Construction Lifecycle and Quality Management

This chapter contextualizes and situates the literature reviewed and critically analyse contributions advanced by experts in the field of the research area undertaken. A focus will not be on the experts only but to any noteworthy contribution to the research. To set the scene, definitions and concepts associated with the research topic would be reviewed and adopted when it aids in assisting in answering the research questions and facilitate the meeting of the research objectives. It is quite essential to look at the construction process lifecycle, i.e., Feasibility, Design, Construction, and Operation. Purpose of this study, the last phase of the lifecycle was excluded. In each phase, quality management practices would be explored. One of the objectives of the study was to explore the quality management practices of the relevant stakeholders, e.g., contractors, consultant (Engineer) and the client (Eskom). This could be answered through the chosen design approach. The answers should give us either different quality management practices or similar. Electricity technologies would be briefly discussed and illustrated with diagrams. This distinguishes how hydro-power, coal-power, wind-power and nuclear are different from each other. Also, the quality management practices might be different since the personnel involved, the materials used and contractors involved in these technologies varies. This literature review considered a pool of theory at disposal that contextualise issues of construction management and industry, concepts found in project management concerning construction management, generation of electricity using thermal power, quality management theories in generally and specifically in the construction of power plants. Theories and findings that cause a delay of construction projects and with many role-players involved in construction projects, phenomena like organisational culture (diversity) was considered. Theoretical literature reviews played an instrumental role in establishing what theories already exist, the relationships between them, to what degree the existing theories have been investigated, and to develop new hypotheses to be tested. The study is exploring the quality management practices in the construction of a power station in the Republic of South Africa (RSA). Relevant literature on the phenomenon of quality management is discussed, significant challenges of implementing Quality in a dynamic environment like the project, the organisational culture of the contractors vis-à-vis of the consultant and client.

It is likely that within the context of RSA, gaps are identified and even justified. Having identified and eliminated those gaps either through literature review or through the results of the employed research design, positive contribution both to the organisation (Eskom) and the country could be beneficial when considering embarking on new infrastructure or mega-project. It is worth noting that gaps that have been identified in the literature review would be factored in as part of a compilation of research method

Electricity Technology

Coal Power

The conversion from coal to electricity takes place in three stages:

The first conversion of energy takes place in the boiler. Coal is burnt in the boiler furnace to produce heat. Carbon in the coal and Oxygen in the air combine to produce Carbon Dioxide and heat. The second stage is the thermodynamic process.

The heat from combustion of the coal boils water in the boiler to produce steam. In a modern power plant, boilers produce steam at high pressure and temperature.

The steam is then piped to a turbine.

The high-pressure steam impinges and expands across some sets of blades in the turbine.

The impulse and the thrust created rotate the turbine.

The steam is then condensed and pumped back into the boiler to repeat the cycle.

In the third stage, rotation of the turbine rotates the generator rotor to produce electricity based on Faraday's Principle of electromagnetic induction. (Mohd Din, Shamzani, Nik Nurul, Norsyamimi Hanapi and Alias Abdullah, 2015)

Pump Storage

The machines in pumped storage stations are reversible pump/turbines. In other words, they function as conventional hydro turbines in the generating mode but can reverse direction to pump the water back again. In the pump mode, the generator becomes a considerable motor which absorbs electricity from the network to drive the machine in the pump direction. (ESKOM, Electricity Technologies, 2017) In a pumped storage scheme, the power station is located between an upper and lower dam. In generating mode, water runs from the upper dam through the station's turbines and into the lower dam where it is stored. During periods when there is sufficient electricity available, the machines are put into pump mode to pump water from the lower dam back into the upper dam where it is stored until the station needs to generate again. Pumped storage schemes are nett consumers of electricity (ibid).

Hydro-electric Power

In a hydroelectric scheme, water is stored in a dam and passed through a turbine and generator set before being released back into the river downstream. It is important to note that the power station does not consume any water in this process; it only uses the energy contained in running water to turn its turbines. (ESKOM, Electricity Technologies, 2017)

Nuclear power

Nuclear energy is used to produce electricity all over the world. Simply put, nuclear power generation is the harnessing of the energy created by a nuclear reaction. To produce electricity an energy source is needed to drive the considerable turbines in a power station. In a nuclear power station, that energy comes from the splitting of atoms of uranium - a process known as fission. (ESKOM, Electricity Technologies, 2017)

Solar Power

Photovoltaic (PV) or solar modules are made up of solar cells that are connected in series. The most common commercial cells are made from purified Silicon (Si). The Silicon cell is essentially a p-n junction that utilises the energy from the sunlight to generate electron flow from the p-type Si (via an external resistance) to the n-type Si. A typical solar module comprises 36 cells connected in series to produce an operating voltage of 12V. PV systems often include a battery bank for energy storage and a charge controller that regulates the power flow into and out of the battery bank. Battery banks are typically sized to provide energy during days of no or limited sunshine (cloudy/rainy days). (ESKOM, Electricity Technologies, 2017)

Wind Power

The principle involved in electricity generation is very much the same as what has been used during the centuries. The only difference is the introduction of an electricity generator. The movement of air is used to propel blades. These blades then turn in the wind and along with it an axle that is attached at the centre of the blades. The axle carries over the energy to a gearbox and finally to the generator where the electricity is generated. (ESKOM, Electricity Technologies, 2017)

