Project Quality Management in Construction
K. Lambrou, G.J. Besseris and C. Alafodimos
MSc in Quality Management
TEI of Piraeus and University of Paisley
Abstract
Modern construction project management has incorporated quality management principles and
initiatives in their activities. Modern quality management systems such as ISO 9000 series of
standards require incessant monitoring of construction processes. This presentation attempts to
consolidate key quality management tools to a real, large and complex building project that took place
in Athens, Greece by a well-known works contractor. Detailed analysis provides opportunities for
improvements in costing and time deadline issues. Critical areas were studied by WBS and functional
unit analysis focused in the main activities. Problem solving was achieved mainly by a combination of
brainstorming sessions, Fishbone diagrams and Pareto analysis. A proposal for improving future
projects has been concluded on forecasting procedures, stage planning and management staffing.
Keywords: Project Management, Quality Management, Construction
Introduction
It is common for a construction project to encounter delays. There are several reasons that can
contribute to delaying a project. Analyzing the various causes that contribute to a project's delay
is an important task to resolving it. Determining, in a scientific manner, the impact, timing, and
the contributing effect of each of those causes to the overall delay should assist in helping the
parties settle the delay without litigation. The aim of this thesis is twofold. One is the definition
and analysis of the main factors which cause delays in a project. And the other is to analyze the
construction schedule delay considering the numerous factors in order to figure out possible
ways of eliminate these factors that caused these delays.
Delays and claims
Delays are among the most common phenomena in the construction industry. During the last
three decades delays have occurred in most types of projects, from simple building projects to
the most complex projects such as nuclear power plants or tunnelling works. Delays on
construction projects, and the claims which emanate from such delays, are an integral part of the
modern construction process. The overwhelming amount of time, energy, and cost devoted to
delay claims does not begin when a claim is initially submitted at or near the completion of a
job, rather, the construction delay claim process commences at project inception. A delay claim
often occurs when a difference between the actual completion date and the contract completion
date exists. The duration of a delay is an essential piece of information required for determining
the cause of a delay. However, it is difficult to analyze a delay claim due to the fact that
numerous factors that cause this delay, thereby making it a very complex issue. One of such
factors is the lost productivity or loss of productivity.
During a construction project, delays may result from many circumstances. Generally delays
maybe caused by the client-owner (compensable delays); the contractors (non-excusable delays);
or acts of God or a third party (excusable delays). They may occur early or late in the job, alone
or with other delays. This thesis classifies the main causes of non-excusable delays according to
the source of occurrence, and then identifies the factors contributing to those causes. Several
studies have discussed the issues relating to these delays, but no major study has been conducted
to examine the causes of non-excusable delays in great depth. Understanding the underlying
factors that contribute to causes of non-excusable delays would help in identifying and
overcoming the problems faced by contractors during the construction process. To assist in
identifying the factors contributing to causes of non-excusable delays, the Ishikawa or fish bone
diagram has been used as an analytical tool, and a ranking methodology has been devised.
Negotiating a fair and timely damage settlement is beneficial to all parties. Network-based
scheduling is an excellent vehicle for negotiating settlement of changes, disputes, and delays
throughout the project. In the construction industry, however, there is no single, standard, and
"accepted" procedure to determine the impact of schedule delays due to change orders or other
unplanned developments.
The construction project
Construction projects are intricate, time-consuming undertakings. The total development of a
project normally consists of several phases requiring a diverse range of specialized services. In
progressing from initial planning to project completion, the typical job passes through successive
and distinct stages that demand input from such disparate areas as financial organizations,
governmental agencies, engineers, architects, lawyers, insurance and surety companies,
contractors, material manufacturers and suppliers, and building tradesmen. During the
construction process itself, even a structure of modest proportions involves many skills,
materials, and literally hundreds of different operations. The assembly process must follow a
natural order of events that constitutes a complicated pattern of individual time requirements and
restrictive sequential relationships among the structure’s many segments. To some degree each
construction project is unique-no two jobs are ever quite alike. In its specifics, each structure is
tailored to suit its environment, arranged to perform its own particular function, and designed to
reflect personal tastes and preferences. The vagaries of the construction site and the possibilities
for creative and utilitarian variation of even the most standardized building product combine to
make each construction project a new and different experience. The contractor sets up its
“factory” on the site and, to a large extend, custom builds each structure.
The construction process is subject to the influence of highly variable and sometimes
unpredictable factors. The construction team, which includes architects, engineers building
tradesmen, subcontractors, material dealers, and others, changes from one job to the next. All the
complexities inherent in different construction sites, such as subsoil conditions, surface
topography, weather, transportation, material supply, utilities and services, local subcontractors,
labor conditions, and available technologies are an innate part of construction. Consequently,
construction projects are typified by their complexity and diversity and by the non standardised
nature of their production. The use of factory-made modular units may diminish this
individuality somewhat, but it is unlikely that field construction will ever be able to adapt
completely to the standardized methods and product uniformity of assembly line production. On
the contrary, many manufacturing processes are moving toward “one of” production and
adopting many of the project management tools originating in the construction industry.
Gantt chart
Also Called: milestones chart, project bar chart, activity chart. A Gantt chart is a bar chart that
shows the tasks of a project, when each must take place and how long each will take. As the
project progresses, bars are shaded to show which tasks have been completed. People assigned to
each task also can be represented. When to Use:



