Chapter I. background
1.1. General features.
Addressing the issue of quality from any angle always implies serious commitments that inevitably require referring to the so-called big five of quality, they are William Eduards Deming, Joseph M. Juran, Armand V. Feigenbaum, Kaoru Ishikawa and Philip B. Crosby.
Others have emerged later and are world-renowned, but the contributions of these five people were the ones that caused the most impact. Let us summarize the main ideas of each of them synthesized with absolute precision and professionalism by Carballal del Río and Díaz (1998).
¨ Deming.
Developed Statistical Quality Control. In the 1940 census, he showed that statistical controls could be used in both office and industrial operations.
In 1947 he was recruited to help Japan prepare the 1951 census, and at that time he experienced the horrors and miseries of the post-war period and became aware of the need to help Japan.
In 1950 the managing director of the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (UCIJ), Kenichi Koyanogi, wrote to him to give lectures on quality control methods to researchers, plant managers and engineers, and on June 19, 1950 delivered the first of a dozen lectures.
In spite of everything, he had the impression that he was not talking to the people he should have and decided to meet the Kei-don-ven, an association of Japanese executives and managed through the president of the UCIJ to have a meal with them. At lunch he spoke with the 21 presidents of the main Japanese industries, he said more or less this:
“You can produce with quality. They have a method to do it. You have learned what quality is. They have to carry out consumer research, look to the future and produce goods that will have a market for many years from now, and stay in business.
They have to do it to eat. They can send quality abroad and bring food. The city of Chicago does. Chicagoans do not produce their own food. They make items and ship them out. Switzerland does not produce all its own food, and neither does England ”.
He also told them: “You don't need to receive the scrap that is coming in. They will never be able to produce quality with that garbage. But, with the process controls your engineers are learning - consumer research, product redesign - you can. Not only do it and sell it, but redesign it and then again submit them to the control process, always with increasing quality ”.
From that moment, he stated that the consumer is the most important part of the production line. He also told them that they would capture markets around the world within 5 years, but the prediction was improved at 4 years; already at that time buyers from all over the world were demanding more and more Japanese products.
To show their appreciation for Deming, the Japanese established the Deming Prize in 1951. They also gave him the Second Order of the Sacred Treasure, being the first American to receive such an honor.
Deming's success in Japan was not reciprocated in the US, where he was not discovered until 1980, 30 years later.
¨ They swear.
He oriented the Statistical Quality Control to the need for it to become an instrument of senior management.
In 1954 he visited Japan for the first time. That year he gave seminars to senior and middle managers. From then on there was a change in quality control activities in Japan.
Juran pointed out that statistical quality control has a limit and that it must become an instrument for senior management, and said that “to obtain quality it is necessary for everyone to participate from the beginning. If it were only done as quality inspections, we would only be preventing defective products from coming out and not from producing defects ”.
¨ Feigenbaum.
He is the founder of the concept of Total Quality Control (CTC) and defines it as “an effective system to integrate efforts in terms of quality development, quality maintenance, carried out by the various groups in the organization, so that it is possible to produce goods and services at the most economical levels and that are compatible with the full satisfaction of customers "
With quality being everyone's job in an organization, he feared that it would become nobody's job, so he suggested that total quality control be supported by a well-organized managerial function, whose only area of expertise is product quality and whose only area of operations was quality control, hence the so-called Quality Control Departments were born.
¨ Ishikawa.
In 1949 he joined the UCIJ (Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers) and began to study statistical methods and quality control.
The steps that he followed and that guided him were (Ishikawa, 1986):
1. Engineers have to know statistical methods and how to use them by heart.
2. As Japan does not have an abundance of natural resources but must import them, it is necessary to expand its exports by producing high-quality, low-cost products.
3. He believed that the application of quality control could bring about the revitalization of the industry and effect a conceptual revolution of the management.
Ishikawa takes up Feigenbaum's term of Total Quality Control, but in the Japanese way and prefers to call it “quality control throughout the company”, and it means that everyone in the company should study, participate and practice quality control.