Quality Management

Extensive studies (Zu, 2009; Kaynak, 2003; Kaynak & Hartley, 2005; Jung & Wang, 2006; Jaafreh & Al-abedallat, 2012; Saeed & Hasan, 2012; Gonzalez et al., 2013; Prajogo & Sohal, 2003; Choi & Eboch, 1998) were carried out examining the relationship, effect and impact of quality management in the construction as well as construction project success globally. Hoonakker et al. (2010) studied the "Barriers and benefits of quality management in the construction industry: An empirical study", Jha and Iyer (2006) studied "Critical Factors Affecting Quality Performance in Construction Projects"; Alaghbari, Kadir, Salim, Ernawati, (2007) looked at "The significant factors causing the delay in building construction projects in Malaysia"; What was evident in the above-annotated studies was the different definition of Quality Management. For instance; Zu defined Quality Management as practices of organizations that implement principles such as customer focus, continuous improvement, and teamwork to improve product and service quality (2009). Mallawaarachchi and Senaratne believe the concept of quality management is to ensure efforts to achieve the required level of quality for the product which is well planned and organised (2015). Kaynak in his 2003 study “The relationship between total quality management practices and their effects on firm performance” seemed to have equivocated on the concept he studied. Throughout the study, he argued against the findings of scholars like Mohrman et al. (1995) and Das et al. (2000) who were investigating the relationships between practices of quality management and organizational performance on various levels and relationships among techniques of quality management systems and the effects they have on performance, respectively. However, his study seemed to have focused on a different concept altogether, the Total Quality Management (2003). TQM can be defined as a holistic management philosophy that strives for continuous improvement in all functions of an organization, and it can be achieved only if the total quality concept is utilized from the acquisition of resources to customer service after the sale (Kaynak, 2003). Jaafreh & Al-abedallat (2012) supported this definition and cited it in their study. What is of interest is how the pair, after agreeing with Kaynak definition of Total Quality Management (TQM) introduced a definition of Quality Management without naming the researchers. They [Jaafreh & Al-abedallat] defined Quality management (QM) is [sic] both a set of guiding principles and management style and that have been adopted by managers in organizations to improve competitiveness and organizational performance. Now in juxtaposing Zu and Kaynak’s definition of Quality, one would reach a different conclusion as Kaynak opined on Mohrman and Das findings. It is either most scholars are using TQM and QM interchangeably or believes that TQM is a set of quality management practices (Lakhal et al. 2006). Further, than that belief, Lakhan et al. described TQM as a ‘collective, interlinked system of quality management practices that are associated with organisational performances.' Rumane (2011) agreed with the American Society for Quality (ASQ) glossary which defined quality management as the application of quality management system in managing a process to achieve maximum customer satisfaction at the lowest overall cost to the organization while continuing to improve the process. He, unlike the others, introduced a new concept in defining quality management. He, along with ASQ, believes that to define quality management, you have to apply quality management system. If one looks at ISO 9000: 2015 Fundamentals and Vocabulary; you would come across the definition of Quality Management and Quality Management System. This demonstrated that though the adjective quality is found in most definitions, it carries a different meaning when associated with Management, Management System Total Quality Management and Project Quality Management.

He further claimed that extension of quality management concepts gave birth to Total Quality Management (TQM). The PMBOK 5ed (2012) defines Quality Management as, the process of identifying quality requirements and standards for the project and its deliverables, and documenting how the project will demonstrate compliance with quality requirements. With the subject area being quality management in projects, I am persuaded to adopt this definition as the core concept. The PMBoK of 1996 explained Project Quality Management as including processes required to ensure the project satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken for. It included management functions that determine the quality policy, objectives, and responsibilities and implements them by means such as quality planning, quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement within the system. The above-delineated quality management into specificity, i.e. Planning, Control, Assurance, and Improvement. The literature reviewed other definitions [Quality] put forth by studies in Construction Projects. In the model below illustrated by PMBoK [1996], one could be persuaded that every element of the project factors quality management practices, without call them as such. Project Quality Management includes the processes for incorporating the organization’s quality policy regarding planning, managing, and controlling project and product quality requirements to meet stakeholders' objectives. Project Quality Management also supports continuous process improvement activities as undertaken on behalf of the performing organization.

Quality Assurance

Thorpe and Sumner, (2017), insisted that getting a project completed in time and within the budget is not all that is important. Instead, the research insisted that as the construction company, you must ensure that the project has the quality required by the client. Quality in this context refers to making sure that what is being constructed is what was orders and is completed as efficiently as possible. To attain and deliver quality, the constructor must also ensure that fewer errors are made to retain the project operating toward the intended goal. Love and Irani, (2003), emphasised that everybody is aware of what quality is but noted that the way the word is utilized in everyday life is a little specific from how it is used in project quality control. Quality assurance is enhanced using the triple constraint of cost, scope, and schedule to manage quality. Quality assurance as Harrison and Lock, (2017), notes is only attainable if there are set goals within which the project is executed. For this reason, it is essential to apprehending the quality set by the project owner is attainable and acceptable. Thorpe and Sumner, (2017) broadened quality assurance by insisting that customers' satisfaction is an excellent measure of good quality. When considering an order, usually, the construction team will take note of all the specifications required by the customer. However, some necessities may not be provided by the project owner yet they are essential, for instance, a product that humans maintain can't be made from toxic chemical substances that could kill them). Mottaeva, (2017), introduced the concept of "Fitness to apply" which is set to ensure that the construction build has the satisfactory layout possible to in shape the client's requirements. Pons, (2008), put emphasis on the balance between the clients' needs, and the quality of a project is important; a designed project, nicely constructed, solidly built, and all-around nice to look at but does not do what you need but does what you want regardless of being unsightly and difficult to use. In support, Nicholas and Steyn, (2017), observed that a client would continuously choose the project that fits their needs even though it's significantly restricted. That's why it's essential that the project does what it is meant to do and does it well. Conformance to necessities is the primary source of customer satisfaction and safety to use and is a measure of whether the complete project performs as is required by the client. The PMBOKGuide defines quality assurance as "the auditing of best requirements and the outcomes from first-rate control measurements to make sure that suitable quality requirements and operational definitions are used." The quality assurance procedure ensures that the assignment meets the pleasant standards outlined during the planning phase. The performance guarantee procedure gives an umbrella for non-stop process improvement. During this technique, the measurements taken throughout exceptional manipulate are analysed to determine if the tactics observed are inside the proper range of tolerance, or if adjustments want to be made. In quality assurance as is emphasised by Söderlund, (2011), the exceptional standards and techniques used are evaluated and changed if essential.

