase employees motivation
 Develop harmonious manager workers relationship
 Promote cost reduction
 Promote personnel and leadership development

Structure of quality circle:

 A steering committee: This is at the top of the structure. It is headed by a senior
executive and includes representatives from the top management personnel and
human resources development people. It establishes policy, plans and directs the
program and meets usually once in a month.
 Coordinator: He may be a Personnel or Administrative officer who co-ordinates and
supervises the work of the facilitators

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  Facilitator: He may be a senior supervisory officer. He coordinates the works of
several quality circles through the Circle leaders. • Circle leader: Leaders may be
from lowest level workers or Supervisors. A Circle leader organizes and conducts
Circle activities.
 Circle members: They may be staff workers. Without circle members the program
cannot exist. They are the lifeblood of quality circles.

Benefits of QC’s:
 Increased productivity
 Improved quality of work life
 Boost employee morale
 Enhances creativity
 Improved teamwork
 Employee involvement
 The quality circles use certain techniques to identify analyse and
resolve problems; they are:
 (a) Brain storming
 (b) Data collection
 (c) Pareto analysis
 (d) Cause and affect diagram.
 (e) Line graphs
 (f) Frequency distribution.
 (g) Scatter diagram, and
 (h) Histograms.

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Q.N.24: What is ISO 9000? Explain ISO 9000:200 specific requirements and its
advantage.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

ISO 9001 is defined as the international standard that specifies requirements for a quality
management system (QMS). Organizations use the standard to demonstrate the ability to
consistently provide products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements.
ISO is a network of national standards institutes of 157 countries (as of September 2007),
formed on the basis of one member per country, with a Central Secretariat in Geneva,
Switzerland, that coordinates the system.

ISO is the world’s largest developer and publisher of international standards. It is a

nongovernmental organization that forms a bridge between the public and private sectors.
ISO has more than 16,500 international standards. Of all the standards produced by ISO, the
ones that are most widely known are the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 series.
ISO 9000 has become an international reference for quality requirements in business-to-
business dealings, and ISO 14000 looks to achieve at least as much, if not more, in helping
organizations to meet their environmental changes. Presently, there are over 350,000
companies in over 100 different countries that are certified in the ISO 9000 process.

ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 families are known as “generic management system standards.”

The ISO 9000 family is primarily concerned with “quality management.” This means what
the organization does to fulfill
 The customer’s quality requirements
 Applicable regulatory requirements, while aiming to enhance customer satisfaction
 Achieve continual improvement of its performance in pursuit of the objectives

The ISO 14000 family is primarily concerned with “environmental management.” This
means to
 Minimize harmful effect on the environment caused by its activities
 Achieve continual improvement with its environmental performance

ISO standards are updated periodically since they were originally published in 1987. ISO
9000 actually comprises several standards. The 1994 version of the ISO 9000 series was
made up of following standards:
 ISO 9000: Quality management and quality assurance standards
 ISO 9001: Quality systems—Model for quality assurance in design, development,
production, installation, and servicing.

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  ISO 9002: Quality systems—Model for quality assurance in production installation
and servicing.
 ISO 9003: Quality systems—Model for quality assurance in final inspection and test.
 ISO 9004: Quality management and quality systems element guidelines.

These standards were simplified in December 2000 and are known as ISO 9000:2000. In the
revised version, ISO 9002 and ISO 9003 no longer exist, having been incorporated into ISO
9001:2000. ISO 9000:2000 consists of the following standards:
 ISO 9000: Quality fundamentals and vocabulary
 ISO 9001: Quality management systems
 ISO 9004: Quality management system guidelines for performance improvement

The ISO 9000:1994 had 20 elements listed under the ISO 9001 model for quality assurance
in design, development, production, installation, and servicing. These elements are
summarized, with relevant ISO 9000:2008 references, under Table 2.2 in the context of
building construction. This will give an idea about the changes in the revised QMS system.

ISO 9000:2000 specifies requirements for a quality management system for any organization
that needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide product that meets customer and
applicable regulatory requirements and to enhance customer satisfaction.