Crosby.
His theory is fundamentally based on the fact that what costs money are things that do not have quality, of all the actions that stand out from not doing things right the first time, hence his thesis on prevention.
He shares Ishikawa's idea that quality is the opportunity and obligation of leaders, and to achieve a commitment to quality in senior management, he developed the “maturity chart” as an instrument that allows a diagnosis and makes it possible to know what actions develop.
Many other people have come up with particular conceptions and ideas derived from their experience, but at the same time they all agree on a set of ideas that are basic for quality to have a total character, they are:
1. This philosophy is a task that has to be driven by the number one in the organization.
2. It is everyone's problem.
3. It has to be consumer oriented.
4. It is a process of continuous improvement.
5. It requires a permanent education, both for leaders and workers.
6. It needs a permanent measurement that identifies what the cost of non-compliance is ”.
1.3. International background.
In order to better understand and characterize the aforementioned situation, it is of extraordinary interest to analyze the international antecedents. Thus, we see that while in the mid-1960s Cuban constructions began to travel along the path already described, in Japan they reached Quality Control Circles, after nearly 20 years of arduous work that led them from the Quality Inspection stage to Statistical Control and so on until laying the foundations for Total Quality Control.
Observe at what moment in the historical course of quality these circles appear and we will understand the absurdity of the attempt to introduce them into Cuban constructions of the 80s (Sarmiento, 1998).
In the United States, the first Building Code was established in the early 1970s, establishing Quality Assurance as a mandatory requirement in nuclear construction in that country. Later the one of the IAEA arises. (Figari, 1996; Mendoza, 1996).
Today, it is already an established practice in first world countries, and a mandatory requirement to participate in Public Works Auctions to have a QA system, the latter is also the case in some cases in Latin American countries. (Serpell and Sarmiento, 1996).
In summary, the world continued a different path from ours in terms of quality in construction and has been developing on the following bases:
- The establishment of national records and controls of companies, professionals, materials, etc. and its certification The development and implementation, through institutions only dedicated to it, of mechanisms for the technical approval of materials, products and construction systems The strengthening of legislation and state control over the interfaces of the P.CO. State support to consumers in their demands for quality Control over the exercise of construction professions and trades Increased regional and international collaboration with a view to eliminating technical barriers that promote the future integration of national economies The application of QA as a strategy to achieve Total Quality Control (CTC) as the next known stage in which some world-class construction companies are found The introduction of the CTC in engineering education from the development of the certification of its programs Reinforcing the independence of laboratories and organizations of control.
The historical and therefore logical cycle that the world has followed in the introduction of forms of quality control in constructions has been the following:
1. Building materials.
2. The execution of works.
3. The design.
In more developed countries its introduction has been extended to the promotion of investment, maintenance and progress to the superstructure (research, teaching, etc.).
The application in the region of Quality Programs in low-cost housing in the State of Sao Paulo and other similar applications in Israel and South Africa, as well as a strategy for the implementation of a Quality Improvement Program in Constructions in the Southern Cone of Latin America, as well as another for the AC in Mexico that includes, the one already awarded for the first time, the Annual Quality Award in Construction, show how far progress is being made in these countries where it is introduced, also the AC through ISO-9000 with Brazil as the leader.
What has been exposed so far allows us to conclude that despite the fact that the construction sector in Cuba has recently proposed to introduce Quality Assurance first and more recently Quality Management, international experience in logic is being ignored. of its introduction, which could motivate real delays assisted by the conviction that acting quickly will save a lot of time which in this specific situation could undermine the success of the project.
For this reason, it is necessary that management and all those who in one way or another are responsible for this complex task become aware of seeking the essential balance between the sense of opportunity and urgency, properly interpreting the relativity of the latter concept..
The prevailing conditions advise taking into account what has already been internationally proven and require a rigorous and detailed analysis of the methodological approach that must be used in the conditions of the construction sector in general and, particularly, in the case of the UNECA Corporation given its particularities as an organization.