Quality Planning

Quality planning makes a specialty of taking all of the facts available to you at the start of the venture and identifying how you may degree pleasant and save you defects. The construction company needs to have exceptional coverage that states how it measures quality on all its projects. Wang, (2008), noted that, during quality planning, as the project manager, you must carefully outline the activities that will be used to measure the quality of the project. And you'll want to reflect on the cost of all the quality activities needed. Then you'll want to set a few suggestions for what this quality will be measured against. Finally, you'll want to design the checks you may run when the product is ready to be examined. This basic introduction provides the necessary explanation of what quality planning constitutes. Quality planning refers primarily to the activities of the project management team or the engagements of a project's management chief specialist within the motion of organising and participating in a manner for the functions of identifying and determining exactly which standards are in reality relevant to the project. Additionally, it also constitutes of the accurate determination as to a way to satisfy them. The concept of high-quality refers primarily to the diploma or quantity towards which an original or embedded number of tendencies fulfils some predetermined necessities that have been deemed essential. As has been established in Erdogan, Šaparauskas and Turskis (2017), quality planning, focuses on the degree to which how stringent to be in the control system in redirecting energies that have misplaced focus and are inflicting deviations in the awareness from these inherent tendencies. Quality making plans are usually pleasantly done at the onset of the assignment, but can of the path be tweaked as essential. Quality Planning is the procedure for "figuring out which nice requirements apply to the venture and figuring out the way to satisfy them": Quality planning approach planning how to fulfil manner and product (deliverable) nice requirements: "Quality is the diploma to which a hard and fast of inherent traits fulfil requirements. To create a project quality plan, venture planner wants to become aware of what are the satisfactory conditions of the challenge, which all elements are we intended to comply with and in what manner. Inevitably challenge adequate plans undergoes adjustments just because of the master task plan. The following is a framework showing the process of developing a quality plan.

Quality planning tools

As Fernández-Sánchez and Rodríguez-López, (2010) established, clients provide specifications for the project that needs to be observed for success. Meeting the specifications of the project is just one definition of achievement. Clients frequently have expectations that are extra hard to seize in a written specification. Listening to the consumer and developing a knowledge of the expectancies that aren't effortlessly captured in specs is critical to meeting the one's expectations. Project surveys can seize how the purchaser perceives the undertaking overall performance and provide the project crew with records which might be beneficial in achieving client’s expectations. If the results of the surveys indicate that the client isn't thrilled with some component of the venture, the venture group has the opportunity to explore the reasons for this belief with the client and expand healing plans. The survey can also assist outline what goes nicely and what needs improvement. During the execution segment of the project, materials and skills are sampled and measured to decide if the great is within management limits for the necessities and to investigate causes for variations. This evaluation is often executed via a separate high-quality control group, and understanding of a few method size terms is vital to understand their reports. Several special equipment and techniques are available for making plans and controlling the quality of a construction project. The quantity to which these equipment are used is determined through the task complexity and the high-quality management software in use via the owner of the project This diagram shows some of the tools and techniques of quality planning available for project management. Besides, the diagram also shows the inputs and outputs of quality planning.

Benchmarking

Benchmarking is the evaluation of planned or real methods, practices, and operations to other comparable methods and operations mainly set by the industry. It is regularly completed to become aware of quality practices that may be carried out to generate the development of quality for a project. The dimensions which are measured for the duration of benchmarking usually contain the time, value and quality. During the process of benchmarking, the ones in assignment management identify companies or departments that have comparable tactics. There is not a standard benchmarking technique that has been followed and ought to be observed by everyone. In reality, there are unique benchmarking techniques which have evolved over the years. However, as is explain by Halpin, Lucko and Senior, (2017), before selecting a benchmarking procedure it is essential to understand the following factors of benchmarking which consist of the choice of concern, identification of processes, potential companions, statistics assets, series of data, gap dedication, method differences, target performance, conversation, goal adjustments, implementation and assessment of the followed method. There are four conventional varieties of benchmarking tests, and they constitute of the following

Internal benchmarking; this benchmarking test is conducted first. It includes inspecting the enterprise and figuring out the best practices observed. It's clean to perform, and matters of security and confidentiality do not exist. Competitive benchmarking; also referred to as engineering. It entails analyzing a competitor's services, products, and strategies. The most straightforward manner to do this benchmarking is to shop for the competitor's product or service after which analyse it. World-class operations are benchmarking; takes the BMP past a selected kind of company to at least another one. It's a useful approach for discovering innovative approaches now not presently utilized by an organization. Activity-type benchmarking; examines precise system steps or activities that move past specific industries. It consists of activities such as recruiting, invoicing, and engineering change management.

The benchmarking technique is a beneficial tool and method for quality making plans. It's herbal that corporations need to immediately go to a top-notch organization as their first BMP interest. Although doing this is part of the BMP, it's not the most effective action that needs to be performed. The benchmarking process is executed using the following six stages and to effectively benchmark; it is essential to select the most appropriate one.

Process design (planning); One quality procedure is selected at a time for testing and therefore determine the quality measures that will be used. Internal records collection; done using techniques as system and manner flowcharts, or purpose-and-impact diagrams. External data collection; involves selecting a competitor in the same industry or from a different sector as your agency. Data analysis; involves comparing the statistics gathered with the information from your organisation. Process upgrading. Based on the information you've got found out-of your competitor, become aware of which thoughts may be adopted on your system and determine how they can be applied. Periodic reassessment; involves monitoring the effectiveness of the new ideas and re-benchmarking them at precise periods.