The tremendous impact of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 on organizational practices and on trade
stimulated the development of other ISO standards and deliverables that adapt the generic
management system to specific sectors or aspects. These are
1. Food Safety Management Systems ISO 22000
2. Information Security Management Systems ISO 27001
3. Supply Chain Security Management Systems ISO 28000

ISO 9000 Quality Management System:

ISO 9000 quality system standards are a tested framework for taking a systematic approach
to managing the business process so that organizations turn out products or services
conforming to customer’s satisfaction. The typical ISO quality management system is
structured on four levels, usually portrayed as a pyramid. Figure 2.1 illustrates this.
On top of the pyramid is the quality policy, which sets out what management requires its
staff to do in order to ensure quality management system. Underneath the policy is the
quality manual, which details the work to be done. Beneath the quality manual are work
instructions or procedures. The number of manuals containing work instructions or
procedures is determined by the size and complexity of the organization. The procedures
mainly discuss the following:

 What is to be done?
 How is it done?

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  How does one know that it has been done properly (for example, by inspecting,
testing, or measuring)?
 What is to be done if there are problems (for example, failure)?

The bottom level of hierarchy contains forms and records that are used to capture the history
of routine events and activities.

The ISO 9000 quality management system requires documentation that includes a quality
manual and quality procedures, as well as work instructions and quality records. All
documentation (including quality records) must be controlled according to a document
control procedure. The structure of the quality management system depends largely on the
management structure in the organization. ISO 9001:2000 identifies certain minimum
requirements that all quality management systems must meet to ensure customer satisfaction.

ISO 9001:2000 specifies requirements for quality management systems when an organization
 Needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide product that meets customer
and applicable regulatory requirements

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  Aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the
system, including processes for continual improvement of the system and the
assurance of conformity to customer and applicable regulatory requirements

Seven principle of Iso 9001:2015

Benefit of ISO 9001

ISO 9001 helps organizations ensure their customers consistently receive high quality products
and services, which in turn brings many benefits, including satisfied customers, management,
and employees.

Because ISO 9001 specifies the requirements for an effective quality management system,
organizations find that using the standard helps them:

 Organize a QMS
 Create satisfied customers, management, and employees
 Continually improve their processes
 Save costs

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 Q.N.25: Explain, process of ISO 9000 certification?

Certification to the ISO 9001 standard can enhance an organization’s credibility by showing
customers that its products and services meet expectations. In some instances or in some
industries, certification is required or legally mandated. The certification process includes
implementing the requirements of ISO 9001:2015 and then completing a successful registrar’s
audit confirming the organization meets those requirements.

Organizations should consider the following as they begin preparing for an ISO 9001 quality
management system certification:

 Registrar’s costs for ISO 9001 registration, surveillance, and recertification audits
 Current level of conformance with ISO 9001 requirements
 Amount of resources that the company will dedicate to this project for development and
implementation
 Amount of support that will be required from a consultant and the associated costs

Following are the details of ISO certification, registration, and accreditations, as mentioned
on the ISO Web site: In the context of ISO 9000 or ISO 14000, “certification” refers to the
issuing of written assurance (the certificate) by an independent, external body that has
audited an organization’s management system and verified that it conforms to the
requirements specified in the standard. “Registration” means that the auditing body then
records the certification in its client register so the organization’s management system has
therefore been both certified and registered. Therefore, in the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000
contexts, the difference between the two terms is not significant and both are acceptable for
general use. “Certification” seems to be the term most widely used worldwide, although
“registration” is often preferred in North America, and the two are also used interchangeably.
On the contrary, using “accreditation” as an interchangeable alternative for “certification” or
“registration” is a mistake, because it means something different

In the ISO 9000 or ISO 14000 context, accreditation refers to the formal recognition
by a specialized body—an accreditation body—that a certification body is competent
to carry out ISO 9000 or ISO 14000 certification in specified business sectors.

In simple terms, accreditation is like certification of the certification body.

Certificates issued by accredited certification bodies may be perceived on the market
as having increased credibility.

Thus, it should be understood that the certification body is a third-party company registered
with an established national accreditation board and is authorized to issue a certificate of
conformance after evaluating the conformance of an organization’s management system to
the requirements of appropriate standard.

An ISO quality management system includes all activities and overall management functions
that determine quality policy, objectives, and responsibilities and their implementation.

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ISO certification is not compulsory; however, it is required for competitive advantage. ISO is
valuable to firms because it provides a framework so they can assess where they are, where
they would like to be, and what is their standing in the international market.

Implementation of an ISO management system in the organization brings in increased

effectiveness and efficiency of operations and ensures that the product satisfies customer
requirements. ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 concern the way an organization goes about its work
and processes.

ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 are not product standards.

