Use of total quality management to enhance the quality of design and build projects

Abstract

ABSTRACT The literature on the impact of Total Quality Management (TQM) on Design and Build (D&B) projects is scarce and this study fulfills the research gap by assessing the impact of TQM and its elements on D&B projects. The study used a mixed approach comprising a series of expert interviews and a questionnaire survey. Manual content analysis was used to analyze the collected interview data. The interview findings revealed that TQM could improve the quality of a D&B project at five stages of the project. The quantitative analysis of the interview findings was used to assess the significance of TQM in construction, importance of TQM elements in D&B projects, and suitability of TQM and its elements for D&B projects. At briefing, and tender documentation and action stages, TQM is moderately suitable for enhancing D&B project quality, while at concept design and design development, detail design and technical information, and construction and handing over stages, TQM is highly suitable for enhancing D&B project quality. A heatmap was used to present the rankings of TQM elements in D&B project stages with regard to their importance.