Likewise, regardless of the methodological approach used, the following actions regarding quality must be considered:
- Define it, which includes quality specifications Produce it, which requires documented procedures Check it, which presupposes a control of production Demonstrate it, which requires control of reception Document it, which means recording (records) and filing everything that was done.
The system that is applied must allow the company:
- Define the quality of your service, work or product Obtain the defined quality Check that the defined quality was achieved Demonstrate that the defined quality has been achieved Achieve continuous quality improvement.
For it to be operational, compliance with the following conditions is required:
- The quality to be obtained must be perfectly defined in advance The tasks of each member of the entity must be clearly defined Each participating organization (area, department, brigade, crew, etc.) must designate a person in charge of quality assurance, who may be simultaneously with other related activities depending on the magnitude of the work Procedures for quality management must be complied with and their results must be recorded When deviations are detected during the control, adjustments must be made to the system
From a management point of view, it must ensure:
- Senior Management Commitment Customer satisfaction Participation of all Recognition of authority and individual responsibility Analysis and prevention of lack of quality Process evaluation Continuous improvement Identification of problems Compatibility of the entity's objectives and individual attitudes Personnel development Interrelation between all areas of the entity.
Chapter II. theoretical framework of reference.
2.1. Historical evolution of quality.
To see how quality has evolved during this century, it can be appreciated through the analysis of its fundamental characteristics, considering the five main stages of its development.
1st Stage. From the industrial revolution to 1930.
The Industrial Revolution, from the productive point of view, represented the transformation of manual work by mechanized work. Before this stage the work was practically artisanal and was characterized in that the worker had the responsibility for the complete production of a product.
In the early 1900s, the supervisor emerged, who was often the same owner, who assumed responsibility for the quality of the work. During the First World War, the manufacturing systems became more complicated and as a result of this the first full-time quality inspectors appeared, this led to the creation of the organizational inspection areas separate from the production ones.
This era was characterized by inspection, and the main interest was the detection of defective products to separate them from those suitable for sale.
2nd Stage. 1930-1949.
The contributions that technology made to the economy of the developed capitalist countries were of indisputable value. However, serious problems were faced with labor productivity.
This state remained more or less similar until World War II, where the needs of enormous mass production required statistical quality control.
The most significant contribution of statistical quality control was the introduction of sample inspection, rather than 100 percent inspection.
The main interest of this time is characterized by the control that guarantees not only to know and select the defects or failures of products, but also the taking of corrective action on technological processes.
Quality inspectors continued to be a key factor in the company's results, but now they not only had responsibility for the inspection of the final product, but were also distributed throughout the entire production process.
It could be said that at this time "the orientation and focus of quality went from the quality that is inspected to the quality that is controlled" (Carballal del Río and Díaz, 1998
3rd Stage. 1950-1979.
This stage corresponds to the period after World War II and quality begins as in the previous ones with the idea of emphasizing inspection, trying not to put defective products on sale.
Soon after, they realize that the problem of defective products lay in the different phases of the process and that strict inspection was not enough to eliminate them.
It is for this reason that it goes from inspection to control of all the factors of the process, ranging from the initial identification to the final satisfaction of all the requirements and expectations of the consumer.
During this stage it was considered that this was the correct approach and the main interest consisted in the coordination of all organizational areas based on the final objective: quality.
Despite this, the feeling of selling what was produced prevailed. The previous stages "were focused on increasing production in order to sell more, here we begin to produce with higher quality in order to be able to sell the best, considering the needs of the consumer and producing according to the market."
Programs begin to appear and Quality Systems are developed for the quality areas of companies, where in addition to measurement, quality planning is incorporated, considering its orientation and focus as quality is built from within.
4th Stage. Decade of the 80s.
