How to Improve Quality - Part 2

Last week we brought you Part 1 of How to Improve Quality and this week we continue with part 2...


Construction Quality ChallengesEvery industry has particular challenges and practices that pose challenges or supports to quality management. Construction is seen as;

• Neanderlithic, or ‘pieces of burnt clay glued together’
• Project phases tend to be isolated; project initiation and briefing → concept and feasibility → design development → tender documentation and procurement → construction documentation and management → project close out.
• Separation of design and construction
• Industry structure [fragmented] • Fragmented contributions
• Focus on cost and time
• Client driven goals
• Procurement encourages competitive tendering
• No barriers to entry for providers
• De-skilling
• Poor culture.

The Role of Religion in Quality Management
According to Sadeq and Ahmad, authors of Quality Management Islamic Perspectives, Islam seeks to unify the schism between ethics and economics through, among other, the avoidance of undue waste and accountability.

The concept of Tawhid implies accountability in the afterlife, and requires justice and equity, and requires accountability to the public.

In accordance with Islam, work is an Ibadab, a deed of spiritual value, therefore Allah must approve actions and behaviour.

Construction Quality StatisticsAccording to the CIDB 2014 statistics, about 10% of construction clients are not satisfied with product quality. However tender process quality draw about 20% of dissatisfaction.

Quality of work delivered: Overall, clients were satisfied with the quality of completed work at handover on 90% of the projects surveyed in 2013, and were neutral or dissatisfied on 10%.

Resolution of defects: Clients were satisfied with the resolution of defective work during the construction period on 86% of the projects surveyed in 2013, and were neutral or dissatisfied on 14%.

Level of defects: Around 92% of projects surveyed in 2013 were ‘apparently defect free’ or had ‘few defects’ at practical completion / handover and 8% of facilities had ‘some defects’ or ‘major defects’.

Quality of tender documents and specifications: Contractors rated the quality of tender documents and specifications of clients as satisfactory on 78% of the projects surveyed in 2013, and were neutral or dissatisfied on 22%.

Adjudication of tenders: The results of the 2013 survey show that quality (or functionality) was not taken into account in the adjudication of tenders on 15% of projects.

Typical Quality Management DefectsPoor site management
Low contractor quality management expertise
Corruption
Inadequate resourcing by contractors
Lack of understanding of quality
Low Level of subcontracting
Focus on cost by contractors
Inadequate information
Inadequate quality skills and training
Focus on time by contractors
Lack of insight relative to the role of quality
Lack of minimum requirement to contract
Poor detail
Lack of worker participation
Focus on cost by clients
Poor constructability
Inappropriate project durations
Focus on time by clients
Lack of design team management commitment
Lack of construction management commitment
Lack of quality improvement processes
Inadequate generic skills training
Lack of pre-qualification on quality
Inadequate production skills
Poor specification
Lack of QMSs in construction
Inadequate tertiary education in quality (Construction manager)
Inadequate related tertiary education in quality (Project manager)
Lack of designer quality expertise
Reliance on inspections
Ineffective contractor registration
Cyclical seasonal industry
Lack of QMSs in design
Inadequate quality related tertiary education (Engineer)
Poor design
Variations
Lack of focus on quality control
Inadequate quality related tertiary education (Architect)
Poor contract documentation
Competitive tendering
Archaic processes (design and construction)
Separation of design and construction
Inadequate tertiary education in quality (Quantity surveyor)
Lack of partnering.

• This post is an extract from a referenced paper with statistical evidence, titled MANAGING QUALITY IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT, read to the KZN MBA Building Industry Forum in March 2014, by Prof John Smallwood, head of the DEPARTMENT OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT at Nelson Mandela Metro University.

• Visit http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_9000

This article by Edmond Furter via SheqAfrica.com

How to Improve Quality - Part 1

The causes of poor quality management, and a framework for improving the quality of management, services and products, are outlined by Prof John Smallwood.

Research into the views of construction clients, bodies, and contractors, revealed these causes and drivers of poor quality management;

• Lack of uniform understanding of quality and quality management
• Cost and time are more important than quality
• The importance of quality varies according to roles
• Pre-occupation with cost and time marginalises quality
• Pre-occupation affects contractors’ quality related performance (rating)

South African construction quality can be substantially improved. Quality performance is influenced by the sector in which construction is undertaken and the contributors.

An improvement process is important in terms of achieving quality (TQM). A range of interventions / systems are important relative to the achievement of quality. An informal approach is adopted relative to the achievement of quality (prevalence of documented QMSs).

A range of perspectives, practices, andsituations contribute to the achievement of quality. Management commitment is critical. A range of interventions and situations are barriers to achieving quality, such as poor site management.

