HOW TO IMPLEMENT QA PROGRAMME AND ISO 9001 IN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY?

CONSTRUCTION QUALITY ASSURANCE

Construction quality assurance is a necessary process that is followed during any construction activity such as construction of residential or commercial buildings, roads, industrial buildings, manufacturing plants, sports stadiums, flyovers, bridges and so on.

 Assurance and monitoring of quality in any of the above construction process is very important as even a minor defect in the quality can cause a lot of serious problems. Any lapse could also cause damage to the property. The cost of quality is very high especially in the case of structures.

Steps in Construction Quality Assurance

Define Requirements
The first step for assurance of quality in the construction business is to define the requirements. Based on the exact requirements, the structural designs of the buildings or structures are developed. During the design phase, all the material that would be used in the construction is also decided. The quality standards of the structure are defined to decide the subsequent stages of the construction quality assurance process. 

Material Requirements
During this stage, all the material and supplies that would be required in the construction process are listed along with their respective specifications. The specific brand and certification of the products and supplies which should be used in the construction are also specified. Utmost care is taken during this stage to ensure that the specified materials meet the design and quality requirements as defined.

Planning

Once the design and material specifications have been decided, the next step is to plan the workflow for the successful completion of the task. Various tenders are invited for getting the supplies of the building material. The entire process is documented for future reference.

Material Testing
Before using the construction material, the materials are tested. The procedure includes testing the tensile strength of steel, compressive strength of bricks and mortar etc. The materials can be tested by internal laboratories or by third party laboratories. Various work quality standards issued by institutes and are used. Based on the trial results, the material is approved or disapproved.

Quality During Construction Phase
Adherence to quality standards that have been decided in the preceding stages is important. Various construction QA measures are taken to ensure that there is no breach of any quality requirements at this stage. The quality of workmanship is also checked. Various kinds of tests are conducted to ensure conformance. Quality is checked with the aid of internal and external audits. If quality at any stage is not as per standard, then the cause is determined and accordingly rework is undertaken.

In short, quality cannot be neglected in construction industry, as the cost of the rework is quite high. 

Also, the damage that can happen due to poor quality can be very huge. During construction QA process, various quality and environment concerns have to be considered.

Quality Assurance Standard for ISO 9001

Quality assurance standard is a written set of instructions and guidelines followed by various industries in order to maintain the quality of their products or services. Big as well as small businesses adopt these quality standards worldwide and get certification after audit from the authorized body that ensures the company and its manufacturing or service delivery steps and procedures are in compliance with the laid down standards and polices. This certification enhances the brand value of the organization, its products or services and it also instills confidence in the customers. 

Some QA standard documents are industry specific while some apply to all organizations. One such universal standard that applies to all types of organizations is ISO 9001.

What Is ISO 9001?
ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization. ISO standards for quality are recognized worldwide and hence ISO certified organizations have far better opportunities to trade in the international market. ISO 9001, Quality Assurance Standard can be followed by any kind of industry, whether it is service or manufacturing industry. 

Each organization should develop its own quality management system in order to adhere to ISO 9001 guidelines. To get ISO 9001 certification, the organization has to undergo three audits. The first audit is conducted by the quality monitoring and inspection professional from within the organization i.e. internal auditor. The second such audit is conducted by the customers using the product or service in question, and the third audit is conducted by the organization that is authorized to grant ISO certifications for quality maintenance.

Benefits of ISO 9001 2008
The ISO 9001 standard was first published in 1987. The latest edition of the standard is ISO 90012008, which was released in December 2008. Adhering to this standard benefits the organizations in the following way

Systematic Approach
The standard helps the organizations to function in a more systematic manner. There are defined systems, processes, and procedures in the organizations to do each and every task. Teams are designated to perform these tasks. Hence, it results in more organized and systematic approach to work which improves employee satisfaction and retention.

Improved Quality
The systems are integrated in the whole organization to deliver good quality products or services. This leads to improved quality and less rework. All this helps the organization to reduce wastage and increase margins.

Customer Satisfaction
The customers trust the organizations that are ISO 9001 certified because this QA standard certification offers a sort or an assurance of the good practices and systems in organizations.

 When customers get good products or services in accordance to their requirements, their loyalty towards the organization increases. This results in more business for the organization. The profits of the organization also increase.

Increased Margins
Margins of the organization improve due to multiple effects. Some of the reasons for increase in margins are –

When good quality products or services are manufactured or delivered, there is very little rework and fewer customer complaints. This results in lesser wastage and hence increased margins.

Since according to the requirement of QA standard, there are set procedures, it results in greater employee satisfaction, which in turn results in greater productivity and improved margins. It also reduces the cost of training the employees.

Since organization gets more business, their margins improve.