Cost-benefit analysis

Cost-benefit analysis in quality planning is used by project managers at the project initiation stage to reveal the value of executing a construction project. During task initiation, the sponsor and project supervisor should justify the challenge to get the company's approval to spend the cash. This technique of quality planning compares the venture's prices to the enterprise cost it will deliver. Few groups need to go ahead with tasks as a way to value more significant than the value they will produce. So assignment managers conduct the value-benefit evaluation by using amassing information on the fee of the advantages and the amount of a project. CBA constitutes of a scientific system wherein choices relating to proposals are analysed to determine whether or not the benefits outweigh the charges, and by what margin is the difference. Listing of project's details entailing then cost and the expected benefits performed first. Such costs constitute of and indirect payments, soft costs, possibility expenses, and cost of capability risks. Benefits could consist of direct and oblique, and intangible (e.g., expanded productivity, value financial savings, etc.). After the listing is completed, a standard unit of financial dimension is carried out to all of the objects earlier than quantitatively comparing them to ascertain whether or not the benefits outweigh the costs. In the circumstances that the cost is high, then a review must be undertaken to decide how benefits can, and the charges reduced to attempt to make the project financially feasible. If, after this adjustment, the benefits are still outweighed by the cost of the project, it could be essential to reconsider whether or not the project ought to proceed as planned (Wang, 2008). As an evaluation device, CBA is of more value for smaller production projects with a length of time to crowning glory that is short to intermediate. The rationale for this is that increased accuracy in the cost estimating can be performed. More extensive projects with an extended programme may be uncovered to more cost uncertainties (e.g., interest rates availability of labour, inflation, the charge of materials, e.t.c.). The fees are clean to a degree; the attempt and resources it takes to do them are much like another task in your schedule. Since excellent activities don't sincerely produce a product, it's miles now and then harder for humans to measure the advantage. The primary benefits are much less reworking, higher productiveness and performance, and extra pleasure from each the crew and the client.

Control charts

A control chart is a technique that is employed to apprehend the behaviour, predictability, and stability of a project process throughout measurable in years or months. It is utilized in "Quality Control" for determining changes in the project execution that may be unplanned. A control chart is usually developed for methods which can be repetitive, and expectation is set to carry out around continuous procedure remarked as variable X. According to PMBOK, control charts are defined as, "A graphic show of records through the years and against and known limits, and which has a centreline that is used in detecting a pattern of values plotted values towards both limits."

The following are the components that constitute a control chart;

Centre line: it is a graphical depiction of non-stop process variable X. Centre line is the calculated suggest of statistics factors which are repetitive method output with time. Specification restriction: limits of the specification are installed generally after evaluation of purchaser expectancies. Control Limits: Upper and lower limits are hooked up for the control chart and typically the used for statistical analysis or from historical records. Data points of a method are plotted to carry out a pattern evaluation toward both of manage limits and with recognizing to the center line.

Control Chart is utilized in "Plan Quality" to apprehend what is wanted to make confident that techniques which are repetitive will produce consequences inside appropriate limits. The process improvement plan is evolved consequently. Quality guidelines are subtle to get the desired output and metrics are defined to a degree the overall process performance. Historical records of control charts perform a critical role in the development of procedure improvement plan, first-class management plan, and great metrics. Control Chart is used as a device and method at some point of "Control Quality" to apprehend whether the repetitive technique is generating outcomes within suited range and randomly, if no longer then research wants to be accomplished to take away special motive version.

Statistical sampling (histograms, and Pareto charts)

Analytical sampling strategies are used to remedy numerous quality issues. When such an issue takes place, a venture manager must pick which hassle to cope with first. Different ways of prioritising the quality problems are by determining which ones occur maximum often. Data to determine which issues should be prioritised first is gathered using a check sheet that is a basic form on which the person could make a test in the appropriate container each time a problem occurs. Another way would be to utilize automating a data collection technique. With information regarding the quality issues of a project, a histogram is used to analyse them using a frequency distribution. A proper histogram is a column chart where the widths of the columns fill the to be had space at the x-axis axis and are proportional to the class values displayed on that axis, while the height of the columns is proportional to the frequency of occurrences. Most histograms use one width of the column to symbolize a category, at the same time as the vertical axis represents the rate of incidents. Besides the histogram is a frequency the Pareto chart has columns arranged in declining order. Using the columns and a line, the user can determine which problems are most frequent. While using the quality planning techniques, it is important to emphasis on what TTT observed that with a technique and a quality plan, the project manager has full guidelines for the management of the project. It is therefore essential that everyone in the project team apprehend the reason for employing a given technique to attain a particular success or failure.

Quality in Construction Projects

Shehu, Endut, Akintoye, (2014) studied "Factors contributing to project time and hence cost overrun in the Malaysian construction industry"; Chan & Chan, (2004) studied "Key performance indicators for measuring construction success"; (Gopal Kanji and Wong, (2010) published a paper on “Quality Culture in the Construction Industry”; Ayandibu (2010) studied “Quality Management and Socio-economic Objectives in the construction of the Gautrain”; Janipha & Ismail (2013) looked at “Conceptualisation of Quality Issues in Malaysian Construction Environment” and Rahman, Chen & Xiang (2010) produced a paper on “How Professional Ethics Impact Construction Quality: Perception and Evidence in a Fast Developing Economy”. Poor quality management can stand in the way of a successful project (Mochal, 2003). Mochal further asserts that the project sponsor and the client determine quality. The construction industry has numerous problems to deliver quality construction projects because it comprises a multitude of professions, occupations, and organizations. When carrying out construction projects, professionals with different backgrounds are brought together at various points to fulfil the customer’s requirements. This gives rise to different problems because these professionals tend to work in isolation while making decisions that affect one another (Evbuomwan & Anumba, 1998). The construction industry in developing as well as developed countries are one of the most significant industries concerning the contribution to the GDP (Rantanen et al., 2004). According to Ogunlana, et al. (1996) mentioned the factors of poor design and delay in design that contribute to causes of delays in the construction project. The design is critical to any project, without proper design the whole project will influence delay. In the Eskom case, it can't be substantively asserted that quality management is a single or significant cause of the delay; however considering the triple constraints of the project, it can be proven that there were cost-overruns, delays in delivering and poor quality in some packages. These three elements of a project are known to work in tandem with one another. Focusing on one would help in managing the rest.

