A cooperative attitude is essential for successful teamwork in construction. The levels of conflict and dispute on construction projects are conceptualized as forms of cooperative/uncooperative attitude. A theoretical model demonstrates how conflict intensity, contractors' dispute tendencies and...

The construction industry is based on craftsmanship. Quality control and assurance procedures applied in manufacturing cannot usually be readily applied in construction, where there are higher degrees of uniqueness in each project. One category of companies, industrialized housebuilders, is...

One of the most perplexing issues facing organizations in the construction industry is their inability to become quality focused. As a result sub-standard products and services often emanate, which inadvertently result in rework. Typically, rework is caused by errors made during the design...

One of the most effective tools for evaluating the success of a quality management programme is the measurement of quality costs (prevention, appraisal and failure costs). The application of the concept of quality costs originated in the manufacturing industry in the early 1950s. As increasing...

Some quality managers in the construction industry are attempting to institute total quality (TQ) management. Having established quality assurance (QA) systems, these managers have realized that the benefits to be gained from this bureaucratic approach are limited. They now aim to transform the...

The design-build (D/B) project delivery system has gained increased market share in the last few years. It is superior to traditional systems in some respects but some claim that it does not lend itself to effective quality assurance and control. D/B construction owners who are in the process of...

This paper presents a critique of existing approaches to the management of projects and the definition of project success, arguing that these are both fragmented and fail to place the client at the centre of the process. In this critique, the paper focuses on quality management, and places the...