With the certification of ISO 9000:2000, organizations obtain the following advantages:
 Increased market share
 Increase in revenues
 Continuous improvement in organizational process
 Consistency in products/services quality
 Improvement in staff performance
 Effectiveness in the utilization of staff
 Efficient utilization of time, money, and other resources
 Customer satisfaction and confidence in the organization’s products/ services

ISO 9000 Certification Process

1. ISO 9000 Assessment. The initial assessment is a detailed review of the company’s
quality systems and procedures compared to ISO 9000 requirements. This process
defines the scope of the ISO 9000 project.
2. Training. All employees must be trained in two areas. First, they must have an overall
understanding of ISO 9000 vocabulary requirements, the role of the quality manual,
and the benefits that will be derived from the system. Second, they must understand
the actual day-to-day process of upgrading and improving procedures.
3. Documentation of Work Instructions. All procedures must be described and
documented so that they can be understood prior to approval. Once completed, this
documentation should outline every process a company undertakes that affects the
quality of its finished products.
4. Quality Assurance Manual. While ISO 9000 standards do not require a quality
assurance and policy manual, they do require that a company document everything it
does and every system that affects the quality of the finished product. The manuals
are often used to assemble all documentation in one place.
5. Registration Audit. The final step in certification is an audit by an organization
chosen as the external registrar to see that system is working as described in the
quality manual and that it meets ISO 9000 requirements.

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Q.N.26: What is ISO 14000? Mention its advantage.
ISO 14000 Environmental Management System

ISO 14000 is a series of international standards that have been developed to incorporate
environmental aspects into business operations and product standards. ISO 14001 is a
specific standard in the series for a management system that incorporates a set of interrelated
elements designed to minimize harmful effects on the environment due to the activities
performed by an organization, and to achieve continual improvement of its environmental
performance. ISO 14001 incorporates quality management system philosophy, terminology,
and requirement structure similar to that of ISO 9001 and provides system compatibility

Benefits of ISO 14000

The following are the benefits of implementing an environmental management system:
 Pollution prevention and waste reduction opportunities
 Cost reduction
 Customer satisfaction
 Compliance with regulatory requirements on environmental considerations
 Reduction in consumption of energy
 Reduction in use of natural resources
 Minimization of environmental liability and risk
 Commitment to social responsibility
 ISO 14000 is a set of international standards covering environmental management systems
(EMS), environmental auditing, environmental labeling, the assessment of environmental
performance and life cycle evaluation. As a follow-up to the standardization process that was
started with the ISO 9000 series, the ISO 14000 series of international standards sets the
outline on how organizations can integrate environmental considerations into their operations
and products. It is a set of voluntary environmental management standards, guides and
technical reports, which specifically concentrates on environmental management systems,
operating practices, products, and services. The ISO 14000 standards do not propose
environmental targets but provide organizations with the tools to evaluate the impact that
their activities, products or services have on the environment.

 The first standard in the ISO 14000 series, ISO 14001, provides an organization with the
requirements for an environmental management system (EMS) that can easily integrate into
their business management systems. This system allows an organization to take a proactive
approach to environmental issues with the early identification of problems and the prospects
for improvement thereby achieving higher standards of environmental performance.
 ISO 14001: Specification of Environmental Management Systems
 ISO 14004: Guideline Standard
 ISO 14010 – ISO 14015: Environmental Auditing and Related Activities
 ISO 14020 – ISO 14024: Environmental Labeling
 ISO 14031 and ISO 14032: Environmental Performance Evaluation
 ISO 14040 – ISO 14043: Life Cycle Assessment
 ISO 14050: Terms and Definitions

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 Q.N.27: Reengineering is the best way to reform organization for sustain. Justify

Reengineering sometimes called Business Process Reengineering (BPR), involves a complete

rethinking and transformation of key business processes, leading to strong horizontal
coordination and greater flexibility in responding to changes in environment. Because work
is originated around processes rather than function, reengineering often involves a shift to
horizontal structure based on teams.

Reengineering basically means starting over–throwing out all the notions of how work was
done and deciding how it can best be done now. It requires identifying customer needs and
them designing how it can best be done now. It requires identifying customer needs then
designing processes and aligning people to meet those needs.

Banks and insurance companies, manufacturing and mining companies, and service
companies throughout the world, all have achieved breakthroughs in speed, flexibility,
innovation and quality through reengineering.

