Lecture

2
The Quality Status in the
Ethiopian
Construction
Industry
 CONTENTS
Introduction
Quality and construction
control
Quality Policy and
Improvement
The Role of Management in
Quality Quality Management
Practices in Ethiopia Why Poor
Quality?
What Measures to be taken for
Quality?
 Introduc
tion

• As the intensive construction in Ethiopia

today becomes more complex, the
demand for infrastructure, housing
and project management services
is
increasing.
• During construction the of proje
application
management; progress ct
cos again
tender
against ortime,
budget, quality against
t st
specifcations is
confusing for all parties involved in the
construction process.
 Quality and construction
control

• Quality control is the responsibility of the

contractor.
• However, it could be categorized into two
parts:
1. The quality of workmanship
2. The construction materials
• Concerning the workmanship, it is
usual to have experienced Foreman to be
on the Construction Site continuously until
the project is completed.
 …Quality and
construction control

• Apart from this, the construction

materials are tested
to ensure the quality i.e.
– Since the Ethiopian standard code of practice
sets minimum quality requirements, the
materials should fulfill the standards
specified by the code before using them in the
construction project.
• These qualitative tests are mostly done
according to the Ethiopian standards
institution, by building design
enterprise, as well as by the
university and other frms.
 Quality Policy and
Improvement
• The Quality and Standards Authority of
Ethiopia (QSAE) is committed to
continuously and consistently satisfy the
needs and expectations of its
customers in a process of continuous
improvement.
• QSAE strives to support the national
effort for social and economic
development by providing effcient,
reliable and impartial services in the
following fields:
– Formulating Ethiopian standards;
– Product certification and laboratory
testing;
– Calibration and verification of measuring
equipment;
– Standards information and training.
 The Role of Management in
Quality
• A manager of an export company has to
commit himself to quality production and
customer satisfaction.
• Whether an enterprise focuses on sales
or on customer satisfaction, a quality
improvement system which is not supported
by the top management is always going to
fail.
• Management support and commitment to
a quality program is critical.
• The quality system has to be explained and
 has to reach the producers or operators
through the management in a manner that
they can understand it.
• Nonetheless, there is not one single
successful model of strategic quality
management.
 …The Role of Management
in Quality
• Ethiopian enterprises have different business
needs so that attention needs to be given to
different issues.
• Unless the management votes for a
quality system, the project will not be
fruitful as can be observed in some
companies.
• Likewise, unless the quality program is
mandatory, it
becomes difficult to implement
the policy.
• Managers decisively promote the issue of
quality when there is:
– Deeper understanding of international quality
and standards;
– Appreciation of the value of quality for
consumers;
– Awareness of competition at international level;
– Knowledge of international measurements.
 Quality Management Practices
in Ethiopia

• The construction industry in Ethiopia

has been
developing tremendously since 2001.
• Development, progresses, changes
and mainly the
efforts are clearly seen.
• However, relative to where the country
is going to reside, its achievements are
far behind.
• Now, it is understandable by most of the
stakeholders that quality related
problems are the stumbling block for the
majority of the industries.
 …Quality Management Practices
• in Ethiopia
Despite its prominent role, the
construction industry in Ethiopia, like in
other developing countries, faces many
challenges in its practice.
• Some of these challenges are project
overruns, poor quality, inappropriate
procurement systems, and a failure to
cope with project requirements and
the inability to adopt best practices.
• Studies identified that time (scheduling),
quality, cost, safety management
challenges as the top management
…Quality Management Practices
in Ethiopia
challenges facing Ethiopian
Construction Industry.
…Quality Management Practices in
Ethiopia
• A field study has also confirmed that
traditional measures of cost, time,
scope, and quality are still major
challenges.
• According to the study, Ethiopia is the
second from the last followed by
Mozambique which indicates that the
management practice in Ethiopia is even
far behind from those poor performing
developing countries in
Africa.
• The amount quality deviates in
ofrange 21- management
from the
requirement
anticipated
40% atpredetermined
the beginning of the
s orproject.
 …Quality Management Practices
in Ethiopia
• Through analysis of the Ethiopian
Quality award
(EQA) self-assessment report evaluation,
generally, quality management
practices in Ethiopia was found to be low
in all the tenets including leadership,
policy and strategy, resources
management, process management,
customer satisfaction, business
performance, and impact on society.
 Why Poor Quality?
• The level of quality knowledge is
inadequate
• The importance of quality varies according
to the role
stakeholders play
• The pre-occupation with cost and time
marginalizes quality
• This pre-occupation affects
contractors’ quality
related performance (rating)
• Quality performance is influenced by the
sector in which construction is
undertaken and the contributors.
 …Why Poor
Quality?
• A range of interventions / systems
are important relative to the achievement
of quality.
• An informal approach is adopted
relative to the achievement of quality
(prevalence of documented QMSs).
• A range of perspectives / practices /
situations could improve or contribute to
an improvement in quality –
management commitment is critical.
• A range of interventions / situations are a
barrier to
achieving quality – poor site
management!
 What Measures to be taken for
Quality?
In order to achieve quality of construction
works the following action could be relevant
to the stakeholders:
• Building material producers and
users should take measures to avoid the
production of hazardous materials and
ensure the safety and protection of
works.
• Architects and engineers should
specify safe materials and should design
the in-door environment in a way that
concentrations of hazardous of
materials do not accumulate.
 …What Measures to be taken for
Quality?
• The responsible parties should ensure that
they use safer materials and processes in
construction in order to avoid accidents, they
should also ensure safety of onsite
construction workers by offering them
protective cloth and other safety materials.
• The government should play a crucial role
in controlling the health and safety hazards
of construction adopting and enforcing
regulatory measures and applying non-
regulatory incentives.
Therefore, the quality promoters, particularly
the government should give special attention
to the construction industries quality.
Lecture 2 Ends!

Thank you!!