Quality management

Quality Management

  • Quality Management within project management is an essential process to ensure that a project satisfies the specified quality standards.
  • Quality Management is divided into four main components: quality planning, quality assurance, quality control, and quality improvement.

Quality Planning

  • Quality planning is the process of identifying which quality standards are relevant to the project and how to achieve them.
  • It results in a quality management plan, providing a framework for how quality will be managed and verified throughout the project.

Quality Assurance

  • Quality Assurance (QA) involves the processes used to ensure that the project will meet its quality standards.
  • These processes are typically standardised across the organisation and are designed to prevent problems before they occur.
  • QA activities can include quality audits, which involve reviewing the project’s quality management activities to identify possible improvements.

Quality Control

  • Quality Control (QC) refers to the monitoring and controlling of project results to ensure they meet the defined quality standards.
  • It can involve activities such as inspections, testing, and reviews of outputs or deliverables.
  • Errors identified through QC may require rectification, rework, or could lead to decisions about process improvement.

Quality Improvement

  • Quality Improvement refers to the continuous efforts made throughout a project to improve quality performance.
  • It can involve analysing process performance, identifying areas for improvement and making necessary changes.
  • Quality Improvement requires a strong commitment to learning, adaptation, and progress.

Quality Management in Construction

  • In construction, high quality is crucial as it can impact safety, functionality and the longevity of buildings and other built structures.
  • Common elements of construction quality management can include: detailed specifications, use of high-quality materials, skilled workforce, inspections at critical stages, and final acceptance testing.
  • It requires continuous oversight, as well as strong communication and careful management of resources to achieve the desired quality level.