Section One Group 9 Final Thesis

DEBRE BIRHAN UNIVERSITY
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
SHOOL OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY AND
MANAGEMENT
ASSESSMENT OF CONSTRUCTION QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND
IMPLEMENTATION IN PRIVATE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES IN
DEBRE BIRHAN
PREPARED BY:
1 MEKONNEN GEBRE
2 FREZER SAMUEL
3 ELSABET FIREW
4 MESERET TEWOLDE
ADVISERS
ENGR. RUPERTO T. FAELNAR, JR.

Main advisor
MR. YOHANIS KEBEDE

Co advisor
JUNE 20, 2017
DEBRE BIRHAN, ETHIOPIA

DEBRE BIRHAN UNIVERSITY
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY COLLAGE OF

ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY AND
MANAGEMENT
ASSESSMENT OF CONSTRUCTION QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND
IMPLEMENTATION IN PRIVATE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES IN
DEBRE BIRHAN TOWN
PREPARED BY:
1 MEKONNEN GEBRE
2 FREZER SAMUEL
3 ELSABET FIREW
4 MESERET TEWOLDE
ADVISERS: ENGR. RUPERTO T. FAELNAR, JR. AND MR. YOHANIS KEBEDE
Approved by the Board of Examiners:
_________________________ __________ _____________

Advisor Signature Date
_________________________ ______________ _____________
Advisor Signature Date
_________________________ _______________ ____________

Examiner Signature Date
_________________________ _______________ _____________

Examiner Signature Date
JUNE 20, 2017

Assessment of Quality Management Practices and Implementations in Private Building Construction
Companies in Debre Birhan 2017
DECLARATION
We, the undersigned, declare that this thesis entitled “Assessment of Construction Quality
Management Practices and Implementation in Private Building Construction Companies Debre
Birhan” our original work and has not been presented for a degree in any other university. All
sources of materials used for the thesis have been properly acknowledged.
PREPARED BY:
Mekonnen Gebre Frezer samuel Elsabet Firew Meseret Tewolde

_____________ __________ __________ ____________________
Signature Signature Signature Signature
Debre Birhan University

Institute of Technology
School of Engineering
Construction Technology and Management
This thesis is conducted under my supervision and submitted to the school for examination with
approval of:
Engr. Ruprto T. Faelnar. Jr. Mr, Yohanis Kebede

____________ ____________ ____________ ____________
Signature: Date signature Date:
JUNE 20, 2017
DBU: Department of Construction Technology And Management

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We are very grateful for the almighty for granting our courage and wisdom for the successful
Completion of our research. We also very grateful and would like to thank our advisor, Engr.
Ruprto T. Faelnar. Jr. and co advisor Mr, Yohanis Kebede for their guidance, comments and
useful contribution for the successful completion of this paper.
Also, we wish to acknowledge Debre Birhan University, Institute of technology, and department
of construction technology and management for giving us support and kind cooperation.
And we would like to thank professionals working in private construction companies, project
managers, office engineers, site engineers and consultants who have been providing us the
necessary information and data required for the thesis.
Last but not least, we would like to thank our families who have been with us for their
continuous encouragement and financial assistance.
Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to all who contributed towards our success;
especially our friend Samuel Getahun and EzedinSeid for all the supports that you have given.

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ABSTRACT
Quality Management System is system is a management technique used to communicate to
employees what is required to produce the desired quality of products and services and to
influence employee actions to complete tasks according to the quality specifications. Quality
Management ensures that an organization, product of service is consistent. Quality planning,
quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement are its main components. Therefore,
implementing quality management system on the Private construction companies will have a
great role in improving the organizational performance and overall the construction output.
Better management would result in increased efficiency with reduced quality failures yet saving
tremendous amount of money.
This study Assesses Quality Management Practice and implementation in private construction
companies. The improvement of quality has become a major challenge faced by the construction
industry and can involve, reducing cost of rework, reducing maintenance cost and improving the
life cycle value of the projects. Quality Management (QM) Practices and Implantations is one
better solution to overcome these problems, and QMs is considered one of the most important
approaches to success of construction industry.
This present study is intended to provide the necessary information needed to better manage the
quality of a construction sector in Debre Birhan. The aim of this study is to identify the current
status and to highlight main problems and obstacles faced by private construction companies in
the practices and implementation of QM and to determine the effect of improper implementation
of QM at construction sector in Debre Birhan.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION ............................................................................................................................. i
ACKNOWLEDGMENT................................................................................................................. ii
ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................... iii
List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. ix
ACRONYMS .................................................................................................................................. x
CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................. 1
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background of the Study ....................................................................................................... 1
1.1.1 Construction Industry in Ethiopia................................................................................... 1
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM ......................................................................................... 4
1.3 Objectives of the Study...................................................................................................... 4
1.3.1 General Objective of the Study .................................................................................. 4
1.3.2 Specific Objectives of the Study ................................................................................ 4
1.4 Research Significance........................................................................................................ 5
1.5 SCOPE OF STUDY .......................................................................................................... 5
1.6 Limitations of the Study .................................................................................................... 6
1.7. Organization of the Study ................................................................................................. 7
CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................................ 9
LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................... 9
2.1 Quality and Quality Management Basics .............................................................................. 9
2.1.1Understanding Quality..................................................................................................... 9
2.2.1Tenets of Quality Management: .................................................................................... 10
2.3 Basic Concepts of Quality Management: ............................................................................ 12
2.4.1 Inspection...................................................................................................................... 12
2.4.2 QUALITY CONTROL................................................................................................. 13
2.4.2.1 Importance of Quality Control in Construction......................................................... 15

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2.4.3 QUALITY ASSURANCE............................................................................................ 15

2.4.4Quality Management System......................................................................................... 17
2.3 Quality Management Principles .......................................................................................... 19
2.4Construction Quality Management System implementation ............................................... 19
2.5 Benefits of Implementing Quality Management System .................................................... 21
2.7 Practices of Quality Management ....................................................................................... 22
CHAPTER THREE ...................................................................................................................... 24
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ........................................................................ 24
3.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 24
3.2. Research Design ................................................................................................................. 24
3.3The Study Area..................................................................................................................... 25
3.4 Research Population ............................................................................................................ 25
3.5 Sampling.............................................................................................................................. 25
3.5.1Sampling Methods/ Techniques .................................................................................... 25
3.5.2 Non-Probability Sampling ............................................................................................ 25
3.6 Sample Size ......................................................................................................................... 26
3.7. Data Collection................................................................................................................... 26
3.7.1 Approach to data collection .......................................................................................... 26
3.7.1.1 Primary Data ......................................................................................................... 27
3.7.1.2. Secondary Data .................................................................................................... 27
3.8 Methods of data analysis and interpretation ........................................................................ 27
CHAPTER FOUR ......................................................................................................................... 28
DATA AND RESULT PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ........................... 28
4.1Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 28
4.2 Questionnaire sample characteristic analysis ...................................................................... 28
4.2.1 Type of Organization:................................................................................................... 29
4.2.2 Respondent Position ..................................................................................................... 29
4.2.3. Respondent Years of Experience ................................................................................. 30
4.3. Evaluate current level of Quality Management implementation in private building
construction sector in Debre Berhan. ........................................................................................ 31

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4.3.1Respondents Perception of Quality ............................................................................... 31

4.3.2 Quality Policy in respondent's organization ................................................................. 32
4.3.3 Companies having ISO Certificate ............................................................................... 32
4.3.4 Conformance to Standards of Design Drawings .......................................................... 33
4.3.5 Role of the Supervisor in the Work Site ....................................................................... 33
4.3.6 The presence of site engineer in the work site.............................................................. 34
4.3.7 The role of site engineer to achieve quality in the work site ........................................ 34
4.3.8 Storing of project's materials in the work site .............................................................. 35
4.3.9 Most commitment parties to achieve quality................................................................ 35
4.3.10 Quality Management Practice .................................................................................... 36
4.3.11 Implementation of quality management system in the organization system .............. 36
4.3.12 Challenges or problems of QM Practice: ................................................................... 37
4.3.13 Effect of Quality Management system practice on the Organizations’ performance. 37
4.3.14QMS in the Engineering Consulting Firms ................................................................. 38
4.3.14 Experiences of Quality Management System practices in the organization .............. 38
4.3.15 efficiency of Quality Management Practice (QMP) ................................................... 39
4.4 Problems and obstacles affecting Quality Management implementation ........................... 39
4.5 The effect of improper implementation of Quality management System (QMS) in private
building construction Companies ............................................................................................ 42
CHAPTER FIVE .......................................................................................................................... 43
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................... 43
5.1 Conclusion........................................................................................................................... 43
5.2 Recommendations ............................................................................................................... 44
5.3. Future Research .................................................................................................................. 46
BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................... 47
Appendix 1 .................................................................................................................................... 48
Appendix 2 .................................................................................................................................... 49
Appendix 3 .................................................................................................................................... 53
Appendix 4 .................................................................................................................................... 55
Appendix 5 .................................................................................................................................... 56

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Appendix 6 .................................................................................................................................... 60

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List of Figures
Figure 1Flow chart of research…………………………………………………………………...7

Figure 2Distribution of Organization Based on Type……………………………………………30
Figure 3Respondent Position…………………………………………………………………….31
Figure 4Percentage of Respondents Related to Experience Years………………………………32
Figure 5Response to Perception of Quality……………………………………………………...38
Figure 6the efficiency of Quality Management Practice (QMP)………………………………..40
Figure 7 Frequency of problems affecting Quality Management

implementation………………………………………………………………………………….41

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List of Tables
Table 1Sample population size ..................................................................................................... 26

