The Total Quality Management (TQM) process is one of the most misunderstood concepts in the construction and maintenance business today. It is actually a very simple thing, a process of continuous improvement at everything a company does.

Since we know that a process is an ongoing thing that really never ends, it must be understood that the Total Quality process is a journey not a destination.

To incorporate the Total Quality process onto the jobsite, contractors and owners must realize that you cannot have a Quality Project without the successful ingredients of quality, productivity and safety. They are inseparable. Management must also realize that field personnel must receive training similar to what management has received in order to properly grasp the TQM concept and aid in its implementation. In order for the Quality Process to work, you must have everyone in the company involved.

For companies with a large number of employees on jobsites, (typically 80 percent of those companies' employees are on projects,) this will be a substantial investment.

The key word is investment. It is estimated that for every dollar spent on the successful implementation of a Quality Process, the investor will receive between five and ten dollars in return. Properly implemented, it is a wise investment.

Subject
Costs, Quality management, Materials, Materials performance, Root cause analysis, Tools, Charts, Productivity, Investment, Personnel, Operations management, Contractors, Training
© 1994 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1994
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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