Quality Is The Best Policy

1. In 2018, approximately three-quarters of those working in construction expressed concern that the industry’s management of quality was inadequate.
2. Project management software and artificial intelligence are becoming increasingly popular tools for predicting possible outcomes within construction projects, thus improving accuracy and allowing contractors to identify and mitigate risks ahead of time.
3. Finally, to ensure construction-based projects are delivered to a high quality, it is important to have a skilful and proactive project manager in place.

It seems obvious that quality should be a priority within construction. However, according to a 2018 study by the Chartered Institute of Building, more than three-quarters of those working in construction felt that the industry’s management of quality was inadequate. [1] Furthermore, on average approximately 5 - 15% of building costs incurred resulted from poor quality work. [2]

Despite this, more recently there appears to have been a shift towards quality within construction. Clients are willing to pay more, to ensure better quality results. This shift will have a significant impact and see improvements across materials, processes, and labour. In a recent article, a director of construction company ‘XYZ Reality’ stated that ‘in the last few years, we as a business have seen more of an emphasis on quality. Prior to this, the industry was primarily focused on getting the job done as fast and as cheaply as possible’. [3]

How to Improve the Quality of Construction Projects:

Delivering a construction project can be complex and time-consuming. Contractors often have to navigate a slew of moving pieces, including subcontractor relationships, equipment, materials, and inevitable changes to the scope. As a result, contractors may struggle to ensure high quality.

However, the use of project management software is significantly improving the quality of construction-based projects.

Advantages of Utilising Project Management Software:

Creates a virtual paper trail for all documentation, which is stored in a centralised location. This ensures traceability and accountability throughout a project, thus improving accuracy and allowing contractors to identify and mitigate risks ahead of time.
Allows for more productive collaboration, as it is easily accessible from any location.
Enables contractors to manage and monitor costs, thus ensuring the project stays on budget.
Improves safety on construction sites. For example, fire-risk assessments can be automated, therefore eliminating the possibility of missed checks.
Ensures decisions are informed and data-driven, subsequently reducing risk and paving the way for higher quality outcomes.

Additionally, artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly popular tool for predicting possible outcomes within construction projects. By leveraging artificial intelligence, contractors can reduce costs, while improving efficiency. In an online article published by the technology company TPM, it states ‘with AI, the construction industry benefits greatly from improved project planning, quality control and safety assurance’. [4]

Advantages of Applying Artificial Intelligence:

Predict cost overruns based on factors such as project size, contract type and the number of contractors engaged.
Access training materials, which enable contractors to develop their knowledge and improve quality.
Utilise machine learning algorithms to explore all the variations of a solution and generate design alternatives.
Anticipate problems within project implementation and automatically assign priority to such problems, so that the contractor is able to focus their time and resources on the build.
Provide detailed insights and real-time analytics into project schedules, which can be used to increase productivity and quality.

Finally, to ensure construction projects are delivered to a high quality, it is important to have a skillful and proactive project manager in place.

Advantages of Employing a Project Manager:

Access to all the relevant information to facilitate proactive decision making and enable transparency.
Coordinate between the Client, the Contractor, and Third Parties to ensure project delivery is effective and conflict is minimised.
Identify and mitigate any potential risks or deviations to the project and escalate where necessary.
Track and monitor critical path build activities to ensure the project is delivered on time and to budget.

Quality forms part of our Deecon DNA. We value quality across all our service offerings, whether it is identifying quality levels within supply chain assessments for procurement processes, implementing digital transformation processes so our clients can reap the benefits of systems-driven quality or deploying effective project managers to drive client project success.

Get in touch to find out how Deecon can help you guarantee quality and identify key areas of improvement in your procurement and sourcing strategies.