ABSTRACT
This paper reports on a research project which was carried out in the Western Cape region of South Africa, on site total quality management (TQM) of concrete structures, with an emphasis on reducing life cycle costs (LCC).
Based on two hypotheses that: poor quality concrete if not detected during construction could increase the LCC of a concrete structure and poor quality concrete is caused by poor workmanship which results from inadequate supervision of work on site, the paper analyses the findings of the questionnaire. The following aspects are covered in the analysis: soundness of a construction management team, the need to have adequate planning and the understanding project life cycle costs requirements, the appropriate use of contract documentatin, the need for effective communication, effective TQM procedures.
Finally, the paper makes recommendations which contractors should implement towards an appropriate TQM system to ensure that all the specified requirements of a project are conformed to, and hence an indirect conformance to life cycle plan (LCP).