The level of quality knowledge is generally inadequate. The sources of quality knowledge are predominantly informal.

Absolutes of Quality Management

Prof Smallwood revealed statistical evidence in a presentation on quality management in the built environment, at the KZN MBA Building Industry Forum in March 2014. He noted the ‘absolutes of quality’ as;

• Conform to requirements
• Set a performance standard at zero defect
• Use a system for prevention
• Measure the price of non-conformance.

Conventional wisdom, however, views and reacts to quality differently, as;

• Goodness or excellence
• Set a performance standard at certain quality levels
• Use a system of appraisal
• Measure indexes or process levels.

How to Improve Quality Management

The 14 steps of quality improvement, according to Crosby, are;

• Management commitment
• Quality improvement team
• Quality measurement
• Calculating the cost of quality
• Quality awareness
• Corrective action
• Zero defects planning
• Education and training
• Zero defects day
• Setting goals
• Error-cause removal
• Recognition
• Quality councils [institutionalisation]
• Do it over again.

A quality mangement intervention should have at least five categories of ingredients;

• Integrity
• Systems
• Communications
• Operations
• Policies.

Quality Management System (QMS) Elements
Any QMS should address at least these elements:

• Management responsibilities
• Contract reviews
• Document use and changes relative to the quality system
• Suppliers and co-contractors, regarding quality
• Material / service identification and traceability during all stages of construction
• Construction procurement control procedures
• Inspection and testing
• Inspection, measuring and test equipment with respect to calibration
• Ability to determine inspection and test status of all materials and elements
• Controls which prevent non-conforming material / elements being installed or processed
• Corrective action procedures which include investigations and analysis
• Quality records which verify the achievement of quality standards and the effectiveness of the system
• Quality audits which verify the effectiveness of the quality system
• Training of personnel who will perform the activities that effect quality during construction.

ISO Quality-Related Standards

Four standards in the quality family are ISO 9001: 2008 (requirements of a quality management system). It is implemented by about a million organisations in 170 countries. In South Africa, less than ten in 4000 CIDB-registered GB and CE Grade 5 to 9 contractors were ISO 9000 accredited three years ago.

ISO 9000: 2005 covers the basic concepts and language.
ISO 9004: 2009 focuses on how to make a QMS more efficient and effective.
ISO 19011: 2011 sets out guidance on internal and external audits of QMSs.

Check in again next week where we bring you Part 2 of How to Improve Quality.

Ebola Raises Health Care PPE Skills Risk

Ebola virus infection of some health care workers, despite wearing PPE, demonstrate the need to raise health care PPE skills.

Breach of health care protocol and PPE removal procedures at a USA hospital where Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan was treated before his death, led to the infection of a health care worker with the deadly virus. Other caregivers may have been exposed.

The infected health care worker’s personal protective equipment (PPE) included a gown, gloves, mask, and shield. She could not explain how the breach might have occurred, said Dr Tom Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Duncan was the first person in the USA diagnosed with Ebola.

Some workers take off their PPE incorrectly, leading to contamination. Investigators will also check procedures for dialysis and intubation, the insertion of a breathing tube in a patient’s airway. Both procedures have the potential to spread infectious material.

A Spanish nurse assistant became the first health care worker infected outside West Africa during the ongoing outbreak.

She helped care for two priests who were brought to a Madrid hospital and later died. More than 370 health care workers in West Africa have fallen ill or died since the epidemic began earlier this year. A dog belonging to the Spanish nurse was euthanised.

The USA CDC said the “missteps” with the first patient and the infection of a caregiver was a warning to all health care workers worldwide.

Police stood guard outside her apartment complex and told people not to go inside. Officers made automated phone calls and passed out fliers to notify people in a four-block radius, although the risk is confined to close contact with Ebola patients.

The deceased patient came from Liberia to visit family, sought medical care for ‘fever and abdominal pain’, and told a nurse he had traveled from Africa. He was later placed in isolation.

Liberia is one of the three West African countries most affected by the Ebola epidemic, which has killed more than 4000 people, according to World Health Organisation figures. The others are Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Ebola Symptoms and Exposure Management.

Ebola is caused by a virus. Initial symptoms could start within two days of contact with an infected person or body: fever, tiredness, headache and nausea.

Later symptoms may include vomiting, diarrhoea, cough (which may contain blood), and bleeding from nose and mouth.

It spreads by people in direct contact with people who have ebola, or contact with dead bodies, or some animals.

Keep away from sick or dead patients with Ebola. Do not touch an infected person or their body fluids. Wash your hands often with soap.

Do not touch or eat bush meat or bats.

If you suspect ebola, call your medical centre and tell them about your illness. Listen to the advice, you may be sent to a special hospital.

