Level Three builds on the consistent inspection processes accomplished in Level Two. Company-wide engagement in the prevention of deficiencies evolves the Quality Management System (QMS) beyond mere compliance with the stated aim of First Time Quality – building it right the first time, every time.
If your commitment extends to quality, safety, and customer satisfaction, then the continual enhancement of your Quality Program is likely a primary business objective, a commitment we expect your general contractors to share. Today, we'll delve into this aspect. Recognizing the diverse needs of different teams, we offer a customized perspective based on the four primary roles in the design process.
Quality construction services are integral to this process, ensuring that your project not only meets but exceeds industry standards. To refine your approach further, consider leveraging our expertise through a free consultation, where we can discuss how our specialized design process aligns seamlessly with your goals and vision.
A Maturity Model to define Quality Management Program Performance
Our team at FTQ360, has developed a Maturity Model that categorizes Quality Management Program performance on a scale from Level One at the bottom to Level Four at the top – from basic and professional to advanced and expert. It will vary based on your budget and services.
To structure the model, we examined the essential quality program best practice functions and workflows and arranged them into ten groups: organization, management, strategy, accountability, planning, processes, controls, measurement, improvement, technology.
Today we are going to cover what you need to do to reach Level Three in the Quality Construction Management – Maturity Model. Whether you want to reach it for a residential or a commercial facility, this will cover it. But, before we get started, you might want to learn what maturity level you are currently at.
We have built a simple, but powerful, Maturity Assessment that will establish exactly where you are on our scales from one to four – from basic to expert. By answering ten multiple choice questions, you’ll learn just how sophisticated your current Quality Management program is and the progress you’ve already made on your journey to First Time Quality excellence.
Our previous blogs Quality Construction excellence: Reaching level one and Quality Construction excellence: Reaching level two focus on the basic foundations you need for a good quality program and what you will need to do to develop a more professional approach to construction quality in your buildings - so might be worth a quick read depending on your aspirations and current maturity level.
By Level Three, marking a significant milestone in our quality journey, we achieve dramatic deficiency reduction and substantial improvement in our quality program. At this stage, the entire company is immersed in a dedicated focus on First Time Quality, a meticulous approach involving the systematic prevention of defects and the precise targeting of improvement initiatives. This commitment seamlessly extends to our specialized realm of house and home additions, ensuring that the exacting standards of First Time Quality are rigorously maintained throughout the entirety of these projects.
1. Construction process deficiency dashboards and reports
You can measure First Time Quality performance using online dashboards and reports. This helps to align everyone – your team and subcontractors alike – behind the goal to build it right the first time, every time.
We recommend identifying high-quality performers as a basis for recognition, incentives and future work assignments and aligning quality measures with customer priorities – this will also help to demonstrate your capabilities to potential customers.
2. Subcontractor deficiency ranking dashboards and reports
To progress towards First Time Quality excellence, tailor your improvement efforts by concentrating on subcontractors encountering the most issues. Leveraging ranking reports enables the identification of potential challenges on a project-specific or holistic basis.
This strategic approach enhances satisfaction for clients by ensuring high-quality outcomes. Moreover, it streamlines maintenance efforts by proactively addressing issues at their root, fostering a more efficient and reliable project lifecycle.
We recommend that you evaluate subcontractor performance for future projects, measure the results of improvement action plans and drill down to target specific deficiencies for improvement.
3. Safety compliance records and safety reporting framework
You can meet OSHA safety reporting requirements while building a foundation for a safety program.
We recommend focusing on the following records.
• Observation reports
• Violation reports
• Toolbox talk records
• Incident reports
• Accident reports
• Jobsite Safety Assessments (JSAs)
• Safety Audits
4. Defect reduction systems
You can systematically prevent defects with a suite of quality management software features and tools. Setting measurable defect reduction goals for the company will help to set the pace of improvements for each team.
We recommend measuring company-wide defect reduction and improvement trends, increasing awareness of process changes and important details using special hotspot checkpoints, and creating Root Cause Reports to provide a detailed history of the specific deficiencies for planning preventive actions.
5. First Time Quality dashboards and reports
You can measure First Time Quality performance using online dashboards and reports. This will help you to align everyone behind the goal to build it right the first time, every time.
We recommend that First Time Quality is used as a key performance metric regardless of the size of the subcontractor and actual number of deficiencies and that high-quality performers are identified as a basis for recognition, incentives and the assignment of future work.
Our key takeaway message here is that you systematically prevent defects and precision-target improvement initiatives. It’s the third major step on the road to First Time Quality excellence.
Here are some FTQ360 Software Platform features of that will help you to implement advanced analytics and reporting solutions to reduce deficiencies and integrate safety compliance.
Reduced Deficiencies
Serious software with advanced tools and functionality to proactively reduce defects. Learn more
Powerful Analytics
Serious software providing insightful performance dashboards and reports. Learn more
Integrated Safety
Serious software with built-in safety compliance and risk reduction. Learn more
If you’re interested in learning more about our Maturity Model and how you can measure your own score, this article will give you all the information you need: How to assess the maturity level of your Quality Management program – 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.
This blog is part of a series on the 4 levels of our Quality Management System Maturity Model.
Reaching Quality Construction Excellence - Reaching Level 1
Reaching Quality Construction Excellence - Reaching Level 2
Reaching Quality Construction Excellence - Reaching Level 4