Koch, C and Larsen, C S (2006) Quality in construction: A supply chain perspective. In: Boyd, D (ed.) Proceedings of 22nd Annual ARCOM Conference, 4-6 September 2006, Birmingham, UK.
Abstract
Often the construction supply chain is perceived as consisting of two intertwined streams; a stream of materials and a stream of immaterial informational character. Moreover the supply delivery would be characterized by configuration by project. That this configuration is not always successful can be demonstrated by studying the emergence of failures occurring in the supply chain. The paper conceptualises the construction supply as a delivery network being partially stable, partially project specific and configured. It moreover develops a frame of understanding of the handling of quality issues in the delivery network, using operation management approaches. The paper presents case study work done in Danish construction. The method was observation of work at the construction site followed by interviews with actors backwards upstream the supply chain to the origin of the failure. The building project followed generated 160 failures over a three month observation period. The economic consequences are calculated to 8% of the production costs. The analysis of relations in the supply network showed that most of the failures were generated in the knowledge stream and then occasionally transformed into the material stream. The paper proposes initiatives to strengthen partnerships in supply chains, especially at mixed stable and project configured types. The contradiction between permanent enterprise organisations potentially capable of handling purchasing and the role of the project manager is discussed as a contradiction to overcome.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | failures; formal and informal quality management; supply chain types |
| Index terms: | project manager, quality management, stream, construction supply chain, partnership, case study, configuration, purchasing, production cost, interview, quality issue, emergence, construction site |
| Subjects: | systems engineering, water management, partnership management, construction logistics, work location, quality assurance, procurement strategy, profession, manufacturing engineering, data collection methods |
| Topics: | Engineering Principles, Sustainability, Stakeholder Management, Research Practice, Roles and Professions, Site Management, Quality Management, Procurement, Supply Chain Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here