Description
It is almost a commonplace to describe the current business environmental setting as turbulent. The marketplace has become more global and service oriented and clients' tastes have become more demanding and sophisticated (Albino et al., 2002). Under this circumstance, many firms have found it is increasing difficulties to compete. To survive in the current business environment, it is necessary to look for ways to improve quality and productivity in order to enhance their competitive edges.
Managing Information Flows for Quality Improvement in Construction
S.X. Zeng
1
, G.X. Lou
1
and Vivian, W.Y. Tam
2
1
Aetna School of Management, Shanghai J iaotong University, Shanghai, 200052,
PR China
2
School of Engineering, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, PMB50 Gold Coast
Mail Centre, Qld 9726, Australia
Abstract
The construction industry has always been bedeviled with great difficulties in sharing
information among its participants. Although many construction firms have claimed to be
ISO 9000-certified, there is still missing an effective channel of information flow for
quality management. There are information asymmetries in quality management from
internal and external organizations. Internally, information asymmetry exists between
contractor, subcontractors and suppliers; and externally, there is no information sharing
mechanism between project departments; information feedback is more difficult than
information transferring in a construction firm. This paper analyses the channel of
information flow for quality management. It proposes to reengineer current management
strategy for establishing an effective information network for quality management.
Keywords: Information flow, asymmetry information, quality management, projects
1
Introduction
It is almost a commonplace to describe the current business environmental setting as
turbulent. The marketplace has become more global and service oriented and clients’
tastes have become more demanding and sophisticated (Albino et al., 2002). Under this
circumstance, many firms have found it is increasing difficulties to compete. To survive
in the current business environment, it is necessary to look for ways to improve quality
and productivity in order to enhance their competitive edges (Tan et al., 2003).
Since the introduction of ISO 9000 in 1987, the number of organizations certified under
the scheme has been constantly increasing all over the world. The implementations and
certifications of quality system on ISO 9001 have been a major activity for many
organizations and become a widespread phenomenon (Yeung et al., 2003). Many studies
revealed that effective implementation of ISO 9000 quality standards can benefit the
certified-organizations through the improvement of management control, efficiency,
productivity, and customer services (Terziovski et al., 2003). According to a survey
conducted by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), global ISO
9001:2000 registrations surpassed the 500,000 mark at the end of 2003 (ISO, 2004), in
which it can show the concerns of quality improvement.
Among all industrial sectors, the construction industry has the third highest number of
ISO 9000 certificates (Chini and Valdez, 2003). This indicates the construction firms’
active attitude is facing the international standards series. In construction, the final
product is produced by activities in process. However, construction process is not of a
production line in the manufacturing industry but is composed of concurrent activities on
a construction site. Quality assurance in construction focuses on process control (Arditi
and Gunaydin, 1998). In practice, it is more difficult to implement the scheme for quality
2
assurance in the construction industry than in manufacturing industry due to the
characteristics of the construction setting (Tam et al., 2000). Hence the proportion of the
construction firms of ISO 9001 certified which deemed ISO 9001 an effective quality
management means is not high (Zeng et al., 2004).
ISO 9001 focuses on confirming process conformance from the initial development of a
product through production, test, installation and servicing. Information management has
been a key factor affecting the effective implementation of the standard (Cipriano, 1995).
The information management system required for this standard is not just a database with
predefined reports; rather, it is the support for trouble-shooting, decision-making and
knowledge management (Lari, 2002). Due to dispersed projects undertaken by a
construction firms, effective information flows among project teams for a firm is very
important in implementing quality assurance (J aggar et al., 2001).
There are number of literature studies on quality management in construction.
Nevertheless much of the literature focuses on quality management system and factors
affecting quality. It appears that little research was conducted to investigate information
flows in quality management in construction. Thus this paper explores information
requirements and information flows in quality assurance. The analysis could be helpful
for quality management in pursuing continuous quality improvement in construction.
Previous studies
The literature has been descriptive; in particular, describing information flow in an
organization for improving production and quality for the organizations. Albino et al.
(2002) proposed a methodology to describe and analyze the information flows involved in
the coordination of production process. They developed the concept of coordination load
3
associated with process based on (i) the structure of the considered process, in terms of
dependencies among process tasks, (ii) the adopted coordination form, in terms of who
decides and executes what, and (iii) the context, in terms of uncertainty, variability and
equivocality. A study by Fok et al. (2001) explored the inter-relationships among three
organizational factors: total quality management program adoption, information system
development and culture.
Lari (2002) analysed the information requirements of ISO 9000 standards and identified
the areas where a decision support system could be used. They developed a conceptual
framework for company-wide information management, which explained the modular
approach to the system development by introducing and empirically testing the prototype
model in a corrective and preventive actions module. The proposed system will provide
the conceptual structure for quality assurance information system within organizations.
Beckett et al. (2000) described the practical application, in an industrial setting, of an
information system designed to support continuous improvement. This system, based on a
quality monitoring system, differs from conventional application in that it seeks to
support both quality conformance and continuous improvements to design and research
activities. Tan et al. (2003) proposed a quality information structure within WWW-based
intranet infrastructure and analysed the role of quality information system (QIS) in the e-
commence integrated environment. Four main functions were constructed via six basic
modules. Each function was described with IDEFO (what is the full name of IDEFO?)
diagrams. Under this QIS, organizations will be better able to manager their quality
related knowledge.