Table 2Response on Quality Policy .............................................................................................. 32
Table 3Response on ISO Certificate ............................................................................................. 32
Table 4Response on Design Conformance to Standards .............................................................. 33
Table 5Response on the Role of the Supervisor in the Work Site ................................................ 33
Table 6Response on the Existence of Site Engineer in Work Site. .............................................. 34
Table 7Response on the Role of Site Engineer to Achieve Quality ............................................. 34
Table 8Response on Material's Storing in Safety Places .............................................................. 35
Table 9Response on Most Commitment Parties to Achieve Quality ........................................... 35
Table 10Practice of QM on the organizations .............................................................................. 36
Table 11Response on Implementation of quality management .................................................... 36
Table 12Response on the challenges or problems QM Practice: .................................................. 37
Table 13Response on the Practice QMS Improvement organization performance: ..................... 37
Table 14Response on the QMS in the Engineering Consulting Firms ......................................... 38
Table 15QM Practice Year ........................................................................................................... 38
Table 16Response on the ineffective Quality Management system QMS: .................................. 42

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ACRONYMS
QMPI – Quality management practices and implementations
MWUD - Ministry of Work and Urban Development
QMS-Quality management system
QMS –Quality management system
QC- Quality control
QA- Quality assurance
QM- Quality management
ISO- International standard organization
TQM- Total Quality Management

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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
1.1.1 Construction Industry in Ethiopia

The construction sector in Ethiopia is developing at a fast rate and its capital budget is increasing
from year to year. It can be described as the sum of all economic activities related to civil and
building works: their conception, planning, execution, and maintenance. Construction is widely
acknowledged as the most important single constituent in a developing country’s investment
program with about 50% of total capital formation with such a high contribution the construction
industry has a major influence on the economic growth of a country and is, conversely,
dependent on the state of the economy for the realization of its potential. An inefficient and
ineffective construction industry will, therefore, adversely affect all other sectors of the
economy. (BirhanuBeshah, 2011)
As the intensive construction in Ethiopia today becomes more complex, the demand for housing
and project management services is increasing. During the housing construction the application
of project management the progress against time, cost against tender or budget, quality against
specifications is can be confusing for all parties involved in the construction process.The
construction industry consists of various sectors. These are the building and residential
development sector, civil engineering sector, professional services sector and self-building
sector. The construction industry consists of deferent types and size of firms. These operate in
the deferent sub-markets characterizing the construction industry. Construction firms must be
registered and licensed in order to undertake any construction work in Ethiopia. The firms are
classified according to size, expertise and financial capability by the ministry of work and urban
development (MWUD). The self-building sector is characterized by an informal sector,
consisting of informal groups that supply arterials and labor. These informal groups are not
licensed or registered. However, they employ a great number of people. The professional
services sector consists of architects, civil engineers, electrical engineers, sanitary engineers, and

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mechanical engineers, quantity surveyors and surveyors who provided the design expertise. The
services of these consultants are not utilized in the informal and self-build sectors. There exists a
great separation between the design consultants and the contractors. This generates conflict in the
construction process and results in project delays and cost escalations due to claims. It is
important that methods for conflict mitigation are developed for the industry.
(AlemTesfahunegn).
The development of the DebreBerhan Construction Industry is also critical in improving the
economic state of the country since it is responsible for the provision of infrastructural
development in the country. Moreover, the Construction Industry generates a lot of employment
in both the private and public sector.
The concept of quality management is to ensure efforts to achieve the required level of quality
for a product which is well planned and organized. From the perspective of a construction
company, quality management in construction projects should mean maintaining the quality of
construction works at the required standard so as to obtain customers’ satisfaction that would
bring long term competitiveness and business survival for the companies. (Tan & Abdul-Rahman,
2005)
Further to this, also reiterated that the term quality management as used in the construction
industry is all encompassing and embedded in the phenomenon itself and are concepts such as
quality control, quality assurance, quality improvement, quality standards etc. The authors
revealed that the earliest form of formal quality management practices in construction can be
traced back to ancient Greece and Rome. In addition to the aforementioned, opined that quality
management practices include all the means employed by managers in an effort to implement
their quality policies. These activities include quality planning, quality control, quality assurance
and quality improvement. (Olatunji et al 2012).
Construction quality is a critical factor in determining project acceptance and resultant

contractual payment levels. This has made participants in the construction industry to become
notably conscious of the role of quality as an essential means to achieve client satisfaction and
gaining competitive advantage in the industry. It was revealed that acceptable quality levels in

construction have long been a problem in attaining on time and within budget projects in a highly
dynamic, complex, and competitive environment.(Battikha, (2002)
Quality has remained in the forefront amongst factors used to determine the degree of success or
failure of a project. This long term development has made it imperative for all parties involved in
construction projects to strive at all times to produce commendable structures. Further to explain
that performance of a project is measured as its ability to deliver the building or structure at the
right time, cost and quality as well as achieving a high level of client satisfaction. It is therefore
stands to reason that quality performance in construction is results oriented and seeks evidence of
quality awareness within the operations and output of a building/construction team. Quality
performance is also defined over the long term for the effect to be permanent. In other words,
quality performance improvements are expected to increase the productivity and profitability of
contractors as well as increasing client satisfaction.(IAN AGBENYEGA, BSc. (June, 2014)

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The present study focuses on the Assessment of Quality Management (QM) practices and
implementation in the context of private Building construction companies in Debre Birhan. The
main rationale for the selection of this area of study is the role that the construction industry
plays in the development of any country and economy through the provision and development of
the infrastructure of the countries’. QM is considered as one of the most important approaches to
success of construction industry. However there is: Quality management practices and
implementation problems that leads to the failure of the building structures and claims among
clients and contractors due to improper quality management system. In addition to these, there
are no more researches done in relation to this title in debre birehan. For these cases, a research is
needed to be carried out to solve these problems and that offer a platform for these aspects to be
addressed.
In this regard, this study seeks to fill this gap by identifying current quality management
practices employed in Private construction companies and identifying any present quality
Management implementation problems and obstacles that exists in private construction
companies.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
1.3.1 General Objective of the Study

The main objective of this study is to Assess Quality Management Practices and
Implementations in private Building construction companies in Debre Birhan.
1.3.2 Specific Objectives of the Study

The specific objectives of this study were:
1. To assess current quality management practices employed in Private construction companies.

2. To identify the present quality Management implementation problems or obstacles that exists
in private construction companies.
3. To identify the effect of improper implementation of Quality management System (QMS) in
private building construction Companies.

4. To make suggestions and recommendations on how to implement and practice quality

management system in private construction companies
1.4 Research Significance

As construction projects usually involve large quantities of resources and many dynamic
processes, achieving high quality is not only end-product based, but also reflects on the
management of interrelated organizational processes. However, the assessment of the output of
construction companies can often be impeded by different interpretations of „quality‟ by the
service providers and related parties involved. As a result, quality deliverables at both
management and project levels are often not as transparent and measurable as promised in
project designs and contracts.
 The study shows the current practices of quality management practice will help in
Organizational performance.
 The study helps to indicate how to reduce problems or obstacles to implement Quality
Management System (QMS) in the private construction companies.
 It can also serve as reference document for further studies on Quality Management
practices and implementations in private Construction companies.
1.5 SCOPE OF STUDY

As far as the scope of this study is concerned, since there are many Private building construction
industries in Ethiopia, the researcher has chosen to conduct the current study in Amhara region in
North shewa Zone, particularly in Debre Birhan town because there are no more researches were
done on this title is conducted in that area or location. In addition, in Debre Birhan town as well
as in our university there were several Private building construction companies, working projects
currently. To cover all the Private building construction industries in the zone, it may needs high
effort and extra time, and the financial potential. Due to these reasons, the researcher intended to
select the Private building construction industries which are found in Debre Birhan town and in
this university. The Private building construction industries found in Debre Birhan town were
chosen due to their geographical proximity to the researcher’s resident and interest of the

researcher assuming to get available data from the stakeholders. Therefore, the researcher was
focused on Private building construction industries in the zone Debre Birhan .
1.6 Limitations of the Study

This study was not carried out without problems. The major problems the researcher faced while
doing this study were the following: communication barriers like age differences and stereotype,
unwillingness of the respondents, most of the head office managers are not near by the town for
this case, it took more time and effort to find them at the appropriate time and place. It was also
noted that some respondents did not fully understand the concept of quality management
practices and implementations (QMPI) and that some organizations did not have proper
documentation on implementation of quality.

1.7. Organization of the Study

Flow chart of research
Topic selection and defining the problem

to be studied and minimize
Literature review
Information collection
Primary Interview, Secondary

information questioner Information
Data analysis and discussion
Tables
Graphs and figures
Conclusions
Recommendation
Figure 1 Flow chart of research

The figure above shows the flow of research from the chapter one to the last chapter that is
covered the background to the study, the problem statement, the objectives of the study,
significance of the study, limitations of the study and organization of the study Literature review,
methodology, which comprises the study area, the population of the study, data collection
procedure, research instrument, research design and data analysis, considered analysis of data
and discussion of results and lastly examined, conclusions of the study and recommendations.

CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Quality and Quality Management Basics
2.1.1Understanding Quality
Some of the definitions of quality are (H.W.Chung March 1999):
 Quality is the ongoing process of building and sustaining relationships by assessing,
anticipating, and fulfilling stated and implied need.
 Attainment of prescribed standards
 The degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfill requirements (ISO 9000:2005)
According to the American Society for Quality, “quality” can be defined in the following ways:
✔Based on customer’s perceptions of a product/service’s design and well the design
attaches the original specifications.
✔The ability of a product/service to satisfy stated or implied needs.
✔ Achieved by conforming to established requirements within an organization.
Quality is the totality of features and characteristics of a product for service that bears on its
ability to satisfy the projects functional requirements. The quality of output is always agreed
upon between the supplier and the client (In project works, Contractor and the employer,
respectively), and the quality objective is to achieve zero defects with best quality of the project
works. This is possible only by ensuring quality control at every stage during progress of
construction.(Ajay Sharma, Construction Quality Specialist)
Quality of construction is more difficult to define because the product is usually not a repetitive
unit but a unique piece of work with specific characteristics. The builder can judge the quality of
his/her work by the degree of compliance with conditions in the contract, not only the technical
specifications but also the contract sum and the contract period. The client will be satisfied if the
construction is executed as specified, within budget and on time. Therefore, a quality product of
building construction is one that meets all contractual requirements (including statutory
regulations) at optimum cost and time. There is a challenge in defining quality because quality is
a subjective concept, like beauty. Everyone has a different definition based on their personal
experiences.
The quality of building work is difficult, and often impossible, to quantify since a lot of
construction practices cannot be assessed in numerical terms. The framework of reference is
commonly the appearance of the final product. ‘How good is good enough?’ is often a matter of
personal judgment and consequently a subject of contention. In fact, a building is of good quality
if it will function as intended for its design life. As the true quality of the building will not be
revealed until many years after completion, the notion of quality can only be interpreted in terms
of the design attributes. So far as the builder is concerned, it is fair to judge the quality of his
work by the degree of compliance with stipulations in the contract, not only the technical
specifications but also the contract sum and the contract period. His client cannot but be satisfied
if the construction is executed as specified, within budget and on time. Therefore, a quality
product of building construction is one that meets all contractual requirements (including
statutory regulations) at optimum cost and time.(H.W.Chung March 1999)
2.2 Quality Management Basics
2.2.1Tenets of Quality Management:

“Based on Deming, Juran, Crosby and other scholar’s common ideas, there are four tenets of
quality management: customers‟ satisfaction, continuous improvement, process focus and
management commitment(BirhanuBeshah, 2011)
i. Customers’ Satisfaction: one of the most important quality management concepts is

customers‟ satisfaction. In today’s market, a customer making a purchase decision is faced with
a great deal of choice and customers can compare and contrast products quality without
boundary. External alignment with customers is achieved when the organization is capable of
meeting the customer’s requirements. On the other hand, internal alignment is attained when
each department and each employee understands both the organization’s vision and how the
specific work they accomplish fit into that vision.

ii. Continuous Improvement: In the age of globalization, organizations feel heavy pressure
from the rapid changes in their environment as to customer demands, product life-cycles, and
competitions, autonomy needs of employees and government regulations and legislations. To be
able to cope with this situation, constant development and learning will become mandatory.
Organizational transformation demands proper planning and implementation, especially in these
days where competition is severe and level of uncertainties is very high.
Continuous improvement can be defined as a culture of sustained improvement targeting the
elimination of waste in all systems and processes of an organization. It involves everyone
working together to make improvements without necessarily making huge capital investments.
Improvement can occur through evolutionary improvement, in which case improvements are
incremental or through radical changes that take place as a result of an innovative idea or new
technology. Often, major improvements take place over time as a result of numerous incremental
improvements.
iii. Process Focus: At every supplier-customer interface, there is a transformation process and
every task throughout an organization should be viewed as a process. Defining the scope of a
process is vital since it will determine both the required inputs and the resultant outputs. The key
to success is to align the employees of the business, their roles and responsibilities, with the
organization and its processes. Many outstanding organizations have achieved and maintained
their leadership through process improvement.
iv. Management Commitment: In emphasizing management’s responsibility, Deming noted

that workers are responsible for 10% to 20% of the quality problems in a factory and the
majority 80% to 90% is under management’s control.
Managers set policy & strategy that addresses internal culture, structure and operations in both
short-term and long-term with regard to priorities, direction and needs of customers, resources,
government initiatives and the community at large. Organizations should establish and clearly
communicate their policies & strategies including their processes and plans and justify their
continual existence. Managers are also responsible for the five major resources: people, material,
equipment & machines, information & financial resources. (BirhanuBeshah, 2011)

2.3 Basic Concepts of Quality Management:

The ASQ glossary defines quality management as “the application of quality management
system in managing a process to achieve maximum customer satisfaction at the lowest overall
cost to the organization while continuing to improve the process
The primary objective of the construction management function is the control of three main
factors or values. They are time, cost and quality. These three factors are commonly referred to
in the construction industry as the three-legged stool. However, there is one more very important
factor i.e. safety (safety for builders and users). Construction can be a dangerous business and
safety must be the foundation upon which all other values are placed, without safety the whole
project is at risk. Quality not only impacts aesthetics, appearance and durability `but it also
impacts performance. Poor performance can lead to failures in everything. Failures due to poor
quality; costs money and time but in some instances, poor quality can even cost lives or result in
serious injury. (TeklebrhanKidanu 2011)
The evolutionary developments of quality from different sources are presented below
 Quality inspection
 Quality control
 Quality assurance, and
 Quality management
2.4.1 Inspection
The main principle is that prefixed quality requirements should be fulfilled all the time. The
primary goal was to unfold defects through measurements and standardization. In this period of
quality evolution the department of quality inspection was responsible for quality in the whole
organization.
During the early days of manufacturing, an operative’s work was inspected and a decision was
made whether to accept or reject it. As businesses became larger, so too did this role and full
time inspection jobs were created.
In the era of Taylor’s scientific management (in the early 1900’s) the function of planning and
the function of production were separated. It was the first time when the early initiatives of
different management methods were used in order to increase efficiency. This meant that the

work or process leaders were got rid of controlling end products in the production processes.
Instead of them qualified and independent quality controllers were responsible for this duty. This
was the time when controlling quality became a separate discipline and profession.
The main disadvantage of pure quality inspection was that it didn’t assure the improvement of
the process as there were no feed-backs into the production process itself. There were always
conflicts of interest between the production and quality department. Top managers got very far
away from the issue of quality, they got less and less information, and their knowledge about
quality was quite dissatisfactory. These changes led to the birth of a separate inspection
department with a “chief inspector”, reporting to either the person in charge of manufacturing or
the manager. With the establishment of this new department the question of new services and
other issues, e.g, standards, training, recording of data and the accuracy of measuring equipment
arose. It became clear that the responsibilities of the “chief inspector” were more than just
product acceptance and the need to address defect prevention emerged. Hence the quality control
department evolved, in charge of which was a “quality control manager” with responsibility for
the inspection services and quality control engineering. (ZsuzsannaEszterTóth – TamásJónás)
2.4.2 QUALITY CONTROL

Quality control refers to the activities that are carried out on the production line to prevent or
eliminate causes of unsatisfactory performance. In the manufacturing industry, including
production of ready-mixed concrete and fabrication of precast units, the major functions of
quality control are control of incoming materials, monitoring of production processes and testing
of the finished product.
Before production is commenced, an assessment is made of the minimum quality needed to
satisfy the stated requirements and how that quality canbe consistently achieved. An example is
establishing the target mean strength of concrete on the basis of the specified characteristic
strength and the estimated variability. During production, the strength of the concrete
iscontinuously monitored via routine testing and statistical analysis of the test results, so as to
detect at the earliest possible moment when either the mean strength or the variability of strength
shows a significant change. The control mechanism then goes on to rectify the detected change,
thereby preventing a potential problem from developing into a real one.

Very rigid rules for production control may be combined with lenient criteria of acceptance and
trivial consequences of noncompliance. Alternatively the producer may be given greater freedom
in production, butstringent acceptance criteria are set and severe penalties for noncompliance are
imposed. Within the spectrum of possible combinations of productioncontrol and acceptance
control, there will be an optimum that is the most economical to operate.
In the building industry, it is traditional practice to have separate contracts for design and
construction, with the designer also taking up the role of supervision of construction. The quality
of the finished works is controlled by way of inspection and testing as construction proceeds. For
example, the quality of concrete and other materials on site is judged by random sampling and
testing, and a thorough inspection of the finished works is performed without exception before
final acceptance. The major drawback of this ‘inspectorial system’ of quality control is that it
identifies the mistakes after the event. Even high strength concrete can be defective if it is not
properly compacted and cured, and the potential hazard of steel corrosion will not surface until
some years later. Many building defects are covered up during subsequent construction and
consequently the quality of the finished works cannot be assessed by final inspection.
Unlike consumer goods, defective building work is very difficult, if not impossible, to replace.
The client is often left with the patched-up original which will be a source of recurrent trouble
and huge expenditure in the years to come. Regular supervision by the contractor’s staff
themselves is undoubtedly the key to quality. There are, however, commercial and organizational
pressures that often favor speed at the expense of quality. Sometimes poor workmanship is
condoned to keep up with expected productivity or just labor. To show commitment to quality,
senior management of the company must therefore provide adequate resources on site to avoid
anybody cutting corners. Furthermore, a comprehensive record of in process inspection is
essential to ensure that the intended verification is actually done. The extra efforts are managerial
in nature and complementary to the operational techniques of quality control in assuring the
quality of the product. ( H.W.Chung 1999)

2.4.2.1 Importance of Quality Control in Construction

Quality Control (QC) in construction is the process of verifying that the project is built to plan,
that the tolerances allowable by industry standard and engineering practices have been met or
bettered, and that the finished project (and all phases to get there) meet with the quality standards
of the architect, engineer, owner, and general contractor. On construction projects there are
dozens of subcontractors, all of which have specific responsibilities. Superintendents and project
managers try to maintain high quality standards but they can't be everywhere at once. Required
inspections by cities and counties (as well as other jurisdictions, depending on the project) help
to ensure safety and code issues. In addition, a good general contractor or developer will have on
staff a QC person, someone who is responsible for going through the building or project,
ensuring compliance, and maintaining an ongoing list of corrective items that must be
accomplished before the contractor who installed it is paid or leaves the job. QC technicians
generally keep a very detailed binder, separated by areas/rooms/phases of the project with notes
of items that must be either verified or corrected, with sign-off as each is accomplished. This
binder becomes part of the project record and is an important element to completing the project
on time and with expected quality maintained.(IAN AGBENYEGA, BSc. (HonsJune, 2014)
2.4.3 QUALITY ASSURANCE

Despite the wealth of site experience accumulated throughout the decades, one in ten building
contracts still leads to client dissatisfaction and complaint against the contractor. A survey
conducted by the Building Research Establishment in the United Kingdom indicates that 40% of
building defects occur during the construction phase. In most cases, the defects are found to be
the result of:
 misinterpretation of drawings and specifications;
 use of superseded drawings and specifications;
 poor communication with the architect/engineer, subcontractors and material suppliers;
 poor coordination of subcontracted work;
 ambiguous instructions or unqualified operators;
 Inadequate supervision and verification on site.

