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

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.