Some researchers paid attention to the role of information management in quality
management in construction. Pietroforte (1997) proposed a conceptual framework for
4
interpreting the impact of different organizational forms of transaction on the use of
information and communication in the building process. Baldwin et al. (1999) produced a
generic model of the conceptual and schematic design process for building data flow
diagrams. Ndekugri and McCaffer (1998) outlined information flows of basic
management functions of the construction firm for planning, estimating, cashflow
forecasting, cost control, and accounting.
Information and information requirements
Information definition
There are numbers of definitions on information. For example, Checkland and Howlell
(1998) suggested that information could be defined as some data selected for a specific
purpose. Information about a construction project quality is communicated to whoever
needs it, whenever they need it, in whatever form they need it so that they meet their
objectives for quality management and improvement (Ndekugri and McCaffer, 1988). It
has stated that quality information management is concerned with communication and
covers its acquisition, generation, preparation, organization and dissemination, evaluation
and management of information resources (J aggar et al., 2001). Also, many researchers
studied the characteristics of information flows and the coordination form within an
organization (Austin et al., 1994; Barua and Ravindran, 1996). Information flows are
typically characterized by evaluating the number of messages and information processing
activities that occur in firms. The uncertainty and equivocality of information result in the
complexity of research on information flows (J ehiel, 1999).
Information in quality management system
5
The ISO 9000 standards describe a set of fundamental elements that enable the design and
implementation of quality management systems. The ISO 9000:1994 standards contain
three auditable certification standards, i.e., ISO 9001/2/3. They provide corresponding
clauses for different types of business including companies that design their own products
and services (20 clauses), companies that do everything except design (19 clauses), and
companies where products and services can be verified only by inspections and tests (16
clauses).
Major changes were incorporated in ISO 9000:2000 version. The latest ISO 9001:2000
revision is based on the following eight quality management principles: (i) customer-
focused organizations; (ii) leadership; (iii) involvement of people; (iv) process approach;
(v) system approach to management; (vi) continual improvement; (vii) factual approach
to decision making; and (viii) mutually beneficial supplier relationships. Based on these
eight guiding principles, the 20 clauses of the ISO 9001:1994 were revised into the
following five main management requirements: (i) quality management system; (ii)
management responsibility; (iii) resources management; (iv) product realization; and (v)
measurement, analysis, and improvement (see Figure 1). The ISO 9001:2000 standards
integrated the three auditable certification standards, which places emphasis on process
management and resource management and has commonality of architecture with ISO
9004, so that quality assurance requirements and quality management can be aligned
holistically.
6
Figure 1 ISO 9001:2000 requirements
ISO 9001 is a documentation-based communication tool, therefore some information is
indispensable according to certain clauses of ISO 9001 (Tan et al., 2003). The types of
information and their related clauses are listed in Table 1.
Table 1 The types of information and their related clauses of ISO 9001 standard
Information Clauses Descriptions
4.2.2 Quality manual The organization shall prepare a quality manual that shall
include a description of the elements of the quality management
system and their interaction and the system level procedures.
4.2.3 Control of
documents
The organization shall establish quality management system
level procedures for the operation of the quality management
system. A master list or an equivalent document control
procedures, identifying the current revision status of documents,
shall be established and be readily available.
Document
management
4.2.4 Control of records Quality records appropriate to the organization shall be
maintained to demonstrate conformance to the requirements and
the effective operation of the quality management system.
7
5.5.3 Internal
communication
The organization shall establish and maintain procedures for
internal communication between the various levels and
functions regarding the quality management system and its
effectiveness.
7.2.3 Customer
communication.
The organization shall implement arrangements for
communication with customers to meet customer requirements.
5.6 Management review To provide the management of information help to define,
document and control their quality policy. Information
requirements include review meeting to assess quality systems;
organization chart, and job descriptions.
6.2.2 Training To provide information that can detect the training deficiencies
and provide plans to keep all employees updated and equipped
with the required knowledge. Information requirements include
training records; training plans; courses; teachers; educational
service providers; quality manual.
Message exchanges
8.2.2 Internal audits To appraise processes to determine whether they are operating
within their documented procedure and to decide whether they
are effective for their intent. Information requirements include
quality audit reports; corrective and preventive action reports;
quality manual; quality plan; procedures; forms; standard
operation sheets; checklists.
Information requirements in quality management
In the construction industry, contractors have to collect much external and internal
information as information input for quality management. The external information
required includes: i) client’s requirements on quality; ii) project supervisors; iii) relevant
quality standards for checking; iv) subcontractors; and v) material suppliers and venders.
And, internal information required includes: i) organization structure; ii) quality
management system; iii) quality management plan; iv) information of construction
technology; v) information of construction equipment; and vi) workers. The inputted
information needs to be processed and utilized effectively and becomes conducive to
quality management (see Figure 2).
8
Information input
External Information:
Client's requirement on quality
Project supervision
Information of legal and policy
Relevant standards for checking
Information of subcontractors
Information of material suppliers
Venders
Internal Information:
Organization structure
Quality management system
Quality assurance plan
Information of construction
technology
Information of construction
equipment
Information of workers
Information processing Information output
Design drawing and specification
Supervising plans and records
Process control
Process control
Evaluation on subcontractors
Evaluation on material suppliers
Evaluation on vendors
Organizational chart
Quality manual & procedure
Quality plan
Construction schedule
Construction schedule
Certified skill & training records
Quality improvement
Figure 2 Information flow chart
From Table 2, it indicates that information exchange is the necessary part in
implementing the ISO 9000 successfully. Therefore it is important for construction firms
to create environment and culture for sharing information.
