This study examined the application of the concept of total quality management (TQM) in the areas of facilities design and construction engineering. Literature relevant to TQM and the application of the concept is reviewed in this chapter.
Product quality came to the forefront in the American economy in the late 1980s, as the top managements in American companies learned that American product quality was generally perceived by Americans and foreign consumers alike to be inferior to products from other countries particularly Germany and Japan. The initial emphasis in the quality reawakening in the United States was on manufactured goods, as opposed to services. In the service, professional, and construction sectors, American companies were generally competing against other American companies; thus, the pressures to improve product quality were not perceived to be as significant as they were in the manufacturing sector. The advent of the longest duration economic recession in the United States since the 1930s, however, has changed the appreciation of quality outside of the manufacturing sector of the economy.1 Companies in service, professional, and construction firms in the United States are now aware that quality must be emphasized in their operations, if they are to retain their customers bases.2
1Larry Armstrong, and William C. Symonds, "Beyond 'May I help you?'" Business Week, 29 October 1991, 100.
Retention of a company's customer base is just one advantage associated with improved quality. Operating profits may be expected to improve along with productivity, as quality levels rise.3 "Companies that embrace quality have an edge of up to 10( on every sales dollar over rivals," according to General Systems Co. management.4 The general estimate is that profitability rises after each customer retention rate increase of five percent.5 Improved customer satisfaction is the route to greater customer retention, and, i...