Construction industry

(Male, 1991) Stated that the construction industry was an amorphous and diverse, so much that definition of the industry was difficult. In 2008, Delgado-Hernandez and Aspinwall defined construction as ‘the mobilisation and utilisation of capital and specialised personnel, materials, and equipment to assemble materials and equipment on a specific site following drawings, specifications, and contract documents prepared to serve the purposes of the client. The difficulty in defining the industry could be because of its amorphous nature. The industry has decided to describe what constitutes the construction industry instead of trying to define it. Hillebrandt (2000) described it by naming the constituency parts of construction. He described all the organisations and persons involved with the process by which building and civil engineering works (following the activities identified in the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) (UN, 1968)) are procured, produced, altered, repaired, maintained and demolished. He described the organisations and persons as; companies, firms, and individuals working as consultants, principal and sub-contractors, material producers, equipment suppliers, and builders' merchants. However, another description emerged in 2008; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health described it as significant, dynamic, and complex industry. They went further by introducing major civil engineering and infrastructure (dams, highways, and airports) involving a multitude of individual construction firms, to the construction and renovation of residential, commercial, and industrial structures, to routine residential repairs. In 2015, Antunes and Gonzalez, suggested a new understanding of construction as the materialisation of a concept through design, taking into account functional requirements and technical specifications for a project product utilizing specialized labour. In other words, it is the creation of a product that will fulfil a strategic goal. This is evident that the definition or what constitutes construction is evolving. Though evolving, the salient theme is ‘diversification’ of the construction industry. In reinforcing the point, the figure below sourced from Antunes and Gonzalez displayed the organization of several project-driven approaches in four clustered stages grouped by fundamental characteristics.

Reviewing the above model, it stands to say that though there is “construction phase”; construction is not solely the reserve of that phase. In the construction industry, the definition of a project was synonymous with actual construction, so much that pre and post-construction phases are ignored, only factored in when project team was eager to reach the construction phase or commissioning the works (Kagioglou et al. 2000). Taking into account the description advanced by Gonzalez et al. construction starts at feasibility till operation stages. Evolution of this description seems to be at odds with what Hillebrandt (2000) and National Institute of Occupational Safety (2008), where they concentrated the description to civil engineering and infrastructure. It seemed the focus in the past was more on the civil engineer, when it comes to construction. To contextualise the point, one needs to look at what constitutes civil engineering and how some authors limited construction industry or projects to them. Civil Engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like bridges, roads, canals, dams, and buildings. It is therefore by no means the only discipline involved in the construction industry. Anyanwu (2013) mentioned various disciplines like electrical and mechanical as part of the design team whose responsibilities was to assist in the overall design of the project within the scope of their specialist field. He also mentioned geotechnical and structural engineers; however, the discipline is still regarded as part of civil engineering. Going back to the model, how do we locate the phases advanced to the study and what quality management practices are dominant in each phase.

Feasibility

The feasibility study is a procedure to predict the outcome of an investigation examination or assessment of a planned scheme along with possible gain. These studies allow proper investigating and evaluating any production a plane or business prospect and also on the essential requirement to commence the project (Mukherjee and Roy, 2017). They further elaborated that proper investigation and evaluation procedure of the proposed project is mainly to identify possible problem, specification, expected performance, costing of each sub-system and selection of best and efficient procedures. The pair fell short of identifying project quality. However, a recommendation on focusing on the methods for improving quality was reported by (Shen et al., 2010) Kerzner (2006) explained the feasibility study phase as considering the technical aspects of the conceptual alternatives and provides a firmer basis on which to decide whether to undertake the project. He further gave a more detailed purpose of the phase as:

Plan the project development and implementation activities Estimate the probable elapsed time, staffing, and equipment requirements Identify the probable costs and consequences of investing in the new project

Shen et al. (2010) also explained how traditionally, contractors and suppliers had no role in the feasibility stage. If one considers how Delgado-Hernandez and Aspinwall (ibid), defined construction, it will make no sense to exclude these "specialised personnel." This consideration from Shen et al. of involving contractors and suppliers because of the knowledge of the construction process and characteristics of various building materials and plants was significant. They believe their roles contribute to better project sustainability. They also believed the feasibility study is the first and most important thing before undertaking project design and construction. The effectiveness of the feasibility study will affect the success of a project directly. Hyari and Kandil (2009) indicated that when ensuring the validity of economic feasibility studies of construction projects, a decision should be based on consistent and standard procedures, thereby averting using ambiguous or lacking information. This could be achieved by involving all the role-players as suggested earlier on by Shen et al. What is become consistent in this approach is the use of procedures to conduct these studies. Mukherjee et al., ibid) calls them evaluation procedures. In the model illustrated by Hyari et al. below; evaluation methods talks to costing. Concepts like Net Present Value, Internal Rate of return, Benefit-cost ratio and payback period are classified.

Hyari et al. (2009) reported that a different consultant does typically feasibility studies for different projects. He postulated that preparing feasibility studies without unified guidelines and evaluation criteria for all projects development results in bias emanating from the consultant and the owner of these projects. Fridgeirsson´s investigation in 2014 on feasibility studies concluded that in public projects there is a lack of feasibility study procedure. His suggestion that Minister of Finance in Iceland should issue guidelines for conducting feasibility analysis seems to have resonated with the National Treasury of the Republic of South Africa. In 2017, National Treasury issued guidelines on how infrastructure programmes and project proposals should be planned, appraised an evaluated before funding. The guideline has the minimum information to be submitted for each capital project. Various types of analysis are defined, but I was drawn to the technical feasibility one. The guideline explained that the feasibility would inform the financial analysis, by providing detailed clarification on the costs of construction, operation, and maintenance of the project and identifying potential risks. [Capital Planning Guidelines, 2017]. Stefánsdóttir, (2015) concluded in his unpublished master’s thesis that the results indicated a significant difference between feasibility studies practices in private construction projects and public construction projects where the private projects perform better in conducting feasibility analysis than the public projects. He pointed the discrepancy to the applied methodology in data analysis, as well as best practices when conducting feasibility analysis where the projects are lacking more than half of the feasibility study procedures to be considered general best practices. Mallawaarachchi and Senaratne (2015) presented a paper on the Importance of Quality for Construction Project success. Amongst other things in the paper, they defined the main phases of a construction project as; conceptual planning, feasibility study, design, procurement, construction, acceptance, operation, and maintenance. One salient point advanced was "Quality of construction projects is linked with proper quality management in all the phases of project life cycle." However, they digressed by emphasising the critical phases of the project life cycle which affect the quality outcome of the construction project significantly. They mentioned the phases as design and construction, giving less attention to the other phases of the construction project. Notwithstanding that, they concluded by suggesting that it was a necessity to introduce the concept quality into building process throughout its whole life phases. The suggested conclusion moved away from the construction project and inadvertently or advertently introducing building process. Authors like Assaf and Al-Khalil (1995), Nkado (1995), Arditi and Gunaydin (1998) and Fugar and Agyakwah-Baah (2010) seemed to have interchangeably used construction project with the building project. As there was no journal article, monographs or books found in the database, it is assumed the term construction project could be used interchangeably with building process or project. Looking at the study preceded this by Memon et al. (2011), one would be forgiven to assume that Mallawaarachchi et al. would have researched the importance of quality management in the lifecycle of the project. For in 2011, a similar study on design and execution phase was conducted and fell short of identifying quality management practices in all the construction project phases. memon et al. (2011) focused on the quality management in the design and execution phase of construction projects, prior Mallawaarachchi in 2015. He highlighted the importance of quality management in the design and execution phase of construction projects. He concluded that consultants and contractors should take some proactive measures to improve the quality in the design and execution phase of construction projects. All the papers cited above have one common thread or gap that is prominent. The introduction of quality or quality management practices at the feasibility stage of the project is lacking, inferred or not regarded as necessary. On the contrary, a lot of inference can be made using the PMBoK Model, figure 7 above and fit in every aspect advanced by Hyari et al. (2009) model below. But that would be just inference. For example, in Indonesia, a feasibility study for gas power plant project used Model of Porters Five Forces Analysis to analyse the power industry.