Table 2 Major clauses of ISO 9000 on information exchange for quality management
in construction
Clause in ISO 9001:1994 vision Clause in ISO 9001:2000 vision Descriptions on important items
•Contract review (4.3) •Documentation requirements (4.2)
Client’s requirements on quality
• Document and data control
(4.5)
•Documentation requirements (4.2)
Quality manual, quality records, quality
checklists
•Purchasing (4.6)
•Purchasing (7.4)
Evaluation on subcontractors and suppliers
•Process control (4.9) •Provision of resources (6.1)
• Planning of product realization
(7.1)
Key construction process control
•Inspection and testing (4.10) •Control of monitoring and
measuring devices (7.6)
Key process and major material
9
• Control of nonconforming
product (4.13)
•Control of nonconforming product
(8.3)
Control measures
•Corrective and preventive
action (4.14)
•Improvement (8.5)
Preventive action
• Handling, storage, packaging,
preservation & delivery
(4.15)
•Production and service provision
(7.5)
Preservation of built parts
•Internal quality audit (4.17) •Internal audits (8.2.2)
Common quality problems
•Servicing (4.19) •Customer-related processes (7.2)
Feedback on quality from clients
•Statistical techniques (4.20) •Analysis of data (8.4)
Sample data
Information flows in quality management
Given a construction firm, it has three levels within organizational structure including
firm, sub-firms and project departments. The multi-level organizational structure renders
many difficulties in information transferring and feedback (Loosemore, 1998). In general,
the firm level but sub-firms level or project department level plays a pivotal role in
certification of the ISO 9000 quality assurance systems. Much of the work including
quality manuals and procedures document writing, training, internal audit and
management review are organized and finished by the quality assurance group in the firm
level. Indeed, the plan of quality assurance must be implemented by all the project
departments. Thus information flows including information transferring and feedback
among all the different levels in a construction firm will form the necessary foundation
for effective quality management and quality assurance.
The ISO 9000 quality assurance systems highlight more effective information exchange
in quality management. In this paper we assumed that information is transferred from
high to low level (that is from firm to sub-firms and project departments), and
10
information feedback is from low to high level (that is from project departments and sub-
firms to firm) (see Figure 3).
Firm
Sub-firm
Project department
A
B1
C1
B3
C2 C3 C4
B2
C6 C5
A
B1
C1
B3
C2 C3 C4
B2
C6
C5
(a) information transferring (b) information feedback
Figure 3 Information flows on quality management
The construction industry has always been bedeviled with great difficulties in sharing
information among participants. In general two major kinds of information flows are
including: (i) information transferring from project departments to firm; and (ii)
information exchange between project departments. Information transferring is easier
than information feedback due to the industry-specific characteristics. For example,
according to requirements of “purchasing” in Clause 4.6 (in ISO 9000:1994), a contractor
needs to create lists of qualified subcontractors and qualified material suppliers. When the
firm has chosen the qualified subcontractors and material suppliers, he will create lists
covered the qualified candidates and transfer the information to sub-firms and project
departments. On the basis of the lists, each project department has to choose the candidate
from the lists.
11
Barriers in information flows in quality management
To examine information barrier in business process is important for managing
information flow in quality improvement. Theodoros and Phillip (2005) discussed three
fundamental types of information barriers in market research and business intelligence
executives. Stephen et al. (2004) discussed information problems in e-commerce system
for construction material procurement and provided recommendation to avoid them. Ma
et al. (2004) introduced the deficiencies in the information exchange process among
multi-parties in project and discussed the way of using XML to support information
exchange in construction projects.
In this paper, three types of barriers to information flows in quality management were
examined, as outlined in Figure 4.
Organizational Barriers:
- Multi-level structure
- Horizontal communication barrier
Behavioral Barriers:
- Uncompulsory liability
- Lack of incentive mechanism
Technical Barriers:
- Lack of information collaborative systems
- Application in different projects
Figure 4 Barriers triangle in information flows in quality management
(1) Organizational barriers: these are barriers due to the organizational structure of the
firms involved in a construction project; include multi-level structure barriers and
horizontal communication barriers.
(2) Behavioral barriers: these are barriers mainly due to behavioral characteristics of
12
related persons and posts; include uncompulsory liability and lack of incentive
mechanism.
(3) Technical barriers: these are barriers mainly due to the technical characteristics of
information in construction projects. Lack of information collaborative system and
application in different projects are two main aspects.
For current organizational structure of most construction firms, multi-level structure and
horizontal communication barrier might affect efficiency of information flows if there
were no suitable information exchange process. According to the scope of information,
the information management in a construction project can be divided into two categories,
i.e. the management of internal information and that of exchanged information. The
former denotes that within each party, for example, the information management within a
contractor; while the latter denotes that across at least two parties to collaborate their
activities. Multi-level structure and horizontal communication barrier are the main
information barriers separated the former and later.
Given one of project departments found that some supplier provided non-conforming
materials, he maybe delivered the information to sub-firm. The sub-firm would feedback
the information to the firm, and then the firm transferred the information to other sub-
firms, which would transfer it to their project departments (see Figure 5).
13
Firm
Sub-firm
Project department
A
B1
C1
B3
C2 C3 C4
B2
C6 C5
Figure 5 Current information flows in a construction
Note: the oval in shadow represents the project department unveiled that some
supplier provided non-conforming materials.