It is obvious that defects arising in construction are mostly caused by poor management and
communication. It is preclusive to assume that mistakes appearing on site are actually made on
site. These mistakes may be traced back to the purchase of incorrect or incompatible materials
and the failure to retrieve the out-dated drawings (Kettlewell, 1990). In other words, site
problems can be the consequence of negligence or malpractice in the head office.
Consistent quality can only be achieved when such avoidable mistakes are avoided in the first
instance. Preventive measures must be taken to minimize the risk of managerial and
communication problems. This is the basic concept of quality assurance. The performance of an
individual in an organization could directly or indirectly affect the quality of the finished
product. Responsibility for quality therefore stretches from the chief executive right down to
theperson-on-the-job. If consistent quality is to be assured, all staff in the organization, both in the head office
and on site, must:(H.W.Chung1999)
 know what their authorities are: have appropriate organization structure, clear lines of
responsibility and communication;
 know what their duties are: have clear definition and description of duties;
 know what to do: have correct specifications and drawings;
 know how to do it: have proper training, appropriate procedures, and ready access to
necessary instructions;
 want to do it: have proper motivation;
 Be able to do it: have the right resources, plant and materials; is quality assurance for
construction?
 know that it is done: have appropriate checking, measurement or testing of products;
 Record that it has been done: keep proper records, specified certificates.
To practice quality assurance, an organization has to establish and maintain a quality
management system (usually abbreviated to quality system) in its day-to-day operation. A
quality system contains, among other things, a set of documented procedures for the various
processes carried out by the organization. Implementing a quality system does not replace the
existing quality control functions, nor does it result in more inspection and testing; it just ensures
that the appropriate type and amount of verification is performed when and where it is planned to
be done. In fact, a quality system embraces quality control as its technical arm. This is why a

quality system is sometimes referred to as a QA/QC programmed. In short, quality assurance is

oriented towards prevention of quality deficiencies. It aims at minimizing the risk of making
mistakes in the first place, thereby avoiding the necessity for rework, repair or reject.
( H.W.Chung 1999)
2.4.4Quality Management System

A quality management system is a management technique used to communicate to employees
what is required to produce the desired quality of products and services and to influence
employee actions to complete tasks according to the quality specifications.
A quality management system is not a random collection of procedures, tasks or documents
(which many quality systems are). Quality management systems are like air conditioning
systems – they need to be designed. All the components need to fit together, the inputs and
outputs need to be connected, sensors need to feed information to processes which cause changes
in performance and all parts need to work together to achieve a common purpose.
ISO 9000 defines a quality management as a set of interrelated or interacting processes that
achieve the quality policy and quality objective. But the word quality gets in the way of our
thinking. It makes us think that quality management systems operate alongside environmental
management systems, safety management systems, and financial management systems. In clause
3.11 of ISO 9000 it is stated that the quality management system is ‘that part of the
organization’s management system that focuses on the achievement of outputs in relation to the
quality objectives’, therefore the quality management system must exist to achieve the
organization’s quality objectives. This concept was unclear in the 1994 version with the result
that many quality systems were focused on procedures for their own sake rather than on serving
objectives. It would appear therefore that other parts of the management system are intended to
serve the achievement of specific objectives. For example we could establish :(David
Hoyle2001)
 Safety systems to serve safety objectives
 Environmental systems to serve environmental objectives
 Security systems to serve security objectives
 Human resource systems to serve human resource objectives

 Marketing systems to serve marketing objectives

 Innovation systems to serve innovation objectives
 Financial systems to serve financial objectives
Quality awards such as Ethiopian quality awards and ISO 9001 quality management system are
the major instruments or frameworks or models of quality management. The company should put
quality in the first place and use the quality system as a means of achieving it. The QMS is
essentially a management tool. If applied correctly, ISO 9001 ensures that the company’s
processes are efficient. By simply documenting the processes and ensuring that everyone follows
the same process time after time, efficiency can be achieved. Processes have to be designed to be
efficient because documenting existing inefficient process doesn’t result to efficiency.
To maintain consistent quality of a product, be it a paper clip or a multistory building, the
organization carrying out the production should have some means to ensure that every time a
process is performed, the same method is adopted and the same control is exercised. Consistency
of operation involves three basic functions: say what one should do, do what the one said and
record what the one has done. This can be achieved by establishing a quality system in the
organization and maintaining it to be effective. A quality system has to cover all the activities
leading to the finished product. Depending on the scope of operation of the organization, these
activities include planning, design, development, purchasing, production, inspection, storage,
delivery and after-sales service. Hence, a „quality system standard‟ is a reference base against
which the adequacy of a quality system can be judged. Quality system comprises of the
organizational structure, procedures, processes, and resources needed to implement quality
management. (BirhanuBeshah, 2011)
The quality management model (ISO 9000 series) consists of
 ISO 9000:2005 - Fundamentals and vocabulary
 ISO 9001:2008 - Quality Management System- Requirements
 ISO 9004:2000 - Guidelines for performance improvement

2.3 Quality Management Principles

For the top management to lead the organization towards improved performance eight quality
management principles have been identified:
a) Customer focus Organizations depend on their customers and therefore should understand
current and future customer needs should meet customer requirements and strive to exceed
customer expectations.
b) Leadership Leaders establish unity of purpose and direction of the organization. They should
create and maintain the internal environment in which people can become fully involved in
achieving the organization’s objectives.
c) Involvement of people at all levels are the essence of an organization and their full
involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organization’s benefit.
d) Process approach A desired result is achieved more efficiently when activities and related
resources are managed as a process.
e) System approach to management Identifying, understanding and managing interrelated
processes as a system contributes to the organization’s effectiveness and efficiency in achieving
its objectives.
f) Continual improvement Continual improvement of the organization’s overall performance
should be a permanent objective of the organization.
g) Factual approach to decision making Effective decisions are based on the analysis of data
and information.
h) Mutually beneficial supplier relationships An organization and its suppliers are
interdependent and a mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create value.
2.4Construction Quality Management System implementation

Implementing a project-specific quality system involves the following actions:
 Determine the size of the project, the project team and its location;
 Identify the status of existing documentation, and determine whether or not this is
compatible with the proposed project activities;
 Determine the range of project activities within the specific project;
 Identify the level of activities within the project and the method of work allocation;

 Determine the responsibilities and commitment of the project management team.

The structure of documentation within a quality system should take account of structure in order
to avoid overlapping and duplication, design in order to provide a uniform simple format,
distribution in order to devise a manageable system that can easily be updated, and the facility
for documentation changes.
A documentation system must be able to develop so that it clearly reflects the activities and
methods contained in the project. Sections of the system will need to be rapidly updated and
reissued to keep abreast of demands, and any changes in techniques and procedures.
All members of the project team should have a job description. The job description should define
the following parameters: designation within the project, reporting procedures, key tasks and
responsibilities, relationship with other members of the project team, reference to work
instructions, specific performance measurement where applicable, and specified minimum
training required.
It is recognized that training is one of the cornerstones of a quality system. Certain training is
mandatory for employees and, wherever practical, should be carried out prior to any work
responsibility being assigned. The following areas must be covered by employees involved in a
project: the company introduction package and specific training regarding health and safety at
work and the project quality system
The advantages to the project manager of developing and introducing quality system are
 That profits would be increased through better management control systems;
 Quality levels would be uniform throughout the project;
 Safer deliveries and storage of materials;
 Costs should be reduced through higher productivity, and fewer defects and changes;
 Capital utilization should be improved through faster and safer throughput;
 Satisfied clients and/or promoters.
Quality costs, but lack of quality costs even more. Today's society depends heavily on reliable
products and services. The consequences of failure are costly, both to society as a whole and to
the project, incurring additional expense and inconvenience. (Nigel J. Smith2002).

