Non-conformant work wastes assets.
The third statement in my "Question on Quality in Construction" series is:
“The cost of quality is the expense of doing things wrong.”
And the answer to this is TRUE!
Yes, quality is in fact free. The cost of quality is the expense of doing things wrong, or of putting physical work in place that’s not in conformance with the contract and project requirements, the first time. Accordingly, rework is required, at least one or many times. Rework in turn jeopardizes adjacent scopes of work on the critical path, impacts labor and materials resources, and causes unplanned cycles of re-inspection, until the work is corrected and in conformance with the contract and project requirements. On one hand, it’s the non-conformant work or the rework that wastes assets. This is by no means a revelation, but common sense and reasoned judgment – rework is uneconomical and inefficient. On the other hand, the conformant work helps to ensure the delivery of assets in line with the project budget and schedule. As one Vela Systems customer highlights, “We’re only paid to do it once!”
Here are five questions to you:
- Does your project team understand that quality is free – the cost of quality is the expense of doing things wrong?
- Who bears the expense of doing things wrong on your projects?
- Is it important to measure the expense of doing things wrong on your projects?
- How do you measure the expense of doing things wrong on your projects?
- What would you estimate the expense of doing things wrong as a percentage of total project cost?
Next up is the fourth statement, “Inspection and test should report to construction ("construction," in this case, is substituted for "manufacturing") so construction can have the proper tools to do the job,” which will be discussed next week. For more information on quality and Enterprise Quality Management programs for construction and capital projects, please read my blog entry each week.
RSS Subscribe