Quality Assurance Guidelines for Improving Performance
Quality control guidelines are a written set of instructions that can help any business or organization achieve their target of quality and customer satisfaction. One such guideline is the international standard ISO 9004. The ISO 9001 standard of quality defines the requirements that an organizations quality management system needs to follow so that the organization can be certified. ISO 9004 gives q Quality Assurance Guidelines  that complement ISO 9001 and helps the organization achieve performance improvements. 

Even though ISO 9004 is not meant for the certification purpose, many organizations use its guidelines provided in this standard for achieving continual improvement.

Any business organization that wants to go beyond ISO 9001-quality management systems should seriously look at the quality control guidelines as enumerated in ISO 9004 and they should strive to implement them to improve their quality and performance. ISO 9004 gives clause by clause linkage to ISO 9001 i.e. it expands upon the requirements of ISO 9001 clauses and adds requirements that help in improving the performance of the organization. Each clause is further supported by examples to make it easy to understand.

Here are the eight principles on which the quality control guidelines are based

Customer focus – Everybody in the organization should understand the importance of customer focus and should work towards it. The customer means not only external customers but also internal customers. The organization should realize that they depend on customers and hence should do its best to meet and exceed customer requirements.

 Process approach – The entire business is a series of steps that form a process. People should understand the linkages and importance of each step to the final objective. This will help in reducing the entire cycle time for the customers.

Leadership - Unless leaders show commitment towards quality, the employees will not be motivated and hence the onus lies with the leadership. It is the responsibility of the leaders to give a clear vision of the targets and provide resources to achieve those targets. They should also inspire and motivate people by recognizing their achievements.

Involvement of People – Everybody should be involved and should be aware of what is expected from him/her in order to achieve customer satisfaction. This gives them a sense of ownership and responsibility.

Continual Improvement - This is different from continuous improvement in the sense that it expects the organization to achieve a quality level, maintain it consistently and then move up one level and so on. This helps the people in understanding the importance of continuous learning and also helps the organization in becoming more flexible.

Systems approach - The management is expected to identify the interrelated processes as one system with each process being important. This helps in improving the efficiency and the effectiveness of the organization.

Factual approach - The decision making should be based on facts. The available data should be analyzed and according to the results of analysis, the decision should be taken.

Supplier relationship - It is important for management to realize the importance of a good supplier relationship. Both supplier and organization are mutually dependent and hence this relationship is very important for both.

 These principles form the framework for quality assurance guidelines around which the management of organizations should work in order to improve their performance and quality delivery.

Consider These for Quality Assurance Procedures

One of the steps in developing quality systems is to develop good quality assurance procedures . These quality procedures are set instructions that describe in detail the entire process of QA. Having a good QA program has become a necessity to survive in this cut-throat environment. 

Most reputed firms have very good quality management systems which is one of the reasons behind their success. Whether you have a small or big business, you are in a service or manufacturing industry, it is essential that you develop good quality systems. These systems ensure that all your deliverables are of good quality and satisfy all the requirements of your customers.

Things to Consider While Writing QA Procedures

Goals
Based on the vision and mission of the organization, the quality goals should be established. One of the best ways to set the targets is to benchmark the performance of the organization with respect to the best in the world and aim to bridge those gaps.

Requirements
Review the requirements of your present and prospective customers. Also review the regulatory and statutory requirements for conducting the business. The requirements of different standards for quality, health and safety management systems also form a part of these requirements. The procedures established should be such so as to consistently meet or exceed all these requirements. The procedures should also aim at addressing all system and product certification requirements.

Responsibilities
For establishing QA procedures, it is very important to define the roles and responsibilities of each and every individual in each department. This will ensure role clarity and lesser conflicts. This will also promote teamwork resulting in smooth flow of information, materials and products.

Processes
The quality level that an organization can achieve depends upon the efficiency and efficacy of various processes in the organization. The process could be a purchase, design or any other process. The garbage in- garbage out philosophy works very well here.

 Hence, before writing the QA procedures, it is very important to understand the various processes. The inputs and outputs of each process should be well defined. The controls that are in place to ensure the quality of inputs and outputs should be studied. This helps in understanding where and why the process can go wrong and that assists in addressing those areas in the respective procedures.

Matrices
Once the various processes and their inter linkages have been understood, it becomes important to define the matrices that will be used to measure and monitor the performance of these processes. These matrices should be clearly defined in the procedures. Also the records required, reports to be generated, periodicity of the reports, responsibility of the action etc. should be adequately addressed in the procedures. Early warning systems should be put in place to highlight any deviation from the procedures which may become critical for the business of the organization.

Involvement
While establishing the QA procedures, it is very important to involve all stakeholders. Each department from design to sales, production to purchase, should be involved. This is required since quality is everybody’s responsibility. Involvement of critical suppliers and customers is also a good idea.

In short, QA procedures are very important for any organization. These can effectively serve their purpose if they are available to all concerned and are updated regularly.