2.5 Benefits of Implementing Quality Management System

QMS provides and organization with increased opportunity to:
- Improve internal performance – the way it directs and controls its business activities, and
- Externally – to survive in the competitive business environment
Internal Benefits
 Improved management confidence

 Improved awareness of company objectives
 Improved communications
 Responsibilities and authorities are adequately defined
 Improved traceability to root causes of quality problems
 Improved utilization of resources
 Fewer, rejects therefore, less repeated work and warranty costs
 Errors rectified at the earliest stage, and not repeated
 Continual improvement
 Increased productivity
 Increased profits and company growth
External benefits
 Easy access to international market through demonstration of competence and

 improving competitiveness
 Improved customer satisfaction
 Consistency in quality of products and services
 Customer confidence
 Improved company image
While QMS helps in meeting the above expectation, we have to keep in mind that it is only a
means to achieve the objectives we set for business and is not an end in itself. Therefore, it is up
to us to take a more systematic approach to our business objectives. (Aida Taye June, 2015)

2.7 Practices of Quality Management

Total quality management (TQM) is often defined as a complete management philosophy that
permeates every aspect of a company and place quality as a strategic issue. It is accomplished
through an integrated effort between all levels of a company to increase customers’ satisfaction
by continuously improving current performance. ISO certification is nowadays a trend in most
industries including construction industry. The ISO 9001 standard is now on its year 2000
revision. The five clauses for its implementation are quality management system, management
responsibility, resource management, product realization, and measurement, analysis, and
improvement. The application of ISO standards has received much attention from researchers.
Moatazed-Keivani, Ghanbari-Parsa and Kagaya (1999) argued that the ISO 9000 standards series
can form and have formed the basis for an efficient and advantageous quality management
system in the construction industry. Dissanayaka, Kumaraswamy, Karim and Marosszeky(2001)
stressed that the motivators behind the implementation of ISO 9000-certified quality systems for
Hong Kong constructors appear to be to qualify for public works tenders, to meet
clients’/customers’ expectations and to improve the quality of work done. Love, Li, Irani and
Faniran (2000) commented that ISO 9000certification is not an option but rather a reality for
construction companies that wish to retain and sustain their competitiveness in today’s highly
competitive markets. Liu (2003) stated that it is indicative that ISO 9000 has an impact on the
contractors’ attitude towards quality.
As for the implementation of quality management in project management, the concepts of
quality planning(identification of quality standards), quality assurance (evaluation of overall
project performance) and quality control (monitoring of specific project results) in the quality
management processes were defined by Project Management Institute (2000). Several tools and
techniques were identified as part of the implementation process, there are, benefit/cost analysis,
benchmarking, flow-charting, design of experiments, cost of quality, quality audits, inspection,
control charts, pare to diagrams, statistical sampling, flow-charting and trend analysis. Mathews,
Ueno, Kekale, Repka, Pereira and Silva (2001) divided quality tools and techniques that are in
support of quality programs into three main types, i.e. hard quality tools, mixing methods and
soft methods.

Hard quality tools are formal quality systems, documented quality systems, quality costs, control
charts, and statistical sampling standards. Mixing methods are strategy and action plans review,
flexibility of organization structure, control charts, quality circles, and quality planning tools.
Soft methods are training, customer satisfaction surveys, regular contact with vendors and
external organizations, actions to optimize environment impact, empowerment, self-assessment,
and benchmarking.(Abdul-Rahman, HamzahJuly 2011)

CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

3.1. Introduction
This section describes all the procedures that were undertaken to achieve the objectives set for
this study. The procedures that were adopted including all the information relevant to the
collection of the data, where those data were obtained and how they were obtained are discussed.
In addition data and information sources, research instruments, sample size and method of
analysis are presented. The succeeding section provides a general description of the research
strategy adopted for this thesis, as well as justification of the methodology
3.2. Research Design

There are two types of research strategies namely: quantitative research and qualitative research.
The main criteria’s to decide on which type of research to follow is depends on the types of study
and availability of the information which is required for the study. Quantitative research is an
objective measurement of a problem based on a theory composed of variables that can be
measured in numbers; whereas, qualitative research emphasizes meanings, experiences and
descriptions to subjectively evaluate the opinion, view or perception of respondents towards a
particular issue.
The design of this research is descriptive since it allows the collection of data through
questionnaires and interview on the bases of sample, which helps to find out the view of the
population. The research will use qualitative in order to achieve the main objective of this
research. Therefore, survey with questionnaires and semi-structured interview was employed so
as to address the QMPI on Private construction companies. The semi structured interview is used
to gather some information about the views of the quality management from the project
managers.

3.3The Study Area

The site that the researchers will conduct their research is at Debre Berhan town which is the
seat of North Showa zone administration. Specifically, this study was conducted at 10 private
construction companies and 8consulting firms in Debre Berhan university compound and at the
town.
3.4 Research Population

A research population can be defined as the totality of a well-defined collection of individuals
or objects that have a common, binding characteristics or traits (Politet al., 2006). Burns et al.,
1993 added that a population is defined as all elements (individuals, objects and events) that
meet the sample criteria for inclusion in a study. The research covers a population of Eighteen
(18) respondents made up of construction firms and consultant firms based in Debre Birhan.
The main reason for using this category of firms is that their activities directly or indirectly
have a bearing on quality management in the execution of projects
3.5 Sampling
Sampling is a process of selecting a portion of the population to represent the total population
and the findings from the sample represents the rest of the group (Burns et al., 2001).The
advantage of selecting a sample is that it is less costly and time saving than collecting
information from a large group of respondents. The selected sample should therefore, have
similar characteristics to the population under study to allow general is ability of the results to
represent the population (Burns et al., 2001, Politet al., 2006). There are two types of sampling,
namely probability and non-probability sampling (Burns et al., 2006).
3.5.1Sampling Methods/ Techniques

After the researchers had identified the scope, it is proved fact that they should manage and put
the sample population into a way that can be manipulated. Therefore, they need to use a method
commonly termed as Sampling.In this study non- probability sampling was used.
3.5.2 Non-Probability Sampling

Non-probability sampling is a sampling technique where the samples are gathered in a process
that does not give all the individuals in the population equal chances of being selected. In any

form of research, true random sampling is always difficult to achieve. In contrast with
probability sampling, non-probability sample is not a product of a randomized selection
processes. Subjects in a non-probability sample are usually selected on the basis of their
accessibility or by the purposive personal judgment of the researcher. (www.explorable.com/non-
probability-sampling).
The non-probability sampling technique was used because the researcher was bounded by time,
money and workforce and because of these limitations, it is almost impossible to randomly
sample the entire population.
3.6 Sample Size

This study will include contractors, consultants and construction professionals of construction
industry in Debre Birhan.
Item Respondents Unit of analysis Population Number of sample frame

no
1 Construction Firms Contractor 10 10
1 Consultant firms Consultant 8 8
Total 18 18
Table 1sample population size
3.7. Data Collection
3.7.1 Approach to data collection

According to Naoum (2007) there are two approaches to data collection namely, fieldwork
(primary data collection) and desk study (secondary data collection). Patton (2002) noted that
using more than one data collection instrument strengthens and gives credibility to the study. The
researcher used multiple sources of data because of the added benefits (such as the validity of the
data gathered) associated with multiple sources (Owusu, et al., 2007).
The approach for collecting data in this study was divided into two main parts; Primary Data and
Secondary Data

3.7.1.1 Primary Data

The source of the primary data will be in a form of questionnaire, designed to gather a large
volume of data from consultants, contractors and construction professionals. The primary
function of the survey is to collect information that can be analyzed, and inference made to
produce conclusion about private construction companies’ quality management practices and
implementation.
a. Interviews:- basically interviews have been conducted to supervisors, and project managers
at construction sites located in Debre Berhan and in our university. We have tried to assess and
to interview project managers of different contractors who are in grade 7 and above. We
preferred interviews to this group contractors to save time and thinking they may not have
enough professionals to understand and fill the questionnaires properly.
b. Questionnaires: - we have designed questionnaires and reviewed by our advisor before
distributing them to intended parties in building construction projects. The questionnaires were
designed and distributed for construction companies of grade1, grade 2 and above grade7
contracting and consulting firms. The reason we selected to distribute the questionnaires to G1,
G2 and above G7 contractors is that relatively there are no more than 5 companies who are G1
and G2 in Debre Birhan. This makes difficult for questionnaires distribution and data analysis
due to small number of G1&G2 Construction companies. Due to this reason we select G7 and
above construction companies.
3.7.1.2. Secondary Data

Secondary data which involves information from published text such as academics periodicals,
research journals, government publications, companies profile, dictionaries, past dissertations
and Internet resources were used to compliment the primary data.
3.8 Methods of data analysis and interpretation

Data analysis was done thoroughly in order to make the study clear and very direct. The
organizing, summarizing and interpreting of data was carried out by using tables and figures
whenever necessary. After the data presentation, analysis and interpretation is successfully
completed, conclusion will be drawn and recommendation will be drawn for the study.

CHAPTER FOUR
DATA AND RESULT PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND

DISCUSSION
4.1Introduction
This chapter focuses on analyzing the gathered data from respondents through interviews and
questionnaire. The descriptive statistics of the data provide qualitative insight to this
investigation and as such provides an invaluable contribution to the aims of this study. To this
regard, the analyses presented here are based on data from the demographics of respondents’
firms and QM practices of respondents’ firms.
Also, an in-depth analysis is presented to understand the Quality Management Practices and
implementation in private building construction companies in Debre Berhan. The results are
actually structured to determine or to identify any present quality Management implementation
problems and obstacles that exists in private construction companies. The findings have been
presented here in a statistical format such as charts and tables to enable examination and
description on the pattern of the responses.
4.2 Questionnaire sample characteristic analysis

Sample characteristics of the person who filled the questionnaire and the employed company
were analyzed. The respondents’ characteristics provide descriptive information on the
individual respondents. Specifically, it provides information on position, and experience. While
companies, information about the company where the such as: type of company, the category of
the organization, grade of the organization This information was necessary to confirm the
validity of the results obtained and to develop an understanding of the background respondent
with accompanying experience in construction sector in Debre Berhan. The sample distribution
will be presented with respect to the following questionnaire respondents' and companies'
characteristics.