(Omsa, 2017) defined Porters Five Forces Analysis as a competitive force as the pressure of the industry on the business unit in gaining performance. Omsa went further and identified Porter five forces as:

Bargaining Power of Buyers Bargaining Power of Suppliers The threat of a new entrants The threat of substitute products and services Rivalry amongst existing firms

In South Africa, after experiencing load-shedding (black-outs), the study assumed it was not feasible for the government and the industry to apply the five porter force analysis. It could be time was running against the country as electricity in a developed country is the backbone. This fact is advanced by (Winkler et al., 2011) where they say electricity and other energy access are significant factors in economic and social development. The report from the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission [PICC] highlighted lesson learned from the country's infrastructure projects. For the Medupi Project, it reported the following;

Cost escalations linked to project scope definition and specifications. Plant specifications depend on project needs and engineering conditions. It also claimed inherent tension between engineering solutions which are economical yet fit-for-purpose. The high cost and availability of scarce specialist skills, e.g. pipe and boiler welders has implications for local sourcing and project costs Pre-emptive training and sourcing of skills for build programme, before project initiation Timely authorizations and approvals (PICC Final Report, n.d).

This comes as lessons learnt, which re-affirmed the earlier assertion made that Porters Fives Forces Analysis or any other model was overlooked.

Design

The design is the process of creating a solution to a project brief and then preparing instructions allowing that solution to be constructed. Design is a process of creating the description of a new facility, usually represented by detailed plans and specifications; construction planning is a process of identifying activities and resources required to make the design a physical reality (Project Management for Construction: The Design and Construction Process,” n.d.) There are a large number of approaches to design methodology. Roth (2000) divides the design process into many smaller steps and places a strong emphasis on the incorporation of design catalogues in the solution process. According to Pahl et al., the design process is divided into four stages:

• precisely defining the task (problem identification) • the concept stage • the design • drawing up the final solution (detailed design)

Roth (2000) and Pahl et al. (2013) are supported by Ilveskoski and Niittymaki (n.d) where he corroborated that the design stages contains a lot of steps programming and feasibility, schematic design, design and development, and contract documents, however their mentioned steps deviated from the ones advanced by Pahl. It is clear though, the design is not a single phenomenon but iterative and various stages. There seems to be an interest by design firms for enhancing the constructability of their designs. Their efforts are illustrated by the use of some common constructability tools, such as the use of lessons learned, brainstorming sessions, computer models, and physical models. However, the most commonly used practice is still a peer review process (Pulaski and Horman, 2005). According to American Society for Civil Engineers (2012) in design activities, the design professional follows the preliminary design report approved by the owner for the planning and execution of the design effort and is primarily responsible for design phase activities, which typically include

• Planning and managing the design; • Maintaining coordination and communication among design discipline leaders and other team members during design; • Monitoring and controlling design costs and schedule; • Developing estimated construction costs; • Developing the anticipated construction schedule; • Providing qualified staff; • Performing design-related quality control functions; • Arranging for appropriate design reviews, constructability reviews, operability and maintainability reviews, and peer reviews.

In the above, quality control functions are identified as such, but a cursory glance to activities, monitoring, and control, competence concerning staff, reviews, which are more of a quality assurance function are also alluded to. Poustouri and Ioannidis, (n.d.) in explaining the Critical Success Factors in Total Quality Management also identified that every part in a process has three roles. They identified those roles as following; supplier, processor, and customer, which Juran defined them as triple role concept. Poustouri et al. (n.d.) explained that these three roles are carried out at every level of the construction process. They acknowledged that the designer is a customer of the owner. The designer produces the design and supplies plans and specifications to the contractor. Poustouri et al. (n.d.) then cited Burati (1992) who concluded that the contractor is the designer’s customer, who uses the designer’s plan and specifications to carry out the construction process and supplies the completed facility to the owner. The owner supplies the requirements to the designer, receives the facility from the contractor, and is responsible for the facilities operation. In support of their assertion that process has three roles, and construction as a process, Poustouri et al. illustrated with a diagram their view by using Juran Triple Role Concept.

