Construction quality : Sri Lankan contractors perspective

Abstract

In today' changing environment, quality is the key to an organisation's success and survival. Many construction organisations have turn to adopt quality as a reliable management tool. With this perspective, the research problem is articulated for this study as follows: "How does the Sri Lankan construction contractors identify and utilize quality in their organisations ". The research methodology adopted for this study was qualitative, within which case studies were used to investigate the research question. The primary data collection technique used in the case studies was semi structured interviews. Content analysis and cognitive mapping techniques were used to analyze primary data. The study identified several causes for poor construction quality and current practice of quality planning. The ISO 9000 quality management system is the most widely practicing or almost only system practicing in construction organisations, as it is a mandatory requirement acted by the ICTAD (Institute for Construction Training and Development). It was also identified that Sri Lankan construction industry is less exposed to new quality approaches such as total quality management, six sigma and benchmarking and etc. Several prerequisites for successful implementation of strategic quality planning in Sri Lankan context are also proposed including a strategic quality framework for construction organisations.