From Figure 5, it indicates that it needs four steps for information flows from the
beginning that one of the project departments found that some supplier provided non-
conforming materials to other project departments obtained the information. In general
the project department unveiling the problem could not sharing the information directly
with other project departments due to horizontal communication barriers, namely, no
economic and administrative links. Thus the complicated information flows resulted in
problems, such as that, other project departments could not obtained the information if
information flows suspension occurred. Under this case, it is possible for these project
departments to continue purchasing materials from the unqualified supplier, which could
result in severe effects on the final products constructed.
Therefore reengineering the existing information flow channels was a major consideration
for the construction industry. If a project department found an unqualified subcontractor
or material supplier, he should feedback the information to the firm immediately and
transfer it to other project departments at the same time (see Figure 6).
14
Firm
Sub-firm
Project department
From Figure 6, it shows that all of the project departments share information and exclude
the unqualified material suppliers. For intermediary processes of information flows, it
decreases the risk of suspension of information flows. The unqualified subcontractor or
supplier is then deleted from the firm’s qualified lists in time.
Secondly, administrators’ liability and incentive mechanism are missing in related
information transfer processes, they might block information flows in quality
improvement.
In the construction industry, asymmetry information includes two aspects from interior
and exterior of a construction firm.
On one hand, asymmetry information is reflected from a contractor, subcontractors and
suppliers. In general, subcontractors and suppliers could understand the contractor’s
requirement on quality. On the contrary, contractor grasps a little information on the
competence of quality management of subcontractors and suppliers, inter alia, the small
sizes. Moreover, there is no formalized division of work and economic relationship, but
administrative link, between firm, sub-firms and project departments. The liability of the
A
B1
C1
B3
C2 C3 C4
B2
C6 C5
Figure 6 Improvement of information flows in a construction firm
Note: the oval in shadow represents the project department unveiled that some
supplier provided non-conforming materials. The dotted line represents the omitted
information flows.
15
leader in a firm for the performance of firm is different from project managers’ liability.
This is likely to tempt project managers to take high-risk decisions and actions. The
potential success of the actions might lead the project managers to high rewards.
Nevertheless, the failure of these actions could cause huge financial loss to the firm.
Therefore quality problems in construction due to utilization of low quality materials are
not strange in China. That is to a great extent dependent on reform of enterprise’s
ownership.
On the other hand, asymmetry information in a construction firm reflects the imbalance of
information transferring and information feedback. The information on quality
management transferred from the firm to sub-firms and project departments is much more
than information feedback from the departments to firm. Project departments concentrate
their attentions on construction quality of the project undertaken by them. In general, they
did not share information with their counterparts directly.
Thirdly, information share among all parties and application in different construction
projects can hardly technically realized if firms didn’t have necessary IT infrastructure,
information collaborative system and related business process. They are main technical
barriers of information flows in quality improvement.
Discussion
Construction industry has two particular characteristics: (1) there are many participants
involved in a single project. (2) combinations of participants are various in different
construction projects. The former requires an effective information collaborative system
to realize information share among multi-parties in a project. The later requires that this
information collaborative system can be applied in different projects even the
16
combinations of participants are changed.
Consider these two characteristics, a web-based approach can be proposed to develop a
system for information flows in quality management in construction projects. The use of
the internet as the communication platform can help information transfer more effectively
during the construction process. Developing a communication system for the multiparty
in construction projects to collaborate on web can also improve information flows in
construction project management. On the other hand, new participants in different
projects can also learn to use such a web-based information system in little time and low
cost. It is obvious that the technical problems can be overcome by utilizing the
information and network technology that prevails in recent years.
Reengineering the existing information flow channels is necessary in the construction
industry. For a project department, once he found information on construction quality,
such as unqualified subcontractor or a material supplier, he should feedback the
information to the firm immediately and transfer it to other project departments at the
same time. Currently, information feedback step by step is not conducive to quality
management.
Conclusions
The construction industry has always been bedeviled with great difficulties in sharing
information among its participants. Information flows and exchanges are very important
in implementing ISO 9001 and improving quality management. Due to the characteristics
of the construction industry, information transferring is easier than information feedback
in a construction firm’s quality management. In general there are two information
asymmetry including internal information exchanges and external information opacity.
17
Thus it is important for construction firms to reengineer their information flow channels
for decreasing risk due to information flow suspension. That needs construction firms to
create a culture and environment to conducive to sharing information.
References
Albino, V., Pontrandlfo, P. and Scozzi, B. (2002), “Analysis of information flows to
enhance the coordination of production processes”, International Journal of
Production Economics, Vol. 75 No. 1/2, pp. 7-19.
Arditi, D. and Gunaydin, H.M. (1998), “Factors that affect process quality in the life
cycle of building projects”, Journal of Construction Engineering and
Management, ASCE, Vol. 124 No. 3, pp. 194-203.
Austin, S.A., Baldwin, A.N. and Newton, A.J . (1994), “Improved building design
programming by manipulating the flow of design information”, Construction
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Baldwin, A.N., Austin, S.A., Hassan, T.M. and Thorpe, A. (1999), “Modeling
information flow during the conceptual and schematic stages of building design”,
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Barua, A. and Ravindran, S. (1996), “Reengineering information sharing behaviour in
organizations”, Journal of Information Technology, Vol. 11 No. 3, pp. 261-72.
Bubshait, A.A. and Al-Atiq, T.H. (1999), “ISO 9000 quality standards in construction”,
Journal of Management in Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 15, No. 6, pp. 41-46.