The fundamental characteristic is in the Strategic Direction of Quality, so the achievement of quality throughout the company is not the product of a Quality Program or System, but is the development of a strategy aimed at its continuous improvement, throughout the company.
The main emphasis of this stage is not only the market in general, but the knowledge of the needs and expectations of customers, to build a business organization that satisfies them.
The responsibility for quality rests primarily with senior management, which must lead it and all members of the organization must participate.
At this stage, quality was seen as "a competitive opportunity, the orientation or approach is conceived as quality is managed" (Carballal del Río and Díaz, 1998).
5th Stage. 1990 to date.
The fundamental characteristic of this stage is that the old distinction between product and service loses meaning. What exists is the total value for the customer. This stage is known as Total Quality Service.
The customer of the 90's is only willing to pay for what is valuable to him. That is why quality is appreciated by the client from two points of view, perceptual quality and factual quality. The first is the key to getting people to buy, while the second is responsible for achieving customer loyalty with the brand and with the organization.
A total quality service is a global organizational approach, which makes the quality of services, as perceived by the client, the main driving force behind the operation of the company.
2.1.1. Brief reference to ISO 9000.
In the midst of this assessment of the historical evolution of quality, it is important to mention the evolution of ISO 9000 itself. In this sense, and in a brief way, it is considered appropriate to refer to the aspects outlined below.
2.1.1.1. What is ISO?
The International Organization for Standardization originates from the International Federation of National Associations for Standardization (1926-1939). In October 1946, in London, representatives of twenty-five countries decided to adopt the name of the International Organization for Standardization, known as ISO for its acronym and for the reference to the Greek word for equality.
ISO holds its first meeting in June 1947 in Zurich, Germany, and the city of Geneva, Switzerland is established as the headquarters for its operation. Its main purpose is to promote the development of international standards and related activities including the conformity of the statutes to facilitate the exchange of goods and services throughout the world.
ISO is a world federation made up of national standardization bodies (ISO member bodies such as ICONTEC) representing each participating country, currently there are 138 member countries whose representatives are divided into three categories: Members of the Executive Committee, Corresponding Members and Subscribed Members.
2.1.1.2. What kind of standard is iso 9001 ???
ISO 9001: 2000 is an international standard issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) whose headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. The office in charge of the same series of standards suitable for the Latin American region is the Pan American Commission of Technical Standards (COPANT) and the body that is finally in charge of adapting them for the Colombian case is the Colombian Institute of Technical Standards and Certification (ICONTEC). which reviews the standards and adapts them so that they better fit the type of companies in that country.
2.1.1.3. Evolution of iso 9000
In 1959, the United States Department of Defense established a quality management program which was called MIL-Q-9858. Four years later it was revised and MIL-Q-9858A was born. In 1966 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
practically adapted this last norm to elaborate the publication referring to the subject of Quality Assurance (Quality Assurance Publication); years later, in 1970, the British Ministry of Defense adopted this publication in its Administration of Standardization for defense program (DEF / STAN 05-8).
On this basis, the British Standard Institute (BSI) developed in 1979 the first system for the administration of commercial standardization known as BS-5750.
Against this background, ISO created in 1987 the ISO 9000 series of standards, adopting most of the elements of the British standard BS-5750. in that same year the standard was adopted by the United States as the ANSI / ASQC-Q90 series (American Society for Quality Control); the BS-5750 standard underwent its first revision in order for it to assimilate the changes and improvements proposed in the ISO 9000 standard.
From that moment on, the ISO 9000 standards began to be adopted as a world standard with regard to quality management; Until then and due to technological changes, mentality changes and the globalization of markets, two revisions of this standard have been carried out, which have generated two new versions: the 1994 version and the 2000 version, which replaces the previous ones and is with the which is currently working.
2.1.1.4. The latest version of 2000
In this new version, the ISO 9001 and 9004 standards have greater consistency in their structures and content, they are based on the eight high-level quality management principles, defined by the Technical Committee, which reflect the best management practices.