Construction contractors have significant constructability expertise to contribute to the design process of projects (Pulaski and Horman, 2005). Separating the responsibility for design and construction can inhibit the implementation of good quality because the two teams understand the same design differently and often do not know each other (Rugodho, 2012). Contrasting Rugodho (2012), Pulaski et al. (2015) with how (Arditi and Gunaydin, 1997) described the interaction of the roles as advanced by Juran Triple Role concept, divergent views are apparent. Arditi et al. (1997) explain the process as “The designer supplies plans and specifications to the constructor; in this case, the constructor is the designer's customer because the constructor uses the designer's plans and specifications, then conducts the construction process..”. However, the study is of the view that Arditi’s views are traditional and were prominent in the late 1990s. Pulaski et al., on the other hand, excellent substantive view, where he stated that contractors should form part or contribute to the design process, as it is them, who will be implementing the design. Rugodho (2012) sums it up well when he concluded that quality implementation could be compromised if there is a diverse view on the design. Lopez et al. (2010) in identifying design error causation characterised them as diverse in nature and severity. For the study; only quality related design problem would be briefly discussed. Lopez et al. (2010) cited Love et al. (2008); Tilley et al. (1997) in synthesizing the impact of inadequate quality in design. They acknowledge that quality of design documentation produced by consultants was deemed as inadequate for its intended purpose. Inadequacy tended to lead to errors. They recognised the errors to be disruptive and led to an increase in request for information, design changes, coordination problems, rework and scheduling problems. In his report, Rugodho (2012) concluded on quality implementation if there are diverse views on the design. This was suggested by Love et al. (2000) when they argued that design documentation quality was of significant concern to contractors and sub-contractors who depend on the information submitted to them. Lopez et al. (2010) reiterated Tilley et al. (1997) view that contractors are frequently provided with erroneous design documentation, either requiring some design clarifications to be obtained from the design consultants or performing the design themselves to their risk. Furthermore, they believed that the quality of design documentation is determined by the capacity of those who depend on the information to understand what they are provided with. In advancing their views on this subject of inadequate quality documentation, they have cited Manavazhi and Xunzhi (2001), who asserted that there was a relationship between quality and errors. Manavazhi et al. (2001) concluded that an increasing number of errors reduces the quality of the design documentation produced by design consultants. The inference was made by Lopez et al. (2010) when he cited Love et al. (2000b) who put forth that significant factor contributing to design consultants producing poor quality documentation is their reluctance to embrace quality assurance.

Construction/project execution

Construction management is the process of planning, coordinating and providing monitoring and controlling of a construction project. This style of project management is designed for them, as the name implies, the construction industry. Few types of construction use construction management; they are industrial, civil, commercial, environmental and residential. Each category has its way of running projects, but all will follow the construction management methodology. Construction management has five stages, where project management has five phases. The stages are design, pre-construction, procurement, build, and owner occupancy. (“Construction Project Management,” n.d.) At the construction stage, the process of adding a structure, a project or an infrastructure, is executed. It entails the fieldwork and is divided into different project submissions. In the first submission, it involves translating project designs into real infrastructure. Specialisation at this stage is required to execute the different parts of the construction. The physical proceedings of a project constitute of the first stage and are necessary for ensuring that as the project is being executed, each part is integrated to the other. The specialist at this stage include the civil engineers, the structural engineers, the architect, the electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and the architectural and planning consultants. Quality control is a significant part of the construction process, and if applied at this stage appropriately, the chances of enhancing quality for the project is very high. According to Chen and Luo, (2014), quality control ensures that the requirement of a product or a project are achieved. It is the method used to compare the quality characteristics of a project to the set standards and is used to analyse the differences between what has been achieved and what had been expected. In the PMBoK, quality control has been defined as the process that involves the monitoring of results for specific projects to establish whether the quality standards required have been complied with and to identify how the causes of unsatisfactory results can be eliminated. In construction work, technical specifications are set to define the controls needed to ensure that the work is completed correctly. These controls comprise the materials used and the standards of execution of the construction plan Various ways of quality controlling at the project development stage are used, one of the ways is an inspection. According to the PMBoK, inspection involves the examination of the project to establish whether it has been constructed within a plan that conforms to the standards documented. Other than the controlling the characteristics of a project, other aspects of construction such as the legal aspect are considered when using inspection. According to Aliverdi, Naeni and Salehipour, (2013), a project must meet the requirements of a legal framework that are governing it. Such a framework constitutes the governmental regulations of the construction process and the use of that project. Legal requirements of a project come from the building code and from the malum in sec which means that the need to prevent bad phenomena such as the collapse of a project, is considered necessary. Further, legal requirements are also considered to include factors of expectation and custom such as in the case where the law is inapplicably depending on the place of a project. For example, if the law determines that the failure to apply law will not lead to a collapse of a project. Another legal aspect of a project surrounding the quality control is the aspect of contracting. A construction project is a legal net of contracts and obligations. The performance of each contract is highly inspected under the legal aspect of a project primarily because of the delay of a construction project results to the increment in the project cost. As such, under the law, each contractor's responsibility is planned and designed with specifications of the requirements and expectations of the project. Contracting is a significant part of quality control in that if it is poorly done, the result may be confusion and a lack of proper integration between the parts of the project and therefore poor quality and collapse. The legal consultants definitively identify ambiguities of a construction project that may lead to trouble at the beginning, and then, throughout the process of construction, quality control ensures that all conflicts arising are resolved. An acceptance control or what is also known as the statistical control is essential in the establishment of the rejection or acceptance criteria on the final products. The complete project is tested using sampled parts in line with the inspection standards either by attributes or by variables. Bad quality leads to an expensive project, and a construction company must prevent. Technical approvals and certifications are the other ways quality control is enhanced for a project during the construction stage. The different quality certifications that are used include the following;

Certification of origin; the constructor provides the specifications that show that the project is compliant to the requirement. Non-compliance, in this case, would be illegal and actionable by law. Accredited test certification; certification follows a test that done on the part of the project sampled to represent the whole project. Approval by a product type; certification follows the approval of a prototype, therefore, ensuring the quality of the entire project but only if the prototype is strictly adhered to. Compliance to standard mark or seal; certification is awarded based on the adherence of the project to the technical suitability document.

Quality Assurance at the construction process

Quality for a project is established during the inspection of the project. Quality is assured through acquiring a balance between the scheduled characteristics of a project and the owners' requirements. Operating characteristics desired for a project include the material of construction and the quality standards set. The requirements primarily determine the quality of a project during the construction process. Three phases are associated with the construction process stage of a project, and these are;

Planning and design phase Construction phase Maintenance and operation phase.