Checkland, P.B. and Holwell, S. (1998), Information, Systems and Information Systems,
J ohn Wiley & Son, Chichester.
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Chini, A.R. and Valdez, H.E. (2003), “ISO 9000 and the U.S. construction industry”,
J ournal of Management in Engineering, ASCE, 19(2), 78-82.
Cipriano F. (1995), “The impact of information systems on quality performance: an
empirical study”, International Journal of Operations & Production Management,
Vol. 15 No. 6, pp. 69 – 83.
Fok, L.Y., Fok, W.M. and Hartman, S. J . (2001), “Exploring the relationship between
quality management and information systems development”, Information &
Management, Vol. 38 No. 6, pp. 335-71.
Forza, C. (1995) “Quality information systems and quality management: a reference
model and associated measures for empirical research”, Industrial Management &
Data Systems, Vol. 95 No. 2, pp. 6-14.
Edum-Fotwe, F.T., Thorpe, A. and McCaffer R. (2001), “Information procurement
practices of key actors in construction supply chains”, European Journal of
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ISO. (2004) The ISO survey of ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001 certificates 2003.
It is almost a commonplace to describe the current business environmental setting as turbulent. The marketplace has become more global and service oriented and clients' tastes have become more demanding and sophisticated (Albino et al., 2002). Under this circumstance, many firms have found it is increasing difficulties to compete. To survive in the current business environment, it is necessary to look for ways to improve quality and productivity in order to enhance their competitive edges.
Managing Information Flows for Quality Improvement in Construction
S.X. Zeng
1
, G.X. Lou
1
and Vivian, W.Y. Tam
2
1
Aetna School of Management, Shanghai J iaotong University, Shanghai, 200052,
PR China
2
School of Engineering, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, PMB50 Gold Coast
Mail Centre, Qld 9726, Australia
Abstract
The construction industry has always been bedeviled with great difficulties in sharing
information among its participants. Although many construction firms have claimed to be
ISO 9000-certified, there is still missing an effective channel of information flow for
quality management. There are information asymmetries in quality management from
internal and external organizations. Internally, information asymmetry exists between
contractor, subcontractors and suppliers; and externally, there is no information sharing
mechanism between project departments; information feedback is more difficult than
information transferring in a construction firm. This paper analyses the channel of
information flow for quality management. It proposes to reengineer current management
strategy for establishing an effective information network for quality management.
Keywords: Information flow, asymmetry information, quality management, projects
1
Introduction
It is almost a commonplace to describe the current business environmental setting as
turbulent. The marketplace has become more global and service oriented and clients’
tastes have become more demanding and sophisticated (Albino et al., 2002). Under this
circumstance, many firms have found it is increasing difficulties to compete. To survive
in the current business environment, it is necessary to look for ways to improve quality
and productivity in order to enhance their competitive edges (Tan et al., 2003).
Since the introduction of ISO 9000 in 1987, the number of organizations certified under
the scheme has been constantly increasing all over the world. The implementations and
certifications of quality system on ISO 9001 have been a major activity for many
organizations and become a widespread phenomenon (Yeung et al., 2003). Many studies
revealed that effective implementation of ISO 9000 quality standards can benefit the
certified-organizations through the improvement of management control, efficiency,
productivity, and customer services (Terziovski et al., 2003). According to a survey
conducted by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), global ISO
9001:2000 registrations surpassed the 500,000 mark at the end of 2003 (ISO, 2004), in
which it can show the concerns of quality improvement.
Among all industrial sectors, the construction industry has the third highest number of
ISO 9000 certificates (Chini and Valdez, 2003). This indicates the construction firms’
active attitude is facing the international standards series. In construction, the final
product is produced by activities in process. However, construction process is not of a
production line in the manufacturing industry but is composed of concurrent activities on
a construction site. Quality assurance in construction focuses on process control (Arditi
and Gunaydin, 1998). In practice, it is more difficult to implement the scheme for quality
2
assurance in the construction industry than in manufacturing industry due to the
characteristics of the construction setting (Tam et al., 2000). Hence the proportion of the
construction firms of ISO 9001 certified which deemed ISO 9001 an effective quality
management means is not high (Zeng et al., 2004).
ISO 9001 focuses on confirming process conformance from the initial development of a
product through production, test, installation and servicing. Information management has
been a key factor affecting the effective implementation of the standard (Cipriano, 1995).
The information management system required for this standard is not just a database with
predefined reports; rather, it is the support for trouble-shooting, decision-making and
knowledge management (Lari, 2002). Due to dispersed projects undertaken by a
construction firms, effective information flows among project teams for a firm is very
important in implementing quality assurance (J aggar et al., 2001).
There are number of literature studies on quality management in construction.
Nevertheless much of the literature focuses on quality management system and factors
affecting quality. It appears that little research was conducted to investigate information
flows in quality management in construction. Thus this paper explores information
requirements and information flows in quality assurance. The analysis could be helpful
for quality management in pursuing continuous quality improvement in construction.
Previous studies
The literature has been descriptive; in particular, describing information flow in an
organization for improving production and quality for the organizations. Albino et al.
(2002) proposed a methodology to describe and analyze the information flows involved in
the coordination of production process. They developed the concept of coordination load
3
associated with process based on (i) the structure of the considered process, in terms of
dependencies among process tasks, (ii) the adopted coordination form, in terms of who
decides and executes what, and (iii) the context, in terms of uncertainty, variability and
equivocality. A study by Fok et al. (2001) explored the inter-relationships among three
organizational factors: total quality management program adoption, information system
development and culture.