These eight principles are:
Customer-focused organization: Organizations depend on their customers and therefore should understand current and future customer needs, satisfy customer requirements, and strive to exceed customer expectations.
Leadership: Leaders establish unity of purpose and direction to the organization. They should create and maintain an internal environment, in which staff can become fully involved in achieving the organization's objectives.
Staff participation: Staff, regardless of the level of the organization in which they are located, is the essence of an organization and their full involvement enables their capabilities to be used for the benefit of the organization.
Process-based approach: Desired results are most efficiently achieved when resources and related activities are managed as a process.
System approach to management: Identifying, understanding and managing a system of interrelated processes for a given objective, improves the effectiveness and efficiency of an organization.
Continuous improvement: Continuous improvement should be a permanent objective of the organization.
Objective approach to fact-based decision-making: Effective decisions are based on data and information analysis.
Mutually beneficial supplier relationship: An organization and its suppliers are interdependent, and mutually beneficial relationships enhance the ability of both to create value.
This version of the standard requires a greater emphasis on the role of top management, which includes their commitment to developing and improving the quality management system, considering regulatory, legal and customer requirements, and establishing measurable objectives in all relevant functions and levels of the organization.
The ISO 9000: 2000 family of standards promote the adoption of a process-based approach when developing, implementing and improving a quality management system (QMS). The process-based approach is reflected in the structure of ISO 9001: 2000 Quality Management Systems. Requirements, and also in the ISO 9004: 2000 Quality Management Systems. Guidelines for performance improvement.
2.1.1.5. Justification of your employment.
Quality has been seen as the ability to identify the needs and expectations of customers and other interested parties to satisfy them, meeting the requirements of the product or service offered, this acquires more and more importance in the management of companies, hence that managers recognize that substantial competitive advantages can be obtained through the development of quality management systems.
Quality has become in today's globalized world, an inescapable necessity to stay in the market. For this reason, quality management systems based on ISO 9001 standards, which reflect the international consensus on this subject, have become very popular, and many organizations have decided to take the path of documenting and implementing them.
Documentation is the support of the quality management system, since it contains not only the ways of operating the organization but also all the information that allows the development of all processes and provides the necessary information for proper decision-making.
The ISO 9001 standard deals with the requirements of quality management systems and, managing quality, consists of defining and implementing a set of activities aimed at providing the top management of the company with the confidence that quality is being achieved provided at adequate cost.
It is important to point out that the standard does not exactly define the quality system to be applied by the companies, but is limited to describing the minimum requirements that the Quality Management System must meet.
Among the most obvious advantages or benefits of managing processes according to the continuous improvement model proposed in the ISO-9001: 2000 standards can be mentioned:
Opening of new market opportunities.
Generation of value by optimizing processes and making them more efficient.
Certification is a strong element of differentiation from potential markets.
Improved overall planning.
Creation of a framework to properly manage the processes.
Definition of strategies, policies, objectives and working methods.
Compliance with specifications.
Reduced costs associated with non-conforming products.
Elimination of useless costs due to processes and activities that do not add value to the product.
Improvement of internal and external communications.
Easier to carry out activities thanks to documentation of procedures.
Troubleshooting more easily and quickly.
Greater awareness of the importance of customers.
Incorporation of change and innovation in an
internationally and cross-sector proven system.
2.1.1.6. The strategy for your employment.
Quality systems based on regulations and standardized procedures according to international standards of global acceptance have represented, for some years now, the best option for companies of all types and sizes that operate in different industries, companies committed to involving adequate and efficient procedures that reflect a high degree of quality and continuous improvement.
Unlike many continuous quality improvement programs, the implementation of standards, such as the ISO 9000 standards, does not expire, but are dynamically renewed, achieving permanent maximum levels of quality. The ISO 9000 certification, for a specific company, does not mean the total elimination of failures in its internal processes, but it offers effective systematized methods and procedures to determine the causes of problems and then correct them and prevent them from recurring again.