4.2.1 Type of Organization:

Type of organization was the first question in this section. This question identifies the percentage
of each type of organization (consulting office and contracting company) related to the overall
respondents.
44.4%
55.6%
Contracting…
Consulting…
Figure 2 Distribution of Organization Based on Type

In Figure2, Respondents were asked to specify the type of organization that they work in, 44.4%
of the respondents indicated that they work in consulting office, while 55.6% indicated that they
work in contracting Company. These results show that the contracting companies with 1st, 2nd
and above 7th was more widespread ad than the consulting office in DebreDerhan.
4.2.2 Respondent Position
40%
Project Manager
Site Engineer
60%
Figure 3 Respondent Position

It can be seen from Figure 3 that, 40% of the respondents were project managers, whereas 60%
of the respondents were site engineers. This is an indication that the questionnaire respondents
were key persons in their firms. The evaluation of position by respondent was necessary to
confirm
firm the validity and reliability of response and to understand the perspective of respondents.
4.2.3. Respondent Years of Experience

The greater the experience of the respondent in this sector the greater the understanding of the
questions and necessary requirement
equirement for this sector. The highest frequency for the response was
(0-5
5 years) as shown in Figure 4.
4. This group accounted for 60% of the respondents. Critically
looking at Figure 4.5, 20% of the respondents have over 6 years of experience and 20% have
above 12 years experience. This result is logical, since the organizations that have been targeted
are that of higher classification, and broad experience.
0
less than 5 years
20% 60%
From 6-11 years
20%
12 Years and
above
Figure 4 Percentage of Respondents Related to Experience Years

4.3. Evaluate current level of Quality Management implementation in private

building construction sector in Debre Berhan.
4.3.1Respondents Perception of Quality

The question was asked to evaluate the respondents' perception of quality. The results are as
shown in Figure 5
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Figure5. Response to Perception of Quality

The survey found that 12% of respondents (3 out of 25) perceive quality as inspection and
corrective actions, 24% constituting (6) of the respondents gave elimination of defects, 12% of
respondents gave increase productivity as their response. The Table further shows that (4)
respondents representing 16% gave a response to the same question as continuous improvement.
However, (4) respondents representing 16% stated that a competitive advantage is their
perception while the remaining (5) or 20% of respondents representing, customer satisfaction
and others as the answers to the question.
According to majority of respondents, their perception of quality is by the, elimination of defects

then Customer satisfaction, then continuous improvement and a Competitive Advantage. This
means that, emphasis is placed on elimination of defects and that lead to improvement of quality

management. In view of this, quality is improved leading to cost reduction, productivity

enhancement, profit margins increment and achievement of customer satisfaction.
4.3.2 Quality Policy in respondent's organization

The question was asked to check the quality orientation of these organizations, and evaluate the
existing of quality policies, manuals or documents in respondent's organization.
Item Frequency Percentage
Yes 3 37.5%
No 4 50%
Partially existing 1 12.5%
Total 8 100%
Table2 Response on Quality Policy
Quality policy is the directions of an organization's relationship to quality as formally expressed
by top management. It outlines how management intends achieving quality. Half (50%) of the
respondents responded that, there is no quality policy, manual or document but (37.5%) said
there is availability of quality policy, manual or document and (12.5%) of respondents said
partially existing. Surprisingly, most companies do not have quality documents. This suggests
that, the existing of quality policies, manuals or documents in respondent's companies is not
sufficient and they do not follow any laid down policy. Also this indicates the lack of
commitment of top management towards the implementation of QM in construction projects.
4.3.3 Companies having ISO Certificate

Item Frequency Percentage%
Yes 7 87.5%
No 1 12.5%
Total 8 100
Table 3 Response on ISO Certificate

The respondents were asked question about ISO certificate. As shown in Table 4.3, Just
1construction companies out of 18 have ISO certificates.

4.3.4 Conformance to Standards of Design Drawings

The question was asked in this section to evaluate the organizations’ quality auditing and
reviewing procedures
Do not Check it Out - -

After Every Design 5 38.5%
Before Commencement of Project 1 7.7%
During Construction 7 53.8%
Total 13 100
Table 4 Response on Design Conformance to Standards
Majority of respondents representing (53.8%) said they check for design conformance to
standard during construction while (38.5%) said after every design. Also (7.7%) said before
commencement of project. The best answer for this question to achieve high quality is: during
construction, and after every design respectively from the responses given, it can be deduced that
majority of companies check for design conformance to standard of project during construction
and after every design.
4.3.5 Role of the Supervisor in the Work Site

The question was asked to evaluate the role of the supervisor in the work site.
item Frequency Percentage %
Yes 2 25%
No - -
Sometimes 6 75%
Total 8 100%
Table 5 Response on the Role of the Supervisor in the Work Site
Analytical results show that (25%) of the respondent said: ''supervisor engineer is doing his role
and control comprehensively and ensure the rightness of the work'', and (75%) said: "sometimes"
which considered large proportion, is not improving the implementation processes of quality
management system.

4.3.6 The presence of site engineer in the work site

The question was asked to evaluate presence of site engineer in work site
Yes 3 37.5%
No 4 50%
Don't Know 1 12.5%
Total 8 100%
Table 6 Response on the Existence of Site Engineer in Work Site

We seen from Table 4.5 that half of respondent (50%) agreed that site engineer not exists at the
work site permanently and (37.5%) of respondent agreed that site engineer exists at the work site
permanently. Based on the above data most of the site engineers are found on the site
permanently. These indicate that site engineers are not practicing quality management system in
the construction projects.
4.3.7 The role of site engineer to achieve quality in the work site
The question was asked to evaluate the role of site engineer to achieve quality in the work site.
Item Frequency Percentage %
Yes 4 50%
No 3 37.5%
Don't Know - -
Sometimes 1 12.5%
Total 8 100%
Table 7 Response on the Role of Site Engineer to Achieve Quality

Table7 indicates that half of the respondent (50%) agreed that the site engineer does his role in
achieving quality at the site and (37.5%) of the respondent said the site engineer is not achieving
quality at the site. finally (12.5%) of the respondent said sometimes site engineer does his role in
achieving quality at the site

4.3.8 Storing of project's materials in the work site

The question was asked to evaluate the quality of materials in the work site.

Yes 4 50%
No 3 37.5%
Don't Know 1 12.5%
Total 8 100%
Table 8 Response on Material's Storing in Safety Places

According to the questionnaire, (50%) of the respondents said that the project materials are
storing in suitable places for protecting its safety. However 37.5% of the respondent said that the
project materials are storing in suitable places for its safety.
4.3.9 Most commitment parties to achieve quality

The question was asked to evaluate the parties that achieve quality in the construction projects.

Governmental institutions - -
Donor institutions - -
Engineering offices 5 62.5
Contracting Companies 3 37.5
Total 8 100%
Table 9 Response on Most Commitment Parties to Achieve Quality
According to Table (9), 62.5% of respondents say that engineering offices is the most
commitment parties to achieve quality, 37.5%of respondents say: contracting companies. Results
showing that there is lack of commitment by the Governmental institutions and Donor
institutions to achieve quality. They should work hard and hard in this field in order to improve
QMSs in their companies.

4.3.10 Quality Management Practice
Yes 8 80%
No 2 20%
Total 10 100%
Table 10 Practice of QM on the organizations
As shown in the above table 10, QM practice in the organization has (80%) which means all of
the respondents agreed up on the practice of Quality Management System in the organization and
20% of the respondents said that there is no practice of Quality Management System in their
organization. This indicates that most the private construction companies in Debre Berhan are
practicing Quality management system.
4.3.11 Implementation of quality management system in the organization

system
Effectively 3 30%
rarely 5 50%
Not at all 2 20%
Total 10 100%
Table 11 Response on Implementation of quality management
According to Table (11), 30% of respondents say that QM is effectively practice in their
organization and (50%) of the respondents says quality management is rarely practice in their
organization. This indicates that most the private construction companies in Debre Berhan are
not effectively or rarely practicing Quality management system.

4.3.12 Challenges or problems of QM Practice:

Yes 9 90%
No 1 10%
Total 10 100%
Table 12 Response on the challenges or problems QM Practice:
According to Table (12), 90% of respondents say that there are challenges problems to practice
quality management (QM) effectively in their organization and (10%) of the respondents says
there is no challenges to practice quality management practice in their organization.
From the interview respondents said that: The challenges possibly faced in the implementation of
Quality Management Systems in the private Construction companies were:-
 People do not adapt to change easily

 It is very difficult to convince people to change the previously used way of doing things
 Most employees resist the new formats, Working Instructions and procedures
4.3.13 Effect of Quality Management system practice on the Organizations’

performance
Yes 8 80%
No 2 20%
Total 10 100%
Table 13 Response on the Practice QMS Improvement organization performance:
The above table 13 presents the overall effect of Quality Management system practice on the
Organizations’ performance. Based on the above data most of the respondents agreed that the
Practice of QMS has improved their organization in terms of client satisfaction and getting more
project.

4.3.14QMS in the Engineering Consulting Firms

Yes 7 87.5%
No 1 12.5%
Total 8 100%
Table 14 Response on the QMS in the Engineering Consulting Firms
The above table we have seen that most of the respondents agree that practicing Quality
Management System in the Engineering Consulting Firms is important for the construction
industry. The respondents mentioned that practicing QMS in Engineering firm has a very high
importance in terms of accomplishing a project with the right time, allocated budget and Desired
Quality. And also it minimizes wasting large amount of resource investment and will have a
good effect in the country’s development. Therefore, implementing Quality Management system
not only benefited the clients and the consulting firms it will have benefit on other stakeholders
and the country as a whole.
4.3.14 Experiences of Quality Management System practices in the

organization
0-5 Years 6 60%

6-11 Years 4 40%
12 Years and above - -
Total 10 100%
Table 15 QM Practice Year

According to the above table 15, 60% of the respondents responded that Quality Management
has been practiced in the range of 0-5 years and the rest 40% of the respondents have responded
QM has been practiced in the organization 6-11 years.

