Afri-Infra Group (Pty) Ltd is a South African construction company specializing in project management, civil and utilities, civil engineering, transport engineering and asset management. Recently, there have been various arguments among regulatory bodies that an accredited quality management system should be a standard requirement in the civil and consulting industry. The above-mentioned company requested an analysis to be carried out to determine an appropriate and useful quality management system to be developed and implemented in all four regional offices.
ISO 9001:2008 has been identified as the most suitable and recommended system for implementation in the construction and project management industry. A gap analysis compared the current system with the requirements of the international standard and found that implementing ISO 9001:2008 will improve the company's compliance by 82.04% overall. The effective management of the system and the implementation of the developed documents will increase the quality of the services rendered and the probability of international accreditation.
Background on the Company
Problem Definition
The aim of the project is to specify and develop a Quality Management System to be implemented in the company that is suitable for the Construction Engineering and Project Management Industry and will be eligible for accreditation by a recognized organization such as the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS). The project analyzes whether a Quality Management System is appropriate for the problem definition and determines which Quality Management Systems are available to implement in the company's four regional offices. Research has been done on the available Quality Management Systems to determine the best and most appropriate system to develop.
An industry-related study was conducted to determine which quality management system is currently preferred in the civil engineering and project management industry and what difficulties other companies have encountered in developing and implementing such a system. An implementation plan has been developed to address the shortcomings identified, but the actual implementation of the ISO system falls outside the scope of this project.
Activities and tasks
Final project presentation and poster UP presentation by November 7, 2011. Table 1 - Project activities, tasks and milestones.
Project Resources
Project Budget
The project budget is calculated using Microsoft Project, where the planned hours required per employee, the employee's overhead rate and their availability are taken into account. The resource rates used in Microsoft Project with the various overhead rates are provided in Appendix B. Printing and Graphic Design All file dividers by the minute Print all file covers at Vavro Plastics.
Project Gantt Chart
Introduction
Quality Management
ISO 9000 Quality Management System
The ISO 9000 series of quality management standards was originally published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1987 and was first revised in 1994 so that it can be applied to all industries. It has been developed in such a way that the general guidelines used in the process can be integrated into any type of industry. However, the rewards received after implementation are well worth the effort put into the system.
The ISO 9001:2008 standard (International Standards Organization, 2009) recommends the implementation of the "Plan-Do-Check-Act" Methodology (PDCA) to process based systems during system development. The system ensures improved working conditions, job satisfaction, health and safety and increased employment stability for the organization's employees. In conclusion, ISO 9001:2008 can be applied to virtually any business as it has been developed in such a way that the general guidelines used in the process can be integrated into any type of industry (International Standards Organization, 2009).
Six Sigma
Kaizen
System Comparison
Industry Survey
Conclusion on the Literature Review
The following steps were taken to effectively develop a quality management system that complies with the requirements of the ISO 9001 standard and is appropriate for the company.
Review ISO 9001:2008 Requirements
The standard requires that senior management commit to the development and implementation of the Quality Management System and its continuous improvement. The standard requires that the organization effectively manage and supply the resources necessary for the effective development and implementation of the Quality Management System. It is the responsibility of the organization to ensure that human resources are competent to perform work that affects the realization of the product and that the necessary actions are implemented to ensure their competence.
Where design and development are applicable, sufficient design reviews, validation of design results against inputs, and verification of the delivered product against identified needs must be demonstrated. When the organization does not meet the requirements or supplies a product that does not conform to the requirements for which it was intended, the necessary measures must be taken to eliminate the non-conformity. It is recommended that effective risk management is implemented to address potential non-conformities resulting from unforeseen circumstances.
The standard also requires the organization to internally audit its quality management system to determine whether the system complies with the requirements of the standard and whether the system is effectively implemented. In order for an organization to be certified by an accredited institution, sufficient records must be established as evidence of compliance with the requirements specified in the international standard.
Gap Analysis
The results of the gap analysis, as shown in Figures 4 and 5 below, reveal a sufficient need for improvement and development of the current processes. The development of a quality management system based on ISO 9001:2008 is highly recommended, as it would improve the overall business by 82.04%.
Introduction
Quality Manual Policies
A detailed description of the sub-processes and activities in each process as shown in a flow diagram is fully described, with reference to specific agreements, documents, records and procedures. The standard requires that the process of the quality management system be continuously monitored for effectiveness. Each policy applies the specific performance measurement criteria to the process to be measured for continuous improvement.
The specific intellectual and physical resources required for the effective management and operation of the process are stated in the policy and will be reviewed on an ongoing basis by management. The full set of process policies can be viewed on the Quality Manual CD-ROM that accompanies this document.
Quality Manual Procedures
As a requirement stated in the general management policy, staff must clearly indicate on a replaced document that the document is out of date. To ensure that the relevant versions of documents are available at points of use, a web-based Afri-Infra Group Global Access File Server was established. The website ensures that all authorized personnel can access the latest versions of documents from home, the office, the construction site or any place where there is access to the Internet.
Records control is achieved through the introduction of a records control register that applies to each regional office. A documented process has been developed to ensure that any non-conforming product/service is identified and controlled and that its inadvertent supply or use is prevented. The process for preventive action, as shown in Appendix I, is directly related to effective risk management.
The steps of effective risk management, as stated in the Legal and Risk Policy with reference to the ISO Organization, International Standards, 2009), are shown in Figure 9 below. The spreadsheet analyzes risks based on the probability of occurrence and the severity of the consequences of the risk. Based on the risk assessment, preventive measures are taken to limit risks or prevent the occurrence of defects and non-compliance with requirements.
The company will schedule and perform internal audits on the Quality Management System according to the Procedure for Internal Audit as set out in Appendix J, to determine whether the Quality Management System is effectively implemented, maintained and meets the requirements of ISO 9001:2008. To ensure control over all processes of the Quality Management System, several process-specific procedures were developed and simplified using flowcharts. A service level agreement between the company and a subcontractor is recommended to ensure control over outsourced processes.
The complete set of procedures is available on the Quality Manual CD-ROM attached to this document.
Standard Documentation
The Mandatory Location Clarification Meeting Evaluation Form shown in Appendix L is used when you attend the Mandatory Location Clarification Meeting. The form analyzes whether tendering for a particular project would be financially feasible by reviewing the time required, project scope and available resources. A project (quality) plan, as shown in Appendix M, has been developed to assist in project planning and management.
Suppliers of products and services will be evaluated to determine the effectiveness of the purchasing policy and the quality of the service received. To effectively measure customer satisfaction, a customer feedback form is presented to the customer as shown in Appendix O. A quality assurance checklist for design and development is shown as an example in Appendix P.
To ensure continuous improvement of the Quality Management System, a Management Review Matrix, as shown in figure 10 below, has been developed in conjunction with the appropriate meeting agendas to ensure that the system is reviewed at planned intervals. The complete set of standard internal and external documents can be found on the Quality Manual CD-ROM attached to this document. Specific areas of the quality management system were implemented during the development stage to inspect the effectiveness of the action taken during development.
The Non-Conforming Service Control Procedure has been applied to a recent project in Duva Park, Mpumalanga. The Non-Conforming Service Report for the 2007/11 Duva Park Roads and Stormwater Project is presented in Appendix R. Upon inspection of various measuring equipment used by site staff, two dump levels, a leveling staff and two measuring tapes were found to be damaged.
The effective management of the system and implementation of the documents developed will drastically increase the likelihood of international accreditation. Management commitment was found to be a major problem in maintaining the system. Top management is strongly advised to promote the quality management system and ensure that the system is clearly communicated to all staff.