1. Quality of products and services. They must meet and exceed the needs, tastes and expectations of the client. 2. Costs. Produce products or provide services with competitive prices 3. Flexibility.
Reflected in shorter delivery times and a greater range of products. As a consequence, it is possible to keep customers satisfied and of course a better market positioning.
2.1.1.7. Reasons for its implementation and results obtained worldwide
The reasons for the implementation of a Quality System have been summarized by Luis and Luis (2005a) in a broad and rigorous work prepared with the purpose of motivating entrepreneurs to use this tool and, particularly, the Senior Management of the UNECA Corporation.
In it, among other various aspects, the main results published worldwide are summarized in relation to the reasons given by a large number of companies for the implementation of the aforementioned systems and also the results obtained after several years of implementing the system.
A. Reasons to develop / implement sc, according to international experience based on the criteria of more than 2 164 certified companies in the world.
93% Achieve better product quality.
97% Achieve better quality of management.
92% Achieve a better position in the market.
31% Reduce costs.
27% Customer demand.
B. Benefits reported worldwide.
92% have achieved better quality of their products.
85% Improvement in customer satisfaction.
77% Improvement in Control and Management.
54% Helps to preserve customers
50% Useful to increase market shares.
35% Sensitive decrease in complaints.
92% More appropriate and effective traceability of complaints.
31% Increase in work productivity.
51% Significant reduction in costs.
78% Better Control
73% Increase in employee benefits.
C. Main difficulties.
73% Document writing.
73% Large volume of documentation
58% Implementation time more than one year.
46% Time to prepare documentation is long.
38% High cost of development and maintenance of the System.
15% Complex interpretation of standards and models. They have
ambiguities.
25% Lack of trained personnel.
96% Convenient use of consultants.
4% The use of consultants is not necessary.
D. Main pitfalls.
- Preciousism Misunderstandings Breaches Lack of support from management Material and human limitations
Table 1 shows a chronological approach to the evolution of quality and its management, from its initial conception of inspection to the most current ones related to quality management and the philosophy of Total Quality (Luis, 2002).
Table 1. Evolution of the quality and essence of its activities.
| Decade | Exercise | Essence |
| 1920 | Quality Inspection. | Separation of good units from bad. |
| 1950 | Quality Control. | Detection and prevention of defects in the manufacturing process. |
| 1970 | Quality assurance. | Incorporation of Quality Control in ALL the activities of the Organization. |
| 1980 | Quality management. | INTEGRATE EVERYONE's efforts towards achieving quality. |
| 1990 | Total Quality Management. | Extension of the achievement of quality to all activities carried out by the Organization. |
2.2. Construction and quality projects
Seen this way, it is evident that at present, when talking about quality in Construction Projects, two elementary concepts linked to it cannot be ignored: assurance (guarantee) and management.
The first, defined as the set of planned and systematic activities, applied within the framework of the quality system, which have been shown to be necessary to give adequate confidence that an entity satisfies the quality requirements (ISO 8402, 1994; ISO 9000: 2000). The second, defined as a responsibility of all levels of management, led by the highest level but involving everyone.
This quality assurance can be internal and external; in the first, it will provide confidence to the entity and, in the second, to the clients. In this case, its purpose is then to deliver to the client what is committed in accordance with their needs and what is agreed in the framework of the contractual relationships.
This reference "what is agreed in the contractual relationships" implies giving guarantees of the fulfillment of an obligation; being, therefore, synonymous with "guarantee". Thus, it is clear that quality is a comparative attribute, not an absolute attribute, which is why it is essentially necessary to establish the level or pattern of comparison.
Given its peculiarity as a comparative attribute, it is evident that if you do not have the measurement standard, it cannot be compared.
When setting this pattern in Construction Projects, it should be taken into account:
- The Market (customer, consumer, user, interested parties). The state of knowledge on each specific topic. The state of development and knowledge in the application of technologies.
