One of the main questions to answer when setting up a quality program is whether to centralize or decentralize the team, tools, and systems. J.L. Ashford’s book, The Management of Quality in Construction, clearly establishes the difference between each. Regarding centralized quality programs, from pages 55 to 56: “Under a centralized system, these operations [quality […]
Tag: Construction
Establish Actions for Your Business Case
This article is Part 4 of the framework for How to Build a Business Case for Quality. Business Case Framework Starter Questions Analyzing Conversational Feedback As you gather feedback across your organization, record the specific themes you hear: For each comment, develop a solution. For example, for the team member who was never trained, one […]
Why Quality Programs Exist (and my conversation about it with ChatGPT)
I wrote a few weeks ago in the newsletter about how they achieved quality constructing the Empire State Building without the formal quality programs we have today. I’ve been trying to dig deeper on this topic for three years with no luck. (If anyone has any solid resources, please contact me.) Given my research struggles, […]
We Have 4,000 Weeks to Live
We have 4,000 weeks to live. That’s one of the discussion points in a podcast with Oliver Burkeman, author of 4,000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals. Oliver’s book outlines philosophically how we spend those 4,000 weeks. I wish I had this insight when I started in construction as a field engineer. On the average project, we […]
How to Build Compelling Business Case for Quality
Starter Questions What is preventing your organization from investing in quality? Does your organization view “quality” a process, a result, or both? Is “quality” clearly defined at your company? Quality as a Process Many individuals and organizations view “quality” as a process – tasks and tools that stand alone from the rest of our daily […]
Advancing Construction Quality 2024 – Phoenix, AZ
I’m a huge fan of Hanson Wade’s “Advancing Construction” conference series. I’ve attended the Design Quality Management, Operational Excellence, and Construction Quality sessions the past few years and have become a regular presenter. (I most recently gave a presentation on checklists at the Design Quality Management conference in Chicago). These conferences are great opportunities to […]
On Quality Assurance (QA)
Our “quality language” needs to be simplified before we can solve any industry-wide quality problems. This requires refinement of terms like quality, quality assurance, and quality control. I’ve struggled to find meaningful, tangible definitions for quality, quality assurance, and quality control – specifically for design and construction. Searching “quality assurance” in the ISO 9001-2015 (fifth […]
Simplifying Our Quality Systems
How can we simplify our quality systems? Project quality plans are often diluted – spread out across multiple documents and shared locations. Even our terminology – quality management, quality assurance, quality control – is too complicated for the teams in the field installing the work. Project teams are incentivized to utilize cumbersome corporate processes, yet […]
Simplify First, Automate Last
Many organizations wait for the perfect tool to automate their systems, yet we forget that automation is not a means of simplification. Simplifying a process and automating it are two separate actions. We must simplify a process first before automation. I recently wrote about waiting for the perfect tool and task containment as a means of simplification in design […]
More on Quality Responsibility
I recently read about the idea of construction leaders writing the work instructions for processes they utilize – such as their quality programs – instead of a corporate overhead resource. I’m still reflecting on this and not sure if I agree. My guess is most of you will find it extremely contrary to our modern […]
A New Idea on Work Instruction Responsibility
The past two years I’ve read tons of books on construction quality, seeking answers to many of the questions I had about managing quality – questions such as how do we tangibly translate what our clients want into construction documents and further to the crews. Most of the books didn’t offer anything new or change […]
Transfer Knowledge through Positive Mentoring
Mentoring is the primary means of knowledge transfer. When we experience positive mentoring, we are obligated to continue it, transferring the wisdom to others. For negative experiences, we are responsible for discontinuing it, filtering it from the industry. We need to coach others as we’ve been coached to ensure the wisdom endures.
Trust Your Teams and Promote Critical Thinking
The superintendent or project manager role can’t be automated. There are many ways to manage, and each team must find their way. This occurs when leaders provide space for critical thinking and trust their teams, acting as coaches and guides to success rather than dictators of process. Process is important, but not at expense of […]