When scheduling and monitoring tasks within a project.
When communicating plans or status of a project.
When the steps of the project or process, their sequence and their duration are known.
2

When it’s not necessary to show which tasks depend on completion of previous tasks.
Project management software
Primavera Project Planner
i.
Control large and complex projects efficiently. Primavera is designed to handle largescale, highly sophisticated and multifaceted projects. To organize projects up to 100,000
activities, P3 provides unlimited resources and an unlimited number of target plans.
Massive data requires sophisticated, yet highly flexible organization tools. P3 gives you a
multitude of ways to organize, filter and sort activities, projects, and resources.
Manage multiple projects in a multiuser environment. Large, multi-disciplined project
teams. High intensity, short duration projects. Critical projects sharing limited resources.
Primavera can help manage them all. It offers a single database solution (ODBCcompliant) that provides simultaneous access to project files by multiple users throughout
the project; whenever and wherever required. Web features also make it easy to keep the
whole team informed.
Compatible with other programs in the corporation. Primavera offers impressive
capability for integrating its data with information throughout the company. It supports a
wide variety of data exchange formats. You can cut and paste with other Windows
applications, or use Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) to link information from other
applications. P3 provides true Client/Server operation for accelerated processing and SQL
access for reporting on the project database.
ii.
iii.
Quality Tools
Some of the most important and most commonly used quality tools are:











Plan–Do–Check–Act Cycle
Fishbone Diagram
Pareto Chart
Scatter Diagram
Decision Matrix
Flowchart
Stratification
Control Chart
Histogram
Brainstorming
Tree Diagram
Introduction to the project
Early in 1997 a large Greek petrochemical company (hereinafter referred to as "Owner") called
for international tenders relating to a turn-key contract concerning the construction of a 130.000
t/y production capacity polypropylene plant in Greece (hereinafter referred to as the "Project").
Polypropylene is considered to be one of the materials of the near future and soon it is expected
to replace the PVC plastic in most of its current applications. After one year of negotiations, the
Owner accepted the proposal, submitted by a large construction and engineering company,
specialized in constructions of petrochemical plants and refineries (hereinafter referred to as
"Engineer"), for the execution of the project for a price of 83.900.000 ECU plus 9.600.000.000
GRD.
Engineer invited another large domestic construction company (hereinafter referred to as
3
"Contractor") to submit, as potential subcontractor, a proposal concerning execution of the
greatest portion of the construction works and certain services and supplies. Contractor
submitted his proposal on March 23, 1998 and on November 23, 1998 the two companies
entered into an agreement. The rest of the Works were subcontracted to another subcontractor
(hereinafter referred as “Subcontractor #1”) and they were related to the assembling of the
Polypropylene Spheres on site, one job which needs highly specialized constructors on the
specific activity and its value didn’t ever exceed the 1.000.000.000 GDR.
Although the preliminary studies made by the Owner related to the viability of its investment in
the international environment were satisfied with the plant’s ability for production of 70.000
tones polypropylene per year, later more mature and detailed studies were highlighting the need
for higher production, in order the product to be cheaper and more competitive both to national
and international markets.
The main stages of the project
The Project consists of the following main disciplines of works:
Civil Works
Under this discipline are included all earthworks, foundations, steel structures, industrial
pavings, erection of buildings, underground piping works and pits.
Mechanical Works
Under this discipline are included all piping works (prefabrication, erection, non destructive
inspections and hydraulic or pneumatic tests), equipment erection (such as the reactor, the
extruder, silos, vessels, flare, tanks, drums, compressors, valves, pumps etc.), fire fighting
system, pneumatic haulage system and bagging system and the fabrication and erection of steel
supports.
Electrical Works
Under this discipline are included all installations of power transformers, switchgears,
telecommunication systems, the motor connections, the laying of cables and the erection of all
the cable trays, the earthing system, the lighting system, the electric heating system etc…
Instrument Works
Under this discipline are included all installations of instruments, their connections and
terminations, the laying of the instrument cables, the wiring in the control room, the installation
of cabinets, consoles and the installation of all the control room etc…
Insulation Works
Under this discipline is included the cold and hot insulation of all the piping elements, equipment
and instruments of the project, wherever such an instruction is given by the specifications and
the drawings.
Painting Works
Under this discipline is included the sandblasting and painting of all the steel supports, the
sandblasting of many piping spools before their erection, the painting of erected piping and
equipment, wherever this is instructed through the relevant specifications and the painting of all
the steel structures of the Project.
Pipeline (Underground laying and offshore utilities)
Under this discipline was included the inspection of the existing pipeline system from the limits
of the refinery up to its sea platform (which is established 800mt from the coast), the tracing of a
new pipeline, the detailed design, all the required procurement of materials and equipment and
final all the construction phase. The construction phase includes the fabrication and erection of
4
one loading arm1 in a sea platform terminal - 800mt from the coast - and the interconnection
with the project through a complex of valves and of one 10 inches pipeline of almost 5.500 m
length, from which the 800mt are laid underwater and the rest 4.300mt are laid underground. For
this part of the works only in the whole Project, Contractor in its scope of work had also the
design, the procurement of all piping and equipment and the pre-commissioning and
commissioning activities.
In general, all works of the disciplines are separated in the following stages:
The design, the procurement and delivery on the site of the materials and the equipment, the
construction period, and the pre-commissioning and commissioning period. Contractor as the
Main Subcontractor of the Project had in its scope of the work, only the erection activities and
the procurement of all building materials, such as bricks, cement, rebars, road bitumen, a part of
the steel structures, all the steel supports and cable trays and the materials for insulation and
painting.
All the equipment, piping, cables, instruments, the major part of the steel structures were
procured and delivered on site by the Engineering company.
The project for planning and progress monitoring only was divided by Engineer into the
following 13 main functional units as shown below:
 General Area
 Sea Platform
 Sea Pipeline (and Loading Platform)
 Polymerization
 Extrusion Area
 Utilities Area
 Main Electrical Sub-station / Control Room Area
 Other Building (Office Building Catalyst Storage)
 Spheres Area
 Interconnecting Pipe racks (ISBL Area)
 Interconnecting Pipe racks (OSBL Area)
 Warehouse / Silos / Bagging Area
 Underground Area
For someone not familiar with the petrochemical and in general the industrial construction
activities, it should be remarked here that the ordinary series of activities between the main
categories of the activities are the following:

Mobilization on site,

Excavations

Concrete Foundations for the Steel Structures and construction of other buildings, like
Electrical Substation, Control Room, Administration Buildings, Warehouses etc.

The steel structures which include interconnecting pipe racks or buildings on which they
will be seated the equipment.

Prefabrication of large bore Piping (pipes with more than 2 inches diameter).

Erection of Equipment.

Cable Trays erection.

Fabrication and erection of pipe supports.
5

Erection of large bore piping.

Erection of small bore piping (pipes with equal or less than 2 inches diameter) and
erection of additional supports.

Laying of electrical cables.

Laying of instrument cables.

Installation of Junction Boxes, DCS, Cabinets, erection of instruments, wiring on control
room etc.

Connections and terminations of cables.

Hydraulic and Pneumatic tests of piping and final reinstatement of all pipe lines and of all
the instruments connected on them.
Critical Activities
Not all of the above activities are critical for the start of the posterior activities. But for instance
the erection of the main steel structures is essential for the start of the rest of the activities. All
the pipes (small and large bore) are connected with some kind of equipment, like a vessel, a
compressor, a pump, the reactor, the extruder etc. Notwithstanding to what is expected, the
installation of the equipment is not crucial for the fabrication or even the erection of the large
bore pipes because the location of the large bore pipes on site is in accordance to the drawings
and not with the final position of the equipment and it is not required in any specification the
prior installation of the equipment, on the contrary the small bore pipes have to be located after
the installation of the equipment, because their exact position and alignment with the equipment
(especially with those having rotary parts, such as the pumps and the compressors) and it has
always to be checked in the field prior to their erection.
Furthermore, there are dozens of other similar prerequisites that an experienced project
management and planning team should have taken into account during the issue of the planning
schedule of the project and follow closely during the whole construction phase.
It should be noticed here also the following:

that each area of the plant was discrete from the others (with the exception of the
interconnecting pipe racks, which they were covering parts of all the areas of the Project)
and

the activities that were taking place in one area were not critical for the start of the
activities in another area until the mechanical completion of the works.
Coclusions: Problems that created delays and disruption to the progress of the works.
Premature start of pre-commissioning and commissioning activities had detrimental
consequences and caused extensive delay and disruption to Contractor’s works:

Engineer was working concurrently in the same area with Contractor.

Engineer was drawing on Contractor’s resources to assist Engineer in its premature
activities.

Engineer had forced Contractor’s attention to support Engineer in clearing minor defects
related to pre-commissioning and commissioning activities instead of Contractor
concentrating its efforts on achieving the overall Mechanical Completion, which was
Contractor’s primary and preceding contractual obligation.

The earlier commencement of Engineer’s pre-commissioning and commissioning
activities unveiled numerous problems in Engineer’s engineering that led to instructions
6
for changes, even to tested sections of Works.

Engineer’s Commissioning Team as well as other subcontractors employed by Engineer
for commissioning purposes caused extensive damages to Contractor’s completed works.
In many instances these works had not yet been handed-over to Engineer, increasing
Contractor’s rework.

Furthermore, extensive modifications were executed to Contractor’s completed works by
Engineer’s commissioning team and other subcontractors, without notice to Contractor
and without its consent.

The lack of communication prevailing between Engineer’s construction and
commissioning departments resulted in conflicting instructions being issued to
Contractor.
120.000
600
100.000
500
80.000
400
60.000
300
40.000
200
20.000
100
HOURS
PERSONS
G
SE
P
O
C
T
N
O
V
D
J A EC
N
20
00
FE
B
M
A
R
AP
R
M
A
Y
JU
L
AU
JU
N
D
FE
B
M
A
R
AP
R
M
A
Y
0
EC
1
JA 9 9
8
N
19
99
0
PERSONS
MANHOURS
ESTIMATED PROGRESS CONSTRUCTION
MONTH
figure 1
500%
400%
300%
Percentage Deviation
200%
100%
A
N
IC
A
L
SU
LA
TI
O
EL
N
EC
TR
IC
IN
A
ST
L
R
U
M
EN
T
PI
PE
LI
N
E
IN
IN
TI
EC
H
M
PA
C
N
G
0%
IV
IL
Percentage of deviation
Pareto analysis by manhours
Disciplines of work
figure 2
7
Pareto Analysis of Cost Percentage Deviation
160,00%
Percentage of Deaviation
140,00%
120,00%
100,00%
Percentage Deviation
80,00%
60,00%
40,00%
20,00%
IV
IL
EC
TR
IC
AL
IN
ST
R
U
M
EN
M
T
EC
HA
N
IC
AL
PI
PE
LI
N
E
IN
EL
C
TI
NG
PA
IN
SU
LA
TI
O
N
0,00%
Disciplines Of Work
figure 3
Pareto Analysis of percentage Deviation of Design
Percentage of Revisions
140,00%
120,00%
100,00%
80,00%
Percentage of Revisions
60,00%
40,00%
20,00%
L
ER
A
G
EN
EN
IN
SU
LA
TI
O
N
T
L
IN
ST
R
TR
U
M
IC
A
L
EC
EL
M
EC
H
A
N
IC
A
IV
IL
C
IN
E
PI
PE
L
PA
IN
TI
N
G
0,00%
Disciplines of Work
Figure 4
References
P.L Townsend, Commit to Quality. New York: Wiley, 1986.
R. A. Walker, Project Management. College Park: Univesity College Press-Maryland, 1992.
Project Management Institute. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge,
PMI, 1996.
JM Juran and FM Gryna. Quality and Planning Analysis. McGraw-Hill:NY, 1986.
JH Harrington. Business Process Improvement. McGraw-Hill:NY, 1991.
J. Fuller. Managing Performance Improvement Projects. Pfeiffer, 1997.
8
Appendix: Fishbone Analysis
Cause and Effect Diagram - Fishbone Analysis of
theCOST
Cause and Effect Diagram - Fishbone Analysis of the DELAYS
10