All successful quality programs have (1) a requirement for commitment to quality by all the employees and their partners and (2) an emphasis on error prevention and client satisfaction. To comply with TQM, Six Sigma, ISO, or other quality standards required by the client or by the project management firm, the project manager must engage in quality programs and provide documents that specifically comply with the quality standards in use. For example, a project is typically required to follow the parent organization’s work processes related to procurement and document management. Any project processes that interface with the organization’s quality processes will be required to meet the quality standards of the organization.
If a large project involves repetitive processes such as welding or pouring concrete, statistical processes control methods can be used to maintain the quality of the product. These processes control methods are similar to those used by process managers in the manufacturing environment. The intent is for the work of the project to meet design specifications. The welding tools and equipment must be sufficient to perform the welds established in the welding specifications, and the welds must be tested, usually by an independent tester, to assure the end product meets the design specifications. The civil engineers design a concrete pour to meet certain criteria that will support a structure. The criteria, detailed in the design specifications, provide the parameters that the construction crew must meet when pouring the concrete. On large projects, which sometimes have thousands of welds and hundreds of yards of concrete to pour, the use of quality control tools and methods are critical to meeting design specifications.
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