In recent years, there have been many factors that have contributed to the growth of construction markets and construction quality control: Unemployment regressed, and average income grew, which caused the middle class, along with the credit sector to gain strength. This lead to a substantial increase in the sale of real estate.
But despite a favorable scenario, the growth in demand was so high that many construction companies started to experience problems such as delays in work and a shortage of skilled labor, which increased costs and restricted opportunities for new business.
In the circumstances such as these, construction quality control, which was already important, became much more essential to construction companies who wished to generate satisfactory results and remain competitive, both operationally and financially.
Read also: The basic concepts and assumptions of quality control
The main benefits provided by construction quality control
Construction quality control systems have the power to open up new markets and expand existing ones, growing business enterprises.
Also, there are some other advantages, among which are the increased productivity of employees and collaborators, reducing costs and waste, efficient process control and better internal organization.
Construction quality control: The seven vital planning steps
To correctly implement construction quality control systems, it is essential that companies develop a careful strategic plan, with 7 essential steps:
- Decide on the conditions and regulatory requirements to be implemented in the company
- Analyze and evaluate in detail all current quality processes
- Determine priorities such as staff training and structural improvements
- Design a base matrix for system implementation
- Provide appropriate training and documentation and monitor these closely
- Verify the deployment of the system through internal and external audits
- Plan and ensure continuous maintenance and reviews of the entire system
The implementation of construction quality control can be made by internal teams of the company itself or through specialized consultants, and the average time for system certification can be about one year.
That period may increase or decrease, depending on variables such as the number of employees, number of active jobs for which the company is responsible and the location of these jobs, etc.
Process management is key to construction quality
For construction companies to obtain the maximum performance from quality control, the first step is to make a methodical map of the main processes involved in their business.
Mapped processes will also help the company to have a clear and comprehensive view of their strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and threats of the market…. the famous SWOT analysis.
Presently it has been increasingly evident of the use of the BPM (Business Process Management) concept by managers and professionals involved in business administration.
BPM is a range of techniques and resources for modeling, controlling and continuously improving the flow of all business processes within and outside an organization. Check out some of the main benefits of BPM:
- Save time throughout the structures of all processes and activities
- Speed in detecting and troubleshooting processes
- A leap in performance quality, both operational and corporate
- Increased company visibility and competitiveness
- Substantial reductions in costs, leading to increased profitability.
Implementing construction quality control is made much easier with the help of BPM software.
Using BPM is very easy due to its specific tools and systems, which have the resources to automate all management processes and make life easier for managers.
With this in mind many BPM software providers, that specialize in technology solutions for process management have several broad, flexible and transparent features that managers can define, to model, execute, monitor and optimize all processes within their respective companies.
Check out the BPM Approach