In the construction industry today, having a good Quality Management program is important – very important. Not only does it save time – in the long run – and reduce costs, it also helps to ensure you remain compliant and can dramatically improve your reputation with clients. Ultimately, having a good Quality Management program can improve your margins and make your business more successful.
Building a quality management system is key to achieving First Time Quality in construction. Implementing quality management software can make it easier to measure and prevent defects. Despite popular misconceptions, First Time Quality is achievable for everyone through the proper implementation of these systems. Additionally, incorporating inbound marketing tactics can help construction companies effectively promote their commitment to First Time Quality to potential clients.
So, if having a ‘good’ Quality Management program is important, how do you know what ‘good’ looks like? And, more importantly, how do you figure out just how ‘good’ you already are?
You need some kind of benchmark or model, right?
And that is where the FTQ360 Construction Quality Management – Maturity Model comes in. We have identified four stages of maturity – or program sophistication – that every construction company will go through and we’ll take a closer look at each one of them next. Do any of the descriptions or activities ring true with your program today?
Level One: Basic
At level one, punch lists take center stage as quality control efforts focus on finding and fixing deficiencies. However, to achieve sustained improvements in quality, organizations need to move beyond this reactive approach and adopt a more comprehensive approach, such as total quality management, which emphasizes continuous quality improvement. As organizations become more adept at identifying and addressing defects in-house, customers will experience fewer defects, resulting in increased customer satisfaction.
Level Two: Professional
By level two, there are consistent quality inspection processes using checklists and the increase in accountability is starting to significantly reduce deficiencies. Quality to the customer will have improved dramatically and operating costs will have started to come down too.
Level Three: Advanced
At level three, dramatic deficiency reduction and quality program improvement have been achieved through the adoption of a comprehensive quality system, which emphasizes a company-wide focus on First Time Quality. The quality system is supported by clearly defined quality objectives and a quality manual, which provides guidance on the organization's approach to quality management. As a result of this proactive approach, operating costs have been reduced and customer satisfaction has improved, demonstrating the value of a comprehensive quality program beyond mere compliance.
Level Four: Expert
By level four, most deficiencies are anticipated and proactively eliminated. Consistently achieving First Time Quality every time has helped your company to attract the best people and the best subcontractors. You are often the sole source for clients with difficult projects and there is a confidence that you will survive a downturn.
As each level builds on the one before, steady improvements can be made over time. How quickly you improve though, will be down to your appetite for rapid change and your team’s capacity to adapt.
Before initiating any program improvement, it's essential to assess the current state of affairs. This includes identifying areas of strength and weakness, determining the most effective areas for improvement, and recognizing both easily achievable wins and more challenging obstacles. This assessment should consider document control and medical devices, two critical components of any successful program.
To accompany the FTQ360 Construction Quality Management – Maturity Model, we have also developed a simple, but powerful, Maturity Assessment that will pin-point exactly where you are on the four-level scale. Just by answering a few simple questions, we can establish how sophisticated your Quality Management program is from basic and professional to advanced and expert.
The comprehensive Maturity Assessment scores your performance across the ten areas that will impact your Quality Management program the most. They are organization, management, strategy, accountability, planning, processes, controls, measurement, improvement and technology.
By completing the Maturity Assessment, you'll not only receive an evaluation of your current performance but also a Recommendations Report on how to improve and advance to the next level. This report can assist you in implementing quality processes, ensuring quality assurance, and meeting customer expectations, and can be used internally to gain support for a Quality Management program improvement initiative.
So that’s a super simple way to assess the current maturity level of your Quality Management program and kick-start your improvement journey.
To take your own test now, just visit the FTQ360 Construction Quality Management – Maturity Assessment page and get started.
Good luck!
We hope you found this blog article interesting and useful. If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch. At FTQ360, we're serious about quality. If you are too, we'd love to talk and help you improve your quality management systems and more.
