Justifying the Cost of Quality in Construction Projects: An insight into the base of iceberg

Abstract

Construction projects are intricate and manifold in nature therefore achieving higher quality standards has long been a problem. Several quality management techniques exist in the literature to overcome this problem, cost of quality (COQ) is one of the emerging technique adopted from manufacturing industry. For implementation of COQ in construction, several studies have attempted to quantify different components of quality cost using various methods but their main focus lies in visible failure cost i.e. tip of ice berg. This research carries out a complete quantitative study of each component of visible and as well the hidden quality costs, or the base of iceberg, in the construction industry of Pakistan by applying the modified prevention appraisal and failure (PAF) model on primary data collected from 25 building projects. The findings of the research highlight the unfamiliarity and passive attitude of local construction firms towards quality management systems, incurring higher failure cost as a result. Most part of this cost remains hidden and unknown to the higher management, despite its severe impact on project performance, customer satisfaction and organization reputation in a highly competitive market place. Therefore, these costs must be eliminated. This is first of its nature study in the context of local construction industry and recommends the management strategies to knock out the failure cost.