Lari (2002) analysed the information requirements of ISO 9000 standards and identified
the areas where a decision support system could be used. They developed a conceptual
framework for company-wide information management, which explained the modular
approach to the system development by introducing and empirically testing the prototype
model in a corrective and preventive actions module. The proposed system will provide
the conceptual structure for quality assurance information system within organizations.
Beckett et al. (2000) described the practical application, in an industrial setting, of an
information system designed to support continuous improvement. This system, based on a
quality monitoring system, differs from conventional application in that it seeks to
support both quality conformance and continuous improvements to design and research
activities. Tan et al. (2003) proposed a quality information structure within WWW-based
intranet infrastructure and analysed the role of quality information system (QIS) in the e-
commence integrated environment. Four main functions were constructed via six basic
modules. Each function was described with IDEFO (what is the full name of IDEFO?)
diagrams. Under this QIS, organizations will be better able to manager their quality
related knowledge.
Some researchers paid attention to the role of information management in quality
management in construction. Pietroforte (1997) proposed a conceptual framework for
4
interpreting the impact of different organizational forms of transaction on the use of
information and communication in the building process. Baldwin et al. (1999) produced a
generic model of the conceptual and schematic design process for building data flow
diagrams. Ndekugri and McCaffer (1998) outlined information flows of basic
management functions of the construction firm for planning, estimating, cashflow
forecasting, cost control, and accounting.
Information and information requirements
Information definition
There are numbers of definitions on information. For example, Checkland and Howlell
(1998) suggested that information could be defined as some data selected for a specific
purpose. Information about a construction project quality is communicated to whoever
needs it, whenever they need it, in whatever form they need it so that they meet their
objectives for quality management and improvement (Ndekugri and McCaffer, 1988). It
has stated that quality information management is concerned with communication and
covers its acquisition, generation, preparation, organization and dissemination, evaluation
and management of information resources (J aggar et al., 2001). Also, many researchers
studied the characteristics of information flows and the coordination form within an
organization (Austin et al., 1994; Barua and Ravindran, 1996). Information flows are
typically characterized by evaluating the number of messages and information processing
activities that occur in firms. The uncertainty and equivocality of information result in the
complexity of research on information flows (J ehiel, 1999).
Information in quality management system
5
The ISO 9000 standards describe a set of fundamental elements that enable the design and
implementation of quality management systems. The ISO 9000:1994 standards contain
three auditable certification standards, i.e., ISO 9001/2/3. They provide corresponding
clauses for different types of business including companies that design their own products
and services (20 clauses), companies that do everything except design (19 clauses), and
companies where products and services can be verified only by inspections and tests (16
clauses).
Major changes were incorporated in ISO 9000:2000 version. The latest ISO 9001:2000
revision is based on the following eight quality management principles: (i) customer-
focused organizations; (ii) leadership; (iii) involvement of people; (iv) process approach;
(v) system approach to management; (vi) continual improvement; (vii) factual approach
to decision making; and (viii) mutually beneficial supplier relationships. Based on these
eight guiding principles, the 20 clauses of the ISO 9001:1994 were revised into the
following five main management requirements: (i) quality management system; (ii)
management responsibility; (iii) resources management; (iv) product realization; and (v)
measurement, analysis, and improvement (see Figure 1). The ISO 9001:2000 standards
integrated the three auditable certification standards, which places emphasis on process
management and resource management and has commonality of architecture with ISO
9004, so that quality assurance requirements and quality management can be aligned
holistically.
6
Figure 1 ISO 9001:2000 requirements
ISO 9001 is a documentation-based communication tool, therefore some information is
indispensable according to certain clauses of ISO 9001 (Tan et al., 2003). The types of
information and their related clauses are listed in Table 1.
Table 1 The types of information and their related clauses of ISO 9001 standard
Information Clauses Descriptions
4.2.2 Quality manual The organization shall prepare a quality manual that shall
include a description of the elements of the quality management
system and their interaction and the system level procedures.
4.2.3 Control of
documents
The organization shall establish quality management system
level procedures for the operation of the quality management
system. A master list or an equivalent document control
procedures, identifying the current revision status of documents,
shall be established and be readily available.
Document
management
4.2.4 Control of records Quality records appropriate to the organization shall be
maintained to demonstrate conformance to the requirements and
the effective operation of the quality management system.
7
5.5.3 Internal
communication
The organization shall establish and maintain procedures for
internal communication between the various levels and
functions regarding the quality management system and its
effectiveness.
7.2.3 Customer
communication.
The organization shall implement arrangements for
communication with customers to meet customer requirements.
5.6 Management review To provide the management of information help to define,
document and control their quality policy. Information
requirements include review meeting to assess quality systems;
organization chart, and job descriptions.
6.2.2 Training To provide information that can detect the training deficiencies
and provide plans to keep all employees updated and equipped
with the required knowledge. Information requirements include
training records; training plans; courses; teachers; educational
service providers; quality manual.
Message exchanges
8.2.2 Internal audits To appraise processes to determine whether they are operating
within their documented procedure and to decide whether they
are effective for their intent. Information requirements include
quality audit reports; corrective and preventive action reports;
quality manual; quality plan; procedures; forms; standard
operation sheets; checklists.
Information requirements in quality management
In the construction industry, contractors have to collect much external and internal
information as information input for quality management. The external information
required includes: i) client’s requirements on quality; ii) project supervisors; iii) relevant
quality standards for checking; iv) subcontractors; and v) material suppliers and venders.