At each of these three phases, different factors have been identified in the literature, to influence total quality management as is presented in Figure 13 below.

The above elements influence quality management holistically in that each of is reliant of the others. The management’s commitment and leadership to quality practice is the first element affecting the total quality management for a project. The inclusion of TQM by the management as a top priority leads all the other parties to observe the practice. Quality is currently a requirement for all organisation, and as such, management by control has become a critical part of the management in the construction industry. In the execution of this style, controls are imposed for each project. Rewards for the project management is put in term of quality controls met such a project characteristic, cost, and schedule. Training is an essential element of total quality management and is vital in ensuring that the subordinates adhere to the quality controls. Training is useful in convincing all the experts involved in a project that quality is a responsibility for all. It is essential to ensure that the training provided align with quality requirements; customised training for all specialist. According to Banihashemi et al.,( 2017) skills such as leadership and human interactions have a significant role in the improvement of quality for a project. Further, the study identified that the demand for these skills increases as the requirements of a project’s quality gets sophisticated. Other necessary skills identified as vital for the training include cost and quality management, cause-effect analysis, team statistical methods, and teamwork. Further research (Akinci et al., 2006; Blackmon, 2005; Burtonshaw-Gunn, 2017) have established that while training is vital in all the phases of construction, at the operations and construction, training is more useful than at the design and planning stages. To consistently and continuously apply the total quality management processes, the construction specialists need to work as a team. Working as a team ensure that all of those involved (vendors, contractors, sub-contractors, designers and the owner) are executing the same standards; they as a team establish joint goals and controls and work towards achieving the goals. In Li, Xu and Zhang (2017), it was established that while teamwork was found to be significant at the designing phase, the construction managers also racked it as the most critical factor in ensuring that quality projects are delivered. Similarly, Kerzner and Kerzner, (2017), it was established that at the construction process phase of a project, the level of teamwork of the parties involved was a second most crucial factor as ranked by the constructors and the construction managers. In the model of total quality management in the construction process, statistical methods are considered as the primary tool used to identify the problems with the quality controls. These methods are useful in gathering and compiling data regarding the weaknesses of a quality control system and therefore produce measures to correct the problems and to align a system being used to the quality desired. However, in Lou, Xu and Wang, (2017), the importance of using statistical methods as a factor to influence quality was seen to reduce considering that for each phase of construction, the activities required uniquely design for that phase, and therefore it is not possible to compile data on the progress of the whole project and decide what activities were not in accordance with the quality control process implemented.

Cost of Quality in the construction process

In Juran and Crosby (Madu, 2012), the cost of quality is seen as the primary measure of quality. The cost of quality is used to determine the effectiveness of a total quality management process and to select the required quality improvements based on the justification of the cost of the selected improvement. To the management, the cost of quality is used to quantify quality control processes in dollars and therefore it is useful in creating awareness of the quality of a project. The cost of quality is determined as a sum f the non-conformance and conformance costs; conformance cost represents the project’s cost of preventing poor quality while the non-conformance cost represents the cost of poor quality resulting from a failure in the performance of a project (Lock, 2017). Further, the cost of quality can be categorised into the following;

External failure cost; cost after the project has been delivered. Arise from nonconformities of project defects resulting in costs such as the replacement cost, claim against a warranty, and significant penalties and losses. Internal failure cost; cost resulting from nonconformities at any phase of a quality loop of a project. Appraisal cost; this is the cost incurred in the process of evaluating the achievements of the required quality standards. Prevention cost; this is a cost incurred in investigations that lead to the reduction and prevention of nonconformity.

References

Arditi, D., Gunaydin, H.M., 1997. Total quality management in the construction process. Int. J. Proj. Manag. 15, 235–243.

Akinci, B., Boukamp, F., Gordon, C., Huber, D., Lyons, C., & Park, K. (2006). A formalism for utilization of sensor systems and integrated project models for active construction quality control. Automation in construction, 15(2), 124-138.

Aliverdi, R., Naeni, L. M., & Salehipour, A. (2013). Monitoring project duration and cost in a construction project by applying statistical quality control charts. International Journal of Project Management, 31(3), 411-423.

Banihashemi, S., Hosseini, M. R., Golizadeh, H., & Sankaran, S. (2017). Critical success factors (CSFs) for integration of sustainability into construction project management practices in developing countries. International Journal of Project Management, 35(6), 1103-1119.

Chen, L., & Luo, H. (2014). A BIM-based construction quality management model and its applications. Automation in construction, 46, 64-73.

Fernández-Sánchez, G., & Rodríguez-López, F. (2010). A methodology to identify sustainability indicators in construction project management—Application to infrastructure projects in Spain. Ecological Indicators, 10(6), 1193-1201.

Lock, D. (2017). The essentials of project management. Routledge.

Madu, C. N. (Ed.). (2012). Handbook of total quality management. Springer Science & Business Media.

Mottaeva, A. (2017, October). Innovative project management on the basis of programme-and-target approach for energy saving in the construction complex. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 90, No. 1, p. 012124). IOP Publishing.

Söderlund, J. (2011). Pluralism in project management: navigating the crossroads of specialization and fragmentation. International Journal of Management Reviews, 13(2), 153-176.

Construction Project Management – SACPCMP, n.d.

Mukherjee, M., Roy, S., n.d. Feasibility Studies and Important Aspect of Project Management. Int. J. Adv. Eng. Manag. 2, 3.

MICHAIL KAGIOGLOU, R. C. G. A. &. M. S., 2000. Rethinking construction: the Generic Design and Construction Process Protocol. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 7(2), pp. 141-153.

Hyari, K., & Kandil, A. (2009). The validity of feasibility studies for infrastructure construction projects. Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, vol 3, no. 1,

Rugodho, G. (2012). Obstacles To Quality Management in South African Infrastructure Project- The Case of Route 21 (R21) from National Route 1 (N1) to O.R Tambo International Airport. Masters. The University of Witwatersrand.