Undoubtedly, the aspects discussed so far show the “relative character” of quality and therefore the possibility of expressing it by a “quality level”, understood as a measure in which something approaches the specified pattern above or below.
Thus, the level of quality will be appreciated by: lack of quality, when the specified characteristics are not achieved; Excess quality, the specified characteristics are exceeded, and, fair quality, the specified characteristics are strictly achieved.
In the first case, the user is being defrauded, while in the second it will probably be wasting resources, so it is logical and advisable to stick to achieving the right quality, that is, that agreed in the contract, without denying the search for the excellence as a logical goal to which you should always aspire. Other important quality attributes are shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Attributes of quality and its essence
| Attribute | Essence. |
| Dual | A different position is taken when a product is offered (supplier) than when it is received (customer). |
| Relative | What may be good for some may not be so for others. |
| Dynamic | Customer needs may change over time and with it quality requirements. |
| Participatory | It is necessary to involve the people involved in them in all stages of the quality cycle, in a shared work culture. |
| Economic | Most important indicator to evaluate efficiency. |
2.3. Quality and some associated concepts.
The concept of quality comes from the Latin Qualitas and is associated with the attribute or property that distinguishes people, goods or services.
Over time, as has already been mentioned when addressing the historical evolution of quality, the term “quality” has evolved; Previously, quality was seen as that which the producer was able to give to the customer, that is, the sense of flow was oriented in only one direction: producerSYMBOL 174 \ f "Symbol" \ s 12 customer.
Under this concept, quality was expressed as "that which the producer is capable of giving the customer in accordance with the specifications of his product" (Carballal del Río, 1997).
Nowadays, quality is no longer expressed in that way, but as one that is adapted to the needs of consumers, and is associated with the use and value that satisfies those needs. In fact, there are authors who when talking about quality refer:
"Quality is the level of excellence that the company has chosen to achieve to satisfy its key customers."
This approach to quality means that there are different levels of demand for each product and, therefore, a quality for each need.
This is not the only definition accepted and reported in the literature. Consequently, there are many efforts by some authors to define the concept of quality from their own perspective. However, all agree that quality should be aimed at full and total customer satisfaction. It is essential that quality is throughout the company and not just in some areas or functions, because it can create an imbalance in the company's systems.
For this reason, many terms in common use are used in the field of quality with a specific or more restricted meaning with respect to the set of dictionary definitions, for reasons such as the following:
- the adoption of a quality terminology, by different commercial and industrial sectors, to satisfy their specific perceived needs, the introduction of a multiplicity of terms by quality professionals in the different industrial and economic sectors.
In common parlance the term quality often has a different meaning for different people. In this work, the term quality is defined as "Degree to which the set of inherent characteristics meets the requirements" (ISO 9000: 2000)
There are different meanings of the word quality. These different meanings give rise to a lot of confusion and misunderstandings. Two of these meanings included in the ISO 9000: 2000 standard are: "compliance with the requirements" and "degree of excellence". "Conformance to requirements" leads people to argue that "quality costs less," which is true in certain cases.
On the contrary, "the degree of excellence" implies that "quality costs more", which in certain cases is the case. In order to avoid some confusion in the meaning of the term quality, the term grade can be used to describe the level of excellence. The term degree is used in a descriptive sense of technical excellence. The grade reflects a planned or recognized difference in the requirements for quality. Although the different grade categories are not necessarily ranked in a hierarchical order relative to each other, grade indicators with a sense of hierarchical order can be used to describe the sense of technical excellence. An example of this use is that it costs more to provide and run a five-star hotel than a pension.
Needs are usually translated into characteristics with specified criteria, recognized as requirements for quality. Needs may include, for example, aspects of performance, ease of use, operational safety (availability, reliability, maintainability), safety, environmental aspects, economic aspects and aesthetic aspects.
The term "quality" should not be used in isolation to express a degree of excellence in a comparative sense or, in a quantitative sense, for technical evaluations. To express these two senses, a qualifying adjective should be used.