4.3.15 efficiency of Quality Management Practice (QMP)
80%
70%
Ages of respondent
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Excellent Good Poor
Degree of Measurement
Figure 6 the efficiency of Quality Management Practice (QMP
According to the above figure 6 most the respondents agreed good Quality Management Practice
(QMP), while 20% of the respondents
respondent agreed on the poor management
ent of quality. The rest 10%
the respondents are at the top management level identified excellent management
management.
4.4 Problems and obstacles affecting Quality Management implementation

The respondents were asked if they encounter problems as highlighted in the literatures as for the
implementation of QM is concerned. They were also asked to state problems of the
implementation
ation of QM faced if there. The following are the results gathered from the of
questionnaire

Obstacles affecting implementation of QMS

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Figure 7 Frequency of problems affecting Quality Management implementation

The problems affecting the implementation of Q.M as indicated by the respondents and as shown
in Figure 7 above are described below:
The results show that problem, of “Awarding the tender on the basis of lowers prices and not
efficiency, is the most important problem affecting QM implementation in Private construction
companies in Debre Birhan town as well as in Ethiopia. Interviews with a number of contract
parties in the studied sample indicate that, the lowest evaluated bids mainly which values are
under the project's estimated cost may be occurring due to the lowest evaluated bidder poor
experience or faults. And then, referring to that bidders may lead to delay in project execution,
inability in paying obligations to suppliers, contractor financial losses or bankruptcy which
adversely affecting the level of quality in projects.

On the other hand, one interviewer said: "The intense competition between Contractors and the
low number of tendered projects make contractors tight Percentage of their profits and thus their
prices are low, which affect the quality of the projects.
The second important problem is Lack of expertise in QM System. This is associated so much
with awareness of the importance of quality and, also, this means the importance of spend efforts
in spreading the culture of quality among all parties. And other factors affecting implementation
of quality management are the difficulty in changing behaviors and attitudes related to quality,
Lack of top -management commitment/understanding of quality issues, absence of advance
planning for the project etc.
The other issues that respondent from interview said were as below
Quality Management Implementation Problems Encountered by Construction Companies
 Inadequate management support
 Unwillingness of project staff to accept the quality system
 Difficulties in understanding the quality system
 Problem with documentation
 Difficulties in measuring results
 Problems with subcontractors’ works
 Inadequate technical expertise/skills
 Sometimes weakness of the supervisor engineer
 Lack of the interests from the supervisor and owner about quality, because they chose the

4.5 The effect of improper implementation of Quality management System

(QMS) in private building construction Companies
Yes 9 90%
No 1 10%
Total 10 100%
Table 16 Response on the ineffective Quality Management system QMS:
According to Table (16), 90% of respondents say that ineffective or improper building
construction Quality Management system (QMS) one of the reasons for losing some clients and
projects affects the performance of the organization, and 10% of respondents says that
ineffective or improper building construction Quality Management system (QMS) is not cause
for losing some clients and does not affects the performance of the organization.
The effects of improper building construction Quality Management system (QMS) from the
interview we get are below:
 Lose quality of the products
 Affects the performance of the company
 Failure of the project
 Rework;
 High maintenance and support cost
 Client dissatisfaction
 Missed dead and budget
 Poor moral
 Causes conflict between client and contracting parties
According to answer above we get from interview question these are the effects or results of
improper building construction Quality Management system (QMS).

CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Conclusion
This chapter describes conclusion and recommendations of the study.
Based on the findings of study, the following conclusions were drawn:
 According to majority of respondents, their perception of quality is by the, elimination of

defects then Customer satisfaction, then continuous improvement and a Competitive
Advantage and understanding quality and implementing the quality systems is not
sufficient.
 Most companies do not have quality documents, and the existing of quality policies,
manuals or documents in respondent's companies is not sufficient and they do not follow
any laid down policy
 ‘‘Supervisors and site engineers are not doing their role and control comprehensively and
ensure the rightness of work.
 Majority of companies check for design conformance to standard during construction and
after every Design.
 The understanding of quality and implementing the quality systems is not sufficient.
 Almost all private construction companies are not ISO Certificated.
 Regarding the effectiveness of Quality Management (QM), practice in the private
construction companies it can be said that overall there is not good or negative effect of
Quality Management Practice in the organization.
The problems affecting the implementation of (QM) program, as indicated by the respondents,
are listed in order of priority (based on total number of responses received against each option).
1. Awarded the tender on the basis of lower prices and not efficiency
2. Lack of expertise/ resources in QMS
3. Lack of education and training for the improvement process

4. Lack of owner's awareness about the importance of quality

5. Firms’ emphasis on short-term objectives/gains
6. The difficulty in changing behaviors and attitudes related to quality
7. Lack of communication between project's parties
 The effects of improper implementation of building construction Quality Management
system (QMS) are Lose quality of the products, Affects the performance of the company,
Failure of the project, Rework; High maintenance and support cost, Client dissatisfaction,
Missed dead and budget, Poor moral, and Causes conflict between client and contracting
parties.
5.2 Recommendations
A. Based on the results and conclusions, the following points can be recommended to all parties
in order to implement and current practice of Quality management (QM) in private building
construction Companies in Debre Birhan:
 Developing the awareness of the individuals about quality and raising the management
skill of the professionals who participate in the construction industry and introducing
proper quality management practices for the stakeholders so as to develop multi-view
skills and Saves way for future practices.
 Quality management should extend to the completion phase the project. It is suggested
that quality management should include the time period after the products is delivered
and used by the clients.
 Developing the awareness on Quality is the responsibility of everyone and not of top
management only and team work and a continuous improvement process.
 Project coordination and monitoring activities during subcontracting should be given at
most attention to avoid communication problems.
 It is important that the contracting or consulting firms develop a QMS to meet the
requirements of the international quality standards.
 Construction companies should create the flexible and conducive organizational
atmosphere which encourages the development of quality management practices in all

aspect of the construction industry and should employ quality officers as part of their
integrated teams in the management of their projects.
B. Based on the results and conclusions, the following points can be recommended to all parties
who indicate the issues, as much as possible to eliminate or reduces problems and obstacles
affecting Quality Management implementation.
 The owners or consultants who seek high quality should not award contracts to the lowest
bidder whose price is lower than the project fair estimate, as many projects were delayed
and suffer from quality problems
 The company should be hired to train the managers on the concepts of QM operations
and Periodic meeting must be conducted between project's parties to understand each
other. Furthermore, communication skills should be enhanced by recommending to
communication skill.
 Also, contractors must perform the required work according to the conditions and
specifications, and if they do this carefully and in saving time it is recommended to give
those rewards and appreciation and The companies should identify and eliminate factors
that affect quality of construction service for the future
 Management should continually seek to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the
processes of the organization, rather than wait for problems to reveal opportunities
improvement
C. Based on the results and conclusions, the following points can be recommended to avoid
improper or poor quality management system for private construction companies.
 The company should put clear vision, mission and values these helps employees need to
know how what they do is tied to organizational strategy and objective and Establishing
and implementing a documented quality management system
 The Company should have quality management plan, quality control measurements,
process improvement plan and materials and human resource management plan and
should establish and determine criteria’s and methods for operation and control processes
for quality management system.
 The contracting firms should perform any tasks according to Drawings, specifications
and bill of quantities and with recommended standards in to avoids claims and for
keeping clients satisfaction
The Ministry Of Labor and Social Affairs and other concerned government bodies in Ethiopia
should give more attention for the implementation Quality Management Practices. Several
strategies have suggested overcoming the problems, such as to provide effective Quality
Management Practices.
To improve the level of Quality Management practices in the construction industry, the
concerted effort of stakeholders of the construction industry including owners, management and
employees, financers, insurance companies, consultants as well as government is necessary.
Therefore, the client, supervisors, contractors, governments, financers, insurance companies,
should contribute to bring a considerable change Quality Management practices and
implementations.
Finally the Debre Birhan University and construction technology and management department
should create good condition for students to do best researches to reduce quality management
problems in construction industries in Debre Birhan as well as in our country Ethiopia.
5.3. Future Research

This research sought to Assessment of Quality Management practices and implementations in
Private building construction Companies in Debre Birhan. This work analyzed. The practices
experienced on typical building sites in Debre Berhan City Construction projects; there are some
more areas, which need more research:
 Quality Management practices and implementations in relation to Customer and

Employee Satisfaction.
 Research into the effect of quality management practices in the Debre Birhan
construction industry.
 Future research into the challenges of quality management practices in the Debre Birhan
construction companies

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
 (Chung H.W., 1999,) Understanding Quality Assurance in Construction a Practical Guide

to ISO 9000 for Contractors, E & FN Spon published in the Taylor & Francis.
 Rumane, A. R. (2011). Quality management in construction projects Boca Raton, Fla:

CRC
 Hoyle, D. (200). ISO 9000: quality systems handbook. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
 Smith, N. J. (2002). Engineering project management, Oxford: Blackwell
 (Zsuzsanna EszterTóth – TamásJónás 2014,) quality management teaching material

 (Olatunji, A., Abimbola, W. and Nureni, F. (2012) Examining The Effect of Quality
Management Practices
 Ian Agbenyega, bsc. (Hons)June, 2014Quality management practices of building
construction firms.
Journals/research
 Teklebrhan Kidanu March, 2014 Assessment of the Impact of ISO 9001 Certification on
Ethiopian Construction Companies
 (Abdul-Rahman, July 2011,) Hamzah Study of Quality Management in Construction

