Assessment of quality management practices of building construction firms in Uganda: a case of Kamwenge district

Abstract

Generally , local firms always strive to gain competitive edge in building projects based on Total Quality Management initiatives that are customer centered in nature. The study focused on assessment of quality man management practices in building construction firms in Uganda particularly Kamwenge District. The quality of buildings has continued to deteriorate evidenced by the fact that a number of buildings are collapsing in the country. Simple random sampling and purposive sampling were used to select respondents and 54 questionnaire s were administered to building construction firms and district local government targeting mostly contractor's staff and local government officials. Data were analysed using relative importance index to determine the significant factors affecting quality of building projects in the study area. The study revealed that there was significant relation ship bet ween quality management practices and quality of buildings project s in Kamwenge District. The biggest challenge in implementation of quality management practices was Jack of a quality assurance team to lead the process in construction firms. The framework developed to address a coordination gap between stakeholders. The study concluded that third party certification and testing materials before actual implementation are critical factors affecting quality of construction projects. It was recommend ed that every construction firm should test materials before actual implementation of building project and recruit skilled workers to construct quality projects. Key words : Quality management, Quality planning, quality control and quality assurance