A framework for total quality management in the construction industry in Bahrain

The quality of any finished project in the construction industry relies mainly on the specifications written for that project. The specifications are benchmarks for the quality of the project, which should be referred to during all phases of the project. Successful specifications are normally associated with accuracy, clarity, coverage of all clauses, precession and the effectiveness of the description of the materials and methods of fixing. On the other hand, poor specifications often result in delays in handing-over, escalation of prices due to variations, disputes, high penalties, loss of trust and compromise in the quality of the finished project. The construction industry in Bahrain often suffers from poor specifications. In order to determine the severity of the problem, a questionnaire survey was undertaken to analysis the present standard of specifications used in the construction industry in Bahrain. The outcomes of the survey revealed major setbacks in the standard of the existing specifications such as inappropriate repetition, excessive conflict, unclear and uncompleted clauses with little precession. The majority of respondents called for a change in the situation. Improvement of quality has become a major challenge faced by the construction industry and can involve, reducing cost solving problems of rework, reducing maintenance cost and improving the life cycle value of the buildings. Total Quality Management has become one of the best solutions to overcome the problems, and specification could be used as a gate to introducing TQM to the construction industry. Specifications are approach to setting the standard of quality for any construction project, and used as a tool to get design and construction teams committed to the projects quality standards through all stages of the construction process. The overall afin of Us thesis is to develop a framework for implementing Total Quality Management (TQM) in the construction industry in Bahrain, by developing a dynamic specifications model which will help to improve performance in the construction industry, improve consultant-client- constructor- supplier chain relation, control the budget of the project and reduce disputes, claims and variations in the construction industry.