For example, the following terms can be used:
a) "relative quality" when entities are classified according to their degree of excellence or in a comparative way, not to be confused with degree.
b) "quality level" in a quantitative sense (as used in acceptance sampling) and "quality measure" when precise technical evaluations are made.
Achieving satisfactory quality encompasses all phases of the quality cycle. The contributions to the quality of these different phases are sometimes considered separately to distinguish them; for example, quality due to definition of needs, quality due to product design, quality due to conformity, quality due to product support throughout its life cycle.
In some texts, quality is identified by the phrase "fitness for use" or "fitness for use" or "customer satisfaction" or "compliance with requirements". These notions represent only certain facets of quality, as indicated above.
In ISO 9000: 1994, quality is defined as "Totality of the characteristics of an entity that influence its ability to satisfy established and implicit needs".
In the latest version of ISO 9000 corresponding to the year 2000, quality is defined as "Degree to which the set of inherent characteristics meets the requirements".
When referring to quality, it is essential to specify the requirements for quality, which must be understood as the expression of needs or their translation into a set of specifications, established in quantitative or qualitative terms, for the characteristics of an entity, with in order to allow its completion and examination.
It is essential that the quality requirements fully reflect the established and implicit needs of the customer, which must be specified in the contract that regulates the contractual Customer / Supplier relationships.
The term "requirements" covers the market, contractual or internal requirements of an organization. They can be developed, detailed and updated at different stages of planning.
The requirements stated in quantitative terms for the characteristics include, for example, nominal values, assigned values, limit deviations and tolerances.
The requirements for quality should be expressed in functional and documented terms.
Another important element to take into account when talking about quality from the definition adopted here is related to the requirements of society, understanding as such the obligations that result from laws, regulations, rules, codes, statutes and other considerations.
The expression "other considerations" refers to the protection of the environment, health, safety, security of access, conservation of energy and natural resources.
All societal requirements should be taken into account when defining the requirements for quality.
Company requirements comprise legal and regulatory requirements and may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
When executing a construction project, it is essential to guarantee certain requirements, among which the operational safety of the installation plays a decisive role, which is closely linked to time.
Consequently, it is important to understand that operational safety is one of the quality aspects linked to time in the construction sector and that this term is used to describe availability and the factors that condition it: reliability, maintainability and logistics. of maintenance.
Another aspect to take into account in the construction sector when talking about quality is closely associated with safety, which is conceptually different from operational safety, as this is understood as the state in which the risk of injury to persons or material damage it is limited to an acceptable level.
There are other very important elements associated with the concept of quality and which are essential to obtain the desired quality in relation to which it is interesting to reflect, particularly in the construction sector, and more specifically in the UNECA Corporation. Among these can be mentioned: quality inspection, quality control, quality assurance, quality management and total quality management. There has been some confusion regarding the meaning of these terms, however, in simple terms, quality control refers to the operational means used to satisfy the requirements for quality, while quality assurance aims to give confidence in said compliance,both internally for the organization itself and externally for clients and authorities and consists of a set of planned and systematic activities, applied within the framework of the quality system, which have been shown to be necessary to give adequate confidence that an entity will satisfy the requirements. requirements for quality.
The new demands associated with quality management require changes in the mentality and organizational culture of companies, as well as the adaptation of the structures and operation of the entities.
Quality management is a sufficient guarantee that the services, works and products provided meet the quality requirements, previously established and agreed with the Client, within the agreed period and with the lowest production cost that offers an attractive price to the Client and obtaining profits for the Company.
Due to the above, the concept of quality is broader, establishing quality management for all activities.
In this way, and taking into account that at present everything related to quality must have a comprehensive approach defined as quality management, it is considered important to refer to the concept expressed by ISO: 2000 and which is the following: "activities coordinated to direct and control an organization with regard to quality ”; It is based on: planning, control, assurance, continuous improvement of the activity, being defined the Quality Management System as "management system to direct and control an organization with respect to quality".
