Total Quality Management

By Paul D. Beckwith

Subjects: Construction industry, Total quality management, Management

Description: Total Quality Management (TQM) is not a new concept. However, its use in my construction company is. Only recently (within the past ten years or so) have American companies started to realize the potential of TQM as a means of ensuring high quality products and services. With this realization has come implementation in manufacturing and service companies. A commercial construction company, like any other business, must provide a top quality finished product to its customer if it intends to stay in business. TQM is one way to work to that end. This report explores the quality problems facing my fictitious construction company, which I believe are fairly typical among the commercial construction industry, existing management methods, and the TQM method to ensure top quality production. It will be shown why I believe TQM or a variation thereof is the best method for controlling the quality of products and service during the construction process. Under the philosophy of TQM, we build quality into the finished product.