And, internal information required includes: i) organization structure; ii) quality
management system; iii) quality management plan; iv) information of construction
technology; v) information of construction equipment; and vi) workers. The inputted
information needs to be processed and utilized effectively and becomes conducive to
quality management (see Figure 2).
8
Information input
External Information:
Client's requirement on quality
Project supervision
Information of legal and policy
Relevant standards for checking
Information of subcontractors
Information of material suppliers
Venders
Internal Information:
Organization structure
Quality management system
Quality assurance plan
Information of construction
technology
Information of construction
equipment
Information of workers
Information processing Information output
Design drawing and specification
Supervising plans and records
Process control
Process control
Evaluation on subcontractors
Evaluation on material suppliers
Evaluation on vendors
Organizational chart
Quality manual & procedure
Quality plan
Construction schedule
Construction schedule
Certified skill & training records
Quality improvement
Figure 2 Information flow chart
From Table 2, it indicates that information exchange is the necessary part in
implementing the ISO 9000 successfully. Therefore it is important for construction firms
to create environment and culture for sharing information.
Table 2 Major clauses of ISO 9000 on information exchange for quality management
in construction
Clause in ISO 9001:1994 vision Clause in ISO 9001:2000 vision Descriptions on important items
•Contract review (4.3) •Documentation requirements (4.2)
Client’s requirements on quality
• Document and data control
(4.5)
•Documentation requirements (4.2)
Quality manual, quality records, quality
checklists
•Purchasing (4.6)
•Purchasing (7.4)
Evaluation on subcontractors and suppliers
•Process control (4.9) •Provision of resources (6.1)
• Planning of product realization
(7.1)
Key construction process control
•Inspection and testing (4.10) •Control of monitoring and
measuring devices (7.6)
Key process and major material
9
• Control of nonconforming
product (4.13)
•Control of nonconforming product
(8.3)
Control measures
•Corrective and preventive
action (4.14)
•Improvement (8.5)
Preventive action
• Handling, storage, packaging,
preservation & delivery
(4.15)
•Production and service provision
(7.5)
Preservation of built parts
•Internal quality audit (4.17) •Internal audits (8.2.2)
Common quality problems
•Servicing (4.19) •Customer-related processes (7.2)
Feedback on quality from clients
•Statistical techniques (4.20) •Analysis of data (8.4)
Sample data
Information flows in quality management
Given a construction firm, it has three levels within organizational structure including
firm, sub-firms and project departments. The multi-level organizational structure renders
many difficulties in information transferring and feedback (Loosemore, 1998). In general,
the firm level but sub-firms level or project department level plays a pivotal role in
certification of the ISO 9000 quality assurance systems. Much of the work including
quality manuals and procedures document writing, training, internal audit and
management review are organized and finished by the quality assurance group in the firm
level. Indeed, the plan of quality assurance must be implemented by all the project
departments. Thus information flows including information transferring and feedback
among all the different levels in a construction firm will form the necessary foundation
for effective quality management and quality assurance.
The ISO 9000 quality assurance systems highlight more effective information exchange
in quality management. In this paper we assumed that information is transferred from
high to low level (that is from firm to sub-firms and project departments), and
10
information feedback is from low to high level (that is from project departments and sub-
firms to firm) (see Figure 3).
Firm
Sub-firm
Project department
A
B1
C1
B3
C2 C3 C4
B2
C6 C5
A
B1
C1
B3
C2 C3 C4
B2
C6
C5
(a) information transferring (b) information feedback
Figure 3 Information flows on quality management
The construction industry has always been bedeviled with great difficulties in sharing
information among participants. In general two major kinds of information flows are
including: (i) information transferring from project departments to firm; and (ii)
information exchange between project departments. Information transferring is easier
than information feedback due to the industry-specific characteristics. For example,
according to requirements of “purchasing” in Clause 4.6 (in ISO 9000:1994), a contractor
needs to create lists of qualified subcontractors and qualified material suppliers. When the
firm has chosen the qualified subcontractors and material suppliers, he will create lists
covered the qualified candidates and transfer the information to sub-firms and project
departments. On the basis of the lists, each project department has to choose the candidate
from the lists.
11
Barriers in information flows in quality management
To examine information barrier in business process is important for managing
information flow in quality improvement. Theodoros and Phillip (2005) discussed three
fundamental types of information barriers in market research and business intelligence
executives. Stephen et al. (2004) discussed information problems in e-commerce system
for construction material procurement and provided recommendation to avoid them. Ma
et al. (2004) introduced the deficiencies in the information exchange process among
multi-parties in project and discussed the way of using XML to support information
exchange in construction projects.
In this paper, three types of barriers to information flows in quality management were
examined, as outlined in Figure 4.
Organizational Barriers:
- Multi-level structure
- Horizontal communication barrier
Behavioral Barriers:
- Uncompulsory liability
- Lack of incentive mechanism
Technical Barriers:
- Lack of information collaborative systems
- Application in different projects
Figure 4 Barriers triangle in information flows in quality management
(1) Organizational barriers: these are barriers due to the organizational structure of the
firms involved in a construction project; include multi-level structure barriers and
horizontal communication barriers.
(2) Behavioral barriers: these are barriers mainly due to behavioral characteristics of
12
related persons and posts; include uncompulsory liability and lack of incentive
mechanism.
