First time quality (FTQ) and total quality management (TQM) principles both represent robust and proven approaches to enshrining quality into construction.
Both are concerned with minimizing – and ultimately eliminating – deficiencies and focusing on building it the right way the first time.
Let’s consider the key principles behind FTQ and TQM and how they complement each other.
What Is First Time Quality?
First time quality is an approach to quality management that aims for zero-defect construction.
It is, in essence, a metric that indicates to what extent a construction project’s components are assembled and installed correctly the first time, without the need for reparations, rework or replacements.
First time quality is, of course, an extremely ambitious goal – but it is a desirable destination for organizations that are serious about quality.
Why?
Because achieving first time quality is the most efficient and cost-effective approach to construction. Rework inevitably increases costs, causes delays, and impacts customer satisfaction which can lead to reputational damage and ultimately affect future business prospects.
Improving first time quality is an ongoing commitment and requires a structured quality control process that can be encapsulated in the following five steps:
- Define and Share Acceptance Criteria: Before a project begins, it’s important to ensure that all project participants – including superintendents, crews and subcontractors – understand precisely what does and does not qualify as an acceptable result. Defining and communicating acceptance criteria at the outset is therefore the first step in a first time quality program – the better project participants understand what the goal is, the more likely they are to achieve it the first time.
- Create an Inspection Plan: Construction projects require dozens if not hundreds of inspections. They are necessary to understand whether or not acceptance criteria – as defined in the first step of the process – have been met. Creating an inspection plan in advance allows you to identify all inspections that will be necessary throughout the project and provides a system to record and confirm they have each been completed.
- Use Quality Control Checklists to Conduct Inspections: Checklists should be used when conducting inspections to ensure that all critical items are verified. They are an extremely useful tool for communicating and reiterating acceptance criteria to project personnel and are invaluable when it comes to identifying deficiencies – only when all criteria have been met will a checkpoint receive a sign-off.
- Correct Deficiencies and Verify: All deficiencies identified through the inspection process must be documented. A photograph of the deficiency should be taken and attached to the inspection report alongside any notes. The next steps are to correct the issue, document the correction and verify that the completed work now meets the acceptance criteria.
- Prevent Future Deficiencies: This final step closes the loop and is in fact the most important part of a first time quality program. The aim here is to learn why each deficiency occurred and adjust processes so they do not reoccur. Each item must be added to your acceptance criteria, your inspection plan and your checklist system. First time quality for each item is achieved when the issue is not encountered again – and the ultimate goal is for all work to meet all requirements without deficiencies, every time
What Is Total Quality Management?
Total quality management can be thought of as an organization-wide philosophy that aims for long-term success through focusing on customer satisfaction.
Crucially, total quality management is based on the belief that an organization can build this long-lasting success by having all its members – from senior management to site worker – focus on continuous improvement in terms of quality.
There are many overlaps between the first time quality and total quality management approaches – the main difference being that TQM emphasizes the creation of a customer-centric organization that involves all employees in continuous improvement.
In other words, total quality management is explicitly concerned with creating a culture of quality, whereas with first time quality this goal is implicit, although the outcome is often the same.
The main principles of total quality management can be summarized as follows:
- Customer-focused: In TQM, “quality” means meeting customer requirements. It is the customer that determines the quality of an outcome. If the customer’s needs are not satisfied, then the organization simply isn’t producing quality work.
- Total Employee Involvement: The application of total quality management requires that employees are actively working towards continuously improving quality. In this sense, employees’ mindsets must be shifted from just monitoring for defects to continuously looking for opportunities to make improvements.
- Process-centered: Total quality management spotlights the processes used to produce outcomes. The steps used in all processes are defined and performance continuously measured in order to detect areas for improvement.
- Integrated System: Total quality management stresses that quality control cannot be isolated. Though each employee has a specific role in a construction project, TQM acknowledges that all roles and processes are interlinked and dependent upon one another and work to strengthen these connections in order to improve quality outcomes.
- Systematic Approach to Quality: TQM also emphasizes strategic planning and management in achieving the organization’s vision, mission, and quality goals. This incorporates the formulation of a strategic plan ahead of a construction project in which quality is a key component.
Achieving Total First Time Quality with FTQ360
In truth, the similarities between first time quality and total quality management far outweigh the differences, which are nuanced.
The guiding principles of total quality management are all enshrined in the first time quality philosophy – both are customer-focused, require employee commitment, process-centered, systematic and strive for continuous improvement on the road to first time quality, every time.
Achieving total first time quality in construction requires complete focus on production without defects throughout the organization. It means putting robust systems in place to prevent issues before they emerge and requires top-down commitment.
Employing a first time quality management software system like FTQ360 will help you implement a consistent, organization-wide program and bake total first time quality not just into your processes, but into the very culture of your company.
At FTQ360 we believe that defects are preventable and that achieving total quality through a first time quality program is achievable for everyone. That’s why we’ve put together a comprehensive guide to help you achieve total first time quality excellence in your construction business.
Download your free eBook – Your Complete Guide to Achieving First Time Quality Excellence – or get in touch to request a software demo today.
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