Reengineering an organization is simply the process of reviewing all the different levels of an
organization’s way of doing business and considering how to improve things. The goals of
reengineering include increased company profits, improved competitive advantage in the
marketplace and enhanced public image. Reengineering requires an organization to look
closely at its strengths and weaknesses, ask difficult questions where necessary and make
changes for the better of the organization.
Reengineering is most commonly defined as the redesign of business processes—and the
associated systems and organizational structures—to achieve a dramatic improvement in
business performance. BPR has been described as a radical new approach to business
improvement, with the potential to achieve dramatic improvement in business performance.

 Reduce costs/expenses (the most cited business-driven reengineering project

goal)
 Improve financial performance
 Reduce external competition pressure
 Reverse erosion of market share
 Respond to emerging market opportunities
 Improve customer satisfaction
 Enhance quality of products and services

Below are the 5 Business Process Re-engineering Steps:

1. Map the current state of your business processes

2. Analyze them and find any process gaps or disconnects

3. Look for improvement opportunities and validate them

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4. Design a cutting-edge future-state process map

5. Implement future state changes and be mindful of dependencies

History
The idea of reengineering an organization is not necessarily new, but the development of
reengineering as a modern concept for business derived from a 1990 article by MIT professor
Michael Hammer. In this article, published in Harvard Business Review, Dr. Hammer argued
that a business should reduce and remove any business activities that do not actually work for
the good of its customers. By the early years of the 1990s, businesses around the United
States were adopting reengineering as a useful improvement process.
Features
Features of reengineering an organization include several important elements. For one,
reengineering cannot proceed without the full support of a company’s upper management.
With management’s approval, those responsible for reengineering must develop a clear plan
of review and a vision for what the results will yield. Reengineering is also known for using
information technology to forecast a company's goals and create the necessary databases and
networks it can use to create smooth business process.
Benefits
Reengineering an organization offers a number of benefits for overall productivity. The
reengineering process identifies elements of an organization that are creating costs with few
benefits and makes necessary adjustments. In some cases, these adjustments are changes to
the way a department does business; in other cases, these adjustments require layoffs.
Criticism
Despite its recognized benefits, the process of reengineering an organization has come under
criticism. For one, reengineering has resulted in large-scale layoffs within a number of
organizations, leaving companies in better shape but fired employees with few options.
Additionally, reengineering focuses on the lower-level departments of an organization but
often leaves the upper management intact, failing to take into account the problems that
might be originating with upper management.
Results
Pros and cons aside, reengineering has produced verifiable results for a number of large
companies. The computer company Dell has used elements of reengineering since the 1990s,
and it attributes much of its long-term success to its recognition of the need for ongoing
reengineering. Additionally, Procter and Gamble and American Airlines have both applied
reengineering techniques after periods of severe financial problems and have seen
improvements in fighting back debt and regaining profits.

Re-Engineering vs Continuous Improvement

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Business Process Re-engineering is the radial designs of the business that help to experience
dramatic improvements in the business cycle, quality, as well as productivity. The business
Process re-engineering is the great idea to introduce new plans on the existing processes that
supports to offer great value to the respective customer. Usually most of the companies
reduce the unproductive activities in two main areas, such as decision making and functional
organizations. The process re-engineering is the great fundamental rethinking of course this
system is mainly introduces to overcome all the drawbacks of the existing systems. By the
way every organization has chances to reach the process performance. Particularly
this system designs for the continuous process improvement, in general improvement is
always essential to continue your position in the global economies even it is the most
effective choices to fierce the global competition. In general re-engineering, is one of the
necessary factors to improve, debug, improve as well as refine.

Re-engineering is the popular systematic transformation that helps to add new things in the
existing system. It is the newest form of the quality improvement. It is the finest way to enjoy
greater ROI (return of investment) through the latest development process. Re-engineering is
also related to the traditional maintenance, even it is the essential aspects to implement new
capabilities at the same time it also add functionalities, by the way every business people
have chances to make substantial improvements by using the new concepts. This process also
includes new software technologies, in general CPI and process re-engineering highly used in
the organizational improvements at the same time it helps to get desired result, these two
processes have the greatest benefits and highly support for organizational growth.

What is reengineering? “Reengineering is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign

of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures
of performance such as cost, quality, service and speed”.

Why Reengineering?
• Historical ‘reality’ for organizations:
– High level of demand: organizations are order takers
– Management (and IT!) focus
– Efficiency and control of operations
• Modern ‘reality’ since 1990s:
– Hyper-competiveness
– Globalization
– Very demanding customers
– Management and IT focus: Innovation, responsiveness/speed, quality and service.

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