Keep away from others so they don’t get sick. Be especially careful with your bodily fluids such as spittle, cough, blood, urine, feces.

USA health authorities confirmed; “Ebola spreads through close contact with a symptomatic person’s bodily fluids, such as blood, sweat, vomit, feces, urine, saliva or semen. Those fluids must have an entry point, like a cut or scrape or someone touching the nose, mouth or eyes with contaminated hands, or being splashed.”

The World Health Organisation confirmed that “blood, feces and vomit are the most infectious fluids, while the virus is found in saliva mostly once patients are severely ill. The whole live virus has never been culled from sweat.”

USA customs and health officials began taking the temperatures of passengers arriving at airports from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea in a stepped-up screening effort.

The health care worker had reported a fever as part of a self-monitoring regimen required by the CDC. The hospital has stopped accepting new emergency room patients.

In the health worker’s neighborhood, one police officer said an industrial barrel outside contained hazardous biological waste taken from inside the building.

Officials said they also received information that there may be a pet in the health care worker’s apartment, and they have a plan to care for the animal. They do not believe the pet has signs of having contracted Ebola.

Disclaimer: This post is to raise awareness. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Should you have questions or concerns about any topic described here, consult your medical professional.

Source; Buildsafe SA. Press of Atlantic City.

This article by Edmond Furter

Nigerian Church Slab Collapse Confirms Our Safety Responsibility

The Nigerian church slab collapse in September 2014 that killed 84 South African pilgrims, reminds us that safety is a human responsibility that cannot be delegated to God.

“In the first century, a large tower in Jerusalem fell, killing eighteen people (Luke 13:4). Still many scaffoldings and buildings worldwide kill workers and other people.” I wrote these words three years ago, urging churches to integrate health and safety values in their practices.

There is no city in the world prayed for as much as Jerusalem. The Psalmist declares: “Peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces”. Yet a tower in Siloam fell and killed 18 people in Jerusalem.

Churches should take a leaf out of the Vedic literature, that non-injury is the highest of all virtues; Ahimsa Paramo Dharmah.

The legal code of Babylonian King Hammurabi of BC 220, prescribes punishment of overseers for injuries suffered by workers.

There is a misperception among some believers that religion and safety are incongruent, or that religion places all trust in the higher hand. This is a fallacy! Safety is an age-old management responsibility, as confirmed even in religious history.

The first five books of the Old Testament by Moses, include social and safety values, cultural codes, and health codes including diet. The church should be built on rock and faith.

The body is a temple, and sacred gatherings are collective spiritual weddings. Everyting has to be safe, healthy, with low environmental impact, and of high quality, or ‘Sheq’.

One of the human challenges is the ability to distinguish the essence of matter from form. We have to start with form, then we are free to invest form with substance.

The responsibility for safety is a human responsibility which cannot be delegated to God.

Spiritual Intelligence Supports Safety

We look at incidents in a ‘rear view mirror’, with the wisdom of hindsight, but there is often less wisdom in our prevention efforts.

We need intellectual, emotional and spiritual intelligence, the latter based on multiple meanigs and value in a wider human context, writes Mabila Mathebula.

SQ is soul’s intelligence by which we recognise universal values, beyond the conventional, as Zohar and Marshall wrote in 2000. Indications of a highly developed SQ are:

• capacity to be flexible (actively and spontaneously adaptive).
• high degree of self-awareness.
• capacity to face and use suffering.
• capacity to face and transcend pain.
• quality of being inspired by vision and values.
• reluctance to cause unnecessary harm.
• tendency to see the connection between diverse things (holism).
• tendency to ask “Why” or “What if” and seek fundamental answers.
• field-independent‘ facility for working against convention.

Noah followed safe construction instructions from God. He used the right materials, dimensions and coating inside and out.

We dare not delay the implementation of health and safety management in our churches, mosques and synagogues. A religious organisation without health and safety management is not built on rock.

Churches have to embrace the five elements of wise reasoning proposed by Grossman (cited in Southey);

• Willingness to seek opportunities to resolve conflict;
• Willingness to search for a compromise;
• Recognition of the limits of personal knowledge;
• Awareness that more than one perspective on a problem can exist;
• Appreciation that things may get worse before they get better.

In the article titled Churches should promote HS values and culture I wrote three years ago: “We need a safety indaba in the Evangelical industry to highlight the hazards, risks and opportunities for enhancing values and culture, including transport risks, fatigue risks, fire risks, and work task risks”.

For the conservative paradigms of churches to change, they need to become learning organisations and abandon the ‘pharisee’ mentality that deveopes only on theory and is insulated from the real world and from learning.

This article by Edmond Furter via SheqAfrica.com