Assessment of the Application of Total Quality Management and Building Maintenance Operations in Building Construction in Abuja, Nigeria

Assessment of the Application of Total Quality Management and Building Maintenance Operations in Building Construction in Abuja, Nigeria

CHAPTER ONE

Objective of the study

The main objective of the study is to assess the application of total quality management and building maintenance operation in building construction in Abuja. The specific objectives are;

Identify the Total Quality Management practices used by contractors in building maintenance operation in Abuja
To determine the level of commitment of contractors to Total Quality Management Practices in building maintenance operation in Abuja.
To examine the challenges encountered by contractors while implementing Total Quality Management during the execution of maintenance operation.
To propose measures for effective quality assurance practice through the use of TQM in the building industry.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

Maintenance could be defined as the work undertaken to restore facility to an acceptable standard and at an minimum cost and also getting personnel involve in the process and as well ensure their empowerment for quality work output. (Iyagba, 2005 and Wahab, 1987). Quality could be explained according to Lam (2000) and Ashworth (1994) as totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bears on its stated ability or implied needs and its acceptability. The acceptability of a product however is dependent upon its satisfactory performance over a period of time, which is referred to as Quality assurance or reliability.

Quality assurance aims at getting things right first time and to provide platform upon which consistent improvement could be based.

It is regarded as the prevention of problems undermining quality through planned systematic activities. These involve establishing good quality management system, and the assessment of its adequacy. The planned systematic activity to be used in preventing problems undermining quality is through applying the Total Quality Management system principles. (Rao 1998 and Ashworth 1994).

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design

This research adopted a quantitative approach. Quantitative research employs numeric data such as scores and metrics (Bhattacherjee, 2012). According to Cresway (1994) qualitative methods have been considered capable of studying complex situations, involving human beings and yielding rich findings. It has resulted in the increase of their popularity especially in the built environment

Quantitative research is characterized by the assumption that human behavior can be explained by what may be termed as social facts which can be investigated by methodologies that use deductive logic of natural science. Quantitative research is primarily aimed at quantifying the variation in a phenomenon, situation, problem or issue through information gathered Using predominantly quantitative variable and the analysis is carried out to ascertain the magnitude of the variation. Method of data collection described in orderly manner in the aspects of how the data were collected and where the data were sourced. Quantitative data was collected from building contractors that were involved in housing development in Abuja

Research Population

Population is group of individuals that have common characteristics which are of interest to the researcher. The targeted population for this research are building contractors registered with Federal Housing Authority in Abuja

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF RESULTS

Profile of the Respondents

The surveyed respondents and the firm’s profile are presented in this section of the study. The major variables discussed in an attempt to describe the profile of the respondents included the respondents’ position in the firm, the highest level of qualification, and the experience of the respondents in the construction industry. The major variables also presented in an attempt to describe the profile of the firm were the type of organisation, the firm’s years of operation, and the major works undertaken by the firms for the past 5 years, the firm’s major clients, and the category of firm.

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusion

The study assess the of the application of total quality management and building maintenance operation in building construction in Abuja with emphases on building contractors registered with the Federal Housing Authority and the objectives set for this purpose were to determine whether contractors are committed to Total Quality Management Practices in the building maintenance, determine the challenges encountered by contractors while implementing Total Quality Management during building maintenance and proposing measures for effective total quality management practice leading to a higher levels of satisfaction in the Construction Industry.

It can be concluded that for meeting quality building maintenance most of research factors considered in project performance measurement. In addition, the most significant indicators for Quality or getting more jobs as a result of previous good works done, management commitment to quality and the overall client or customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the most severe challenges encountered during the implementation of Total Quality management are; lack of effective supervision, lack of effective communication, lack of management’s commitment to quality assurance, lack of proper equipment available for use and lack of a quality assurance team to lead.

Total Quality Management practices therefore remain optimum for achieving effective building maintenance in all types of infrastructural development. To this end, the recommendations submitted in this research would assist contractors in practicing effective total quality management during the execution of their projects.

Recommendations

Provision of budget for routine maintenance.
Teaching personnel ways/method of assessing quality of work married out.
There should be effective communication of information on work quality-standard to personnel
Delegation of responsibility
Work schedule should be flexible to minimize error and accident.
Using conventional method in fault detection during maintenance operation.
Financial allocation should be put in place for emergency.
Maintenance allocation should be ranged based on frequency of equipment utilization, and period of purchase .

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