Projects
 (Birhanu Beshah, 2011,) Quality Management and Engineering: Practice and Challenges
in Ethiopia. Ph.D. Dissertation, Addis Ababa Institute of Technology school of
Mechanical Engineering
 (Aida Taye June, 2015,) Assement of quality management practices on organizational
performance in three selected engineering construction companies in AddisAbaba
WEB SITE
 www.explorable.com/non-probability-sampling
 www.buildingshows.com/market-insights/Insights/Ethiopia-construction-industry-

Appendix 1
Questionnaire
Dear Respondent,
We are undertaking a research study entitled “Assessment of Construction Quality management

Practices and implementation in private Building construction in Debre Birhan” as part of our
Degree of Bachelor Science in Construction Technology and Management at Debre Birhan
University.
The questionnaire is to identify current practice of quality management, to determine problems
and causes of not implementing quality management, to identify effects of improper
implementation Quality management and to get some recommendation on what should be done
to minimize the problem.
Your response will be kept strictly confidential, where only our academic advisor and we will
have access to the information you provided and it will be exclusively used for the research.
You may kindly aware of time constraints in such academic requirement researches;
hence, we sincerely request you to complete and return the questionnaire in a week time
to enable we finalize the research on time to meet the deadline.
Thank you for your invaluable time and cooperation.
Kind Regards,
Mekonnen Gebre
Firezer Sumuel
Meseret Tewolde
Elabet Firew

Appendix 2
Questionnaires survey on Assessment of Quality Management practices and
implementations in Private building construction Companies in Debre Birhan
Part one questionnaire for contracting firms
This questionnaire is purely for academic purpose and is designed to help the researcher to
conduct a survey as part of research in a Quality Management practices and Implementation in
private construction companies.
Please read each question and tick the statement that clearly reflects your view, and also express
your views where necessary.
1Type of Organization:
 Consulting Office  Contracting Company
2. How long have you worked with your organization?
1-5years 6-11years 12 and above years

3. Respondent Position
Company Manager Project Manager
Site Engineer Supervision Engineer
4. Your organization is …
A. Local private company B. Local Public/government Company
C. Foreign company D. Joint venture of local and foreign company
E. Local Endowment F. Other (please specify)
5. What is the category of your organization?
A. General contractor (GC) B. Building contractor (BC)
C. Road contractor (RC) D. Specialized Contractor (SC)
E. Other (please specify)
6. What is the grade of your organization? ……..
A.Grade-1(GC1/BC1/RC1) B.Grade-2 (GC2/BC2/RC2)

C. Grade-3(GC3/BC3/RC3) D. Other (please specify

7. Does Quality Management practiced in your organization?
 Yes  No
8. How is the efficiency of Quality Management Practice (QMP) in your project?
 Excellent  Good  Poor
9. Did every participants of the project have an understanding of quality management system?
 Yes  No
10. Has formal quality management system (e.g., ISO 9000) been widely practiced?
 Yes  No
11. Are there any challenges or problems when your company practices quality management?
Yes  No
If your answer is yes, what are the challenges to practice construction quality management?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
12. How many years have you practiced Quality Management System in the organization?
0-5  6-10 11-15 15 and above
13. When your Company Check for Design Drawings Conformance to Standards?
 Do not check it out  After Every Design
 Before Commencement of Project During Construction
14. Does your Company have Quality Policies, Manuals or Documents?
 Yes  No  Partially Existing

15. Has your Company got the ISO Certificate?  Yes  No
16. How quality management system is implemented in your project?
Effectively  rarely  Not at all
17. Has the practice of Quality Management system improved your organizational performance
in terms of client satisfaction? Yes  No

18. Do you think ineffective Quality Management is one of the reasons for lossing some clients
and projects? Yes  No
18. The following statements are related to problems that companies mostly faces in relation to
implementation of quality management. Please Tick () in one space only the appropriate answer as it
applies to your Company.
1= Agree 2= Strongly agree 3= Disagree 4= Strongly disagree
5= Neither agree Nor disagree
no problems affecting Quality Management (QM) 1 2 3 4 5

implementation
1 The difficulty in changing behaviors and attitudes related to
quality
2 Lack of top -management commitment/understanding of quality
issues
3 Absence of a clear strategy for quality management in the
company
4 Lack of employees’ and workers' commitment/understanding, and
resistance to quality programs
5 Lack of communication between project's parties (contractor and

consultant).
6 Firms’ emphasis on short -term objectives/gains
7 Lack of education and training to drive the improvement process
8 Loss of part of the productivity of workers as a result of the effort

in training
9 Too much documents are required which lead to difficulty on
documentation ability
10 .Lack of expertise/resources in Quality Management

11 A lack of codes and specifications
no problems affecting Quality Management (QM) 1 2 3 4

implementation
12 Insufficient attention to achieve quality by workers in projects
13 Instability of the volume of work and the instability of the national

economy
14 Absence of rewards and appreciation of the achievement of
employees and workers
15 Awarded the tender on the basis of lower prices and not efficiency
16 Lack of feedback from previous projects and take advantage of
them
17 Absence of advance planning for the project
18 Not use computer software to manage projects effectively
19 Lake of owner's awareness

Appendix 3
Part two questionnaires for consulting firms
Questionnaires survey on Assessment of Quality Management practices and
implementations in Private building construction Companies in Debre Birhan
Part one questionnaire for contracting firms
This questionnaire is purely for academic purpose and is designed to help the researcher to
conduct a survey as part of research in a Quality Management practices and Implementation in
private construction companies.
Please read each question and tick the statement that clearly reflects your view, and also express
your views where necessary.
1. What is your perception of quality?
 Inspection and Corrective Actions  Elimination of Defects
 Continuous Improvement  A Tool to Increase Profits
 Increase Productivity  A Competitive Advantage
 Customer Satisfaction
2 Does your Company have Quality Policies, Manuals or Documents?
 Yes  No  Partially Existing

3. Has your Company got the ISO Certificate?  Yes  No
4. Is the Supervisor's Control Comprehensive and Ensure the Rightness of the Work?
 Yes  No  Sometimes
5. Does the Contractor's Engineer Exist at the Site Permanently?
 Yes  No  Don't Know
6. Does the Contractor's Engineer do his role in achieving quality at the Site?
7. Are materials stored in places suitable for its safety?
8. In your view, what is the most party commitment to achieve quality in construction projects?
 Governmental institutions  Donor institutions

 Engineering offices  Contracting Companies

9. Do you think implementing Quality Management System in the Engineering Consulting firms
is important for the construction industry?
 Yes  No

Appendix 4
Part three Interview Questions

1. What are factors affecting implementation of quality management system?
A _____________________________________________
B _____________________________________________
C _____________________________________________
D _____________________________________________
2. What are the challenges during implementation of quality management?
A _____________________________________________
B _____________________________________________
C _____________________________________________
D _____________________________________________
3, what are the effects of improper implementation of Quality Management system on your
organization?
A _____________________________________________
B _____________________________________________
C _____________________________________________
D _____________________________________________

Appendix 5
Sample answered questioners from Contractor




Appendix 6
Sample answered questioners from Consulting firms


Section One Group 9 Final Thesis

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DEBRE BIRHAN UNIVERSITY

ENGR. RUPERTO T. FAELNAR, JR.

MR. YOHANIS KEBEDE

JUNE 20, 2017

DEBRE BIRHAN, ETHIOPIA

INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY COLLAGE OF

ADVISERS: ENGR. RUPERTO T. FAELNAR, JR. AND MR. YOHANIS KEBEDE

Approved by the Board of Examiners:

_________________________ __________ _____________

_________________________ _______________ ____________

_________________________ _______________ _____________

JUNE 20, 2017

DEBRE BIRHAN, ETHIOPIA

Mekonnen Gebre Frezer samuel Elsabet Firew Meseret Tewolde

Debre Birhan University

Engr. Ruprto T. Faelnar. Jr. Mr, Yohanis Kebede

JUNE 20, 2017

DEBRE BIRHAN, ETHIOPIA

DBU: Department of Construction Technology And Management

DBU: Department of Construction Technology And Management

DBU: Department of Construction Technology And Management

DBU: Department of Construction Technology And Management

2.4.3 QUALITY ASSURANCE............................................................................................ 15

DBU: Department of Construction Technology And Management

4.3.1Respondents Perception of Quality ............................................................................... 31

DBU: Department of Construction Technology And Management

DBU: Department of Construction Technology And Management

Figure 1Flow chart of research…………………………………………………………………...7

Figure 3Respondent Position…………………………………………………………………….31

Figure 4Percentage of Respondents Related to Experience Years………………………………32

Figure 5Response to Perception of Quality……………………………………………………...38

Figure 6the efficiency of Quality Management Practice (QMP)………………………………..40

Figure 7 Frequency of problems affecting Quality Management

DBU: Department of Construction Technology And Management

Table 1Sample population size ..................................................................................................... 26

DBU: Department of Construction Technology And Management

MWUD - Ministry of Work and Urban Development

QMS-Quality management system

QMS –Quality management system

QC- Quality control

QA- Quality assurance

QM- Quality management

ISO- International standard organization

TQM- Total Quality Management

DBU: Department of Construction Technology And Management

1.1.1 Construction Industry in Ethiopia

DBU: Department of Construction Technology And Management

Construction quality is a critical factor in determining project acceptance and resultant

DBU: Department of Construction Technology And Management

DBU: Department of Construction Technology And Management

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

1.3 Objectives of the Study

1.3.1 General Objective of the Study

1.3.2 Specific Objectives of the Study

1. To assess current quality management practices employed in Private construction companies.

DBU: Department of Construction Technology And Management

4. To make suggestions and recommendations on how to implement and practice quality

1.4 Research Significance

1.5 SCOPE OF STUDY

DBU: Department of Construction Technology And Management

1.6 Limitations of the Study

DBU: Department of Construction Technology And Management

___________ _

_________________ _ ______

_________________ _ _______