(3) Technical barriers: these are barriers mainly due to the technical characteristics of
information in construction projects. Lack of information collaborative system and
application in different projects are two main aspects.
For current organizational structure of most construction firms, multi-level structure and
horizontal communication barrier might affect efficiency of information flows if there
were no suitable information exchange process. According to the scope of information,
the information management in a construction project can be divided into two categories,
i.e. the management of internal information and that of exchanged information. The
former denotes that within each party, for example, the information management within a
contractor; while the latter denotes that across at least two parties to collaborate their
activities. Multi-level structure and horizontal communication barrier are the main
information barriers separated the former and later.
Given one of project departments found that some supplier provided non-conforming
materials, he maybe delivered the information to sub-firm. The sub-firm would feedback
the information to the firm, and then the firm transferred the information to other sub-
firms, which would transfer it to their project departments (see Figure 5).
13
Firm
Sub-firm
Project department
A
B1
C1
B3
C2 C3 C4
B2
C6 C5
Figure 5 Current information flows in a construction
Note: the oval in shadow represents the project department unveiled that some
supplier provided non-conforming materials.
From Figure 5, it indicates that it needs four steps for information flows from the
beginning that one of the project departments found that some supplier provided non-
conforming materials to other project departments obtained the information. In general
the project department unveiling the problem could not sharing the information directly
with other project departments due to horizontal communication barriers, namely, no
economic and administrative links. Thus the complicated information flows resulted in
problems, such as that, other project departments could not obtained the information if
information flows suspension occurred. Under this case, it is possible for these project
departments to continue purchasing materials from the unqualified supplier, which could
result in severe effects on the final products constructed.
Therefore reengineering the existing information flow channels was a major consideration
for the construction industry. If a project department found an unqualified subcontractor
or material supplier, he should feedback the information to the firm immediately and
transfer it to other project departments at the same time (see Figure 6).
14
Firm
Sub-firm
Project department
From Figure 6, it shows that all of the project departments share information and exclude
the unqualified material suppliers. For intermediary processes of information flows, it
decreases the risk of suspension of information flows. The unqualified subcontractor or
supplier is then deleted from the firm’s qualified lists in time.
Secondly, administrators’ liability and incentive mechanism are missing in related
information transfer processes, they might block information flows in quality
improvement.
In the construction industry, asymmetry information includes two aspects from interior
and exterior of a construction firm.
On one hand, asymmetry information is reflected from a contractor, subcontractors and
suppliers. In general, subcontractors and suppliers could understand the contractor’s
requirement on quality. On the contrary, contractor grasps a little information on the
competence of quality management of subcontractors and suppliers, inter alia, the small
sizes. Moreover, there is no formalized division of work and economic relationship, but
administrative link, between firm, sub-firms and project departments. The liability of the
A
B1
C1
B3
C2 C3 C4
B2
C6 C5
Figure 6 Improvement of information flows in a construction firm
Note: the oval in shadow represents the project department unveiled that some
supplier provided non-conforming materials. The dotted line represents the omitted
information flows.
15
leader in a firm for the performance of firm is different from project managers’ liability.
This is likely to tempt project managers to take high-risk decisions and actions. The
potential success of the actions might lead the project managers to high rewards.
Nevertheless, the failure of these actions could cause huge financial loss to the firm.
Therefore quality problems in construction due to utilization of low quality materials are
not strange in China. That is to a great extent dependent on reform of enterprise’s
ownership.
On the other hand, asymmetry information in a construction firm reflects the imbalance of
information transferring and information feedback. The information on quality
management transferred from the firm to sub-firms and project departments is much more
than information feedback from the departments to firm. Project departments concentrate
their attentions on construction quality of the project undertaken by them. In general, they
did not share information with their counterparts directly.
Thirdly, information share among all parties and application in different construction
projects can hardly technically realized if firms didn’t have necessary IT infrastructure,
information collaborative system and related business process. They are main technical
barriers of information flows in quality improvement.
Discussion
Construction industry has two particular characteristics: (1) there are many participants
involved in a single project. (2) combinations of participants are various in different
construction projects. The former requires an effective information collaborative system
to realize information share among multi-parties in a project. The later requires that this
information collaborative system can be applied in different projects even the
16
combinations of participants are changed.
Consider these two characteristics, a web-based approach can be proposed to develop a
system for information flows in quality management in construction projects. The use of
the internet as the communication platform can help information transfer more effectively
during the construction process. Developing a communication system for the multiparty
in construction projects to collaborate on web can also improve information flows in
construction project management. On the other hand, new participants in different
projects can also learn to use such a web-based information system in little time and low
cost. It is obvious that the technical problems can be overcome by utilizing the
information and network technology that prevails in recent years.
Reengineering the existing information flow channels is necessary in the construction
industry. For a project department, once he found information on construction quality,
such as unqualified subcontractor or a material supplier, he should feedback the
information to the firm immediately and transfer it to other project departments at the
same time. Currently, information feedback step by step is not conducive to quality
management.
Conclusions
The construction industry has always been bedeviled with great difficulties in sharing
information among its participants. Information flows and exchanges are very important
in implementing ISO 9001 and improving quality management. Due to the characteristics
of the construction industry, information transferring is easier than information feedback
in a construction firm’s quality management. In general there are two information
asymmetry including internal information exchanges and external information opacity.
17
Thus it is important for construction firms to reengineer their information flow channels
for decreasing risk due to information flow suspension. That needs construction firms to
create a culture and environment to conducive to sharing information.
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