"Quality
is not what you put into a service or a product. It is what the customer gets
out of it.' - Peter
Drucker
Recently, I flipped through an
article in the local newspaper and felt it was a matter of serious concern to
architects and builders. Here is an excerpt from the article that alarms at the
consequences of poor building quality.
“Dream
houses can give you nightmares”
“Check
that house thoroughly before you buy it. Leaking walls, water seepage and
faulty fixtures are some of the problems that buyers face within six months of
possession, reveals survey by CEPT student…” Read the complete article Here
The article essentially talks
about the inferior quality of buildings, the negative impact it creates and
hassles it introduces. Though, it is not just the Architect, who is accountable
for the overall building quality; the Architect to a large extent, can control
and influence quality by creating emphasis on quality throughout the process of
conceptualizing, designing, construction and post construction.
Things to do to run
powerful quality-management programs:
- Review client
requirement; identify challenges and opportunities in fulfilling it.
- Identify and use
the right set of tools; to minimize errors in the work process. Eg: process
modelling tool.
- Prepare powerful
“Measurement” tools such as checklists, run charts, sampling and data
collection, the use of discrete or continuous data.
- Calculate the
"cost of quality" (extra cost incurred to adhere to quality
standards) which defines the cost saving opportunity.
- Develop
“Information analysis” techniques such as run charts, flow charts, cause
and effect diagrams, etc.
- Develop “Problem
solving” techniques such as brainstorming, tree diagrams.
- Improve planning
using planning tools such as Gantt charts and other project planning
techniques.
- Manage and have
maximum control of the work processes
11 C’s to consider for quality-management in Architecture
1.
CORE procedures,
(Best
practices derived from experience and wisdom gained in the architecture and
construction industry)
2.
CLIENT
(Take
requirements and preferences from the client and qualitatively integrate into
the project)
3.
CONSULTANT
(Quality
management strategies are required to collaboratively work as a team)
4.
CONTRACTOR
(Strict
quality tests and procedures need to be briefed to the contractor as you would
work in a regular cycle with them)
5.
CONTRACT
(The
nature of the contract will affect the quality of construction. More control
over quality can be expected in design/build or a project with construction
management than in a lump sum contract)
6.
COST
(Cost
overruns are a major hindrance to quality. If the quality checks are done on a
regular basis, it is likely that cost will be more under control.)
7.
CALENDAR
(Time
is money. The schedule of design as well as construction is important to
maintain the quality output.)
8.
CLIMATE
(Considerations
to face difficulties related to physical geography, ecosystem and environment
must be considered in the project. Construction technologies adopted to suit
the climate must be planned at the design stage.)
9.
CONSTRUCTION
(Construction
Methods (Steel / Concrete / Wood / Composite) must be pre-planned. Procurement
of materials in required time and their quality check must not be ignored. )
10.
COMMUNITY
(Community
support is required for any project to be successful. Quality will win the
confidence of the community. Don’t ignore quality.)
11.
COMPLEXITY
(Complexity
of the project affects the quality most. A house is different from an art
gallery. The people involved in managing the complex buildings must be well
trained to implement quality strategies during the building process.)
Last,
but not the least, no solution can be universally applied in all situations.
Every problem needs a unique solution. Above mentioned points can be used as a
guideline to develop your unique solution.
No comments:
Post a Comment