July 30, 2021
Construction projects are rarely completed without deficiencies, mishaps, and setbacks.
We’re all human and mistakes happen, so it’s understandable.
But the construction industry doesn’t have to continue on this way.
By implementing the steps to improve quality control in construction, construction businesses can thrive. Not only will projects run smoother, but:
Cloud-based project management software has become game-changing for the construction industry and it can help you take control over quality in your construction business.
CM Fusion is a cloud-based construction management software meant for general contractors to use to have more control over their construction projects.
CM Fusion offers features that allow users to:
To help better manage quality control in construction, CM Fusion’s change orders feature, as well as many others, keep general contractors and all responsible parties on task, within budget, and working with minimal issues.
Quality control in the construction industry is incredibly important. It helps to ensure:
Inspection and quality control in construction are mostly mandatory pieces of a construction project. Without performing inspections and staying on top of quality control, you increase the chances of not meeting the specifications of drawings and expectations of customers.
Here is a quality control example in construction:
Your construction company is working on building a home for a client. The drawings have specifications of a frame in which the shower will be installed.
The contractor moves forward with building the shower frame without double-checking the drawings. No one ever checks on the contractor's work.
When the frame is built, the shower is to now be installed. Because the frame was built too small, the shower does not fit.
Now instead of moving forward with the project, the frame must be rebuilt.
Not only does this cause a project delay, but it likely interferes with the budget.
However, even with the best quality control management, there can still be deficiencies. Superintendents, inspectors, and contractors are all human and make mistakes.
By recognizing that mistakes can happen and taking note of the possible errors of a project beforehand, general contractors can better plan for:
As previously mentioned, quality control in the construction industry is incredibly important. Not only does it ensure a job is run smoothly, but it gives the construction company a good reputation for future business as well.
If you’re hoping to improve quality control in your construction business, CM Fusion’s cloud-based project management software can help.
The many features of CM Fusion help general contractors communicate, collaborate, and so much more.
How can you tell if you have good or bad quality control in your construction business?
These 5 factors can be a jumping-off point to help you determine where quality control stands in your construction company:
Meeting the project’s deadline is important.
However, if the project is completed all wrong, meeting the deadline doesn’t matter at all.
One goal of quality control in construction is to complete the project on schedule but to do it correctly.
By implementing good quality control management in the construction industry, not only can construction businesses hope to complete more projects on schedule, but those projects will be done the right way the first time.
Implementing good quality control habits in construction can help construction businesses meet their client or owner’s requirements.
When quality control is done right, all of the specifications and requirements of a project are noted, communicated, checked, and checked again.
Examples of owner’s requirements could be:
With some of the features offered by CM Fusion, like …
… construction businesses have a much higher chance of meeting the client or owner’s requirements the first time around.
Similar to meeting the client’s requirements is fulfilling the specifications of the contract.
This could mean:
Disputes can cause major setbacks in a construction project, so by using good quality control management processes, many disputes can be avoided or minimized.
Some common disputes in the construction industry are:
When a project is complete, you want to be sure your construction business has met all of the goals of the project. If not, you want to know exactly where things went wrong.
Quality control management can:
If your project plan is clear from the start and quality control is implemented, reviewing the goals and double-checking that a project meets its final purpose should be clear and easy to do.
CM Fusion and all of the features offered in the software can help make this final task even easier.
Quality control in construction mostly ensures that a project runs smoothly from beginning to end. By staying on top of the many moving parts of a project, general contractors can minimize the mishaps and mistakes that inevitably come with construction projects.
However, conducting great quality control management can prove to have many large benefits when done correctly, like:
Good quality control limits the chances that things will go wrong or that something will need to be reworked throughout a project.
With limited mistakes, the client's project is more likely to be done correctly and on time.
Many construction businesses are recommended through word-of-mouth, so a happy customer can make a huge impact on the future of your business.
Satisfied customers make for good recommendations throughout the industry, increasing your chances to gain more project opportunities.
When a project needs to be reworked due to errors, you end up wasting more time and money.
Although there is typically a cushion in contracts for this reason, construction businesses still strive to complete a project as close to the deadline and within budget as possible.
However, good quality control management does recognize that some things are out of your control, and reworks may have to happen.
Because of this, general contractors usually account for a little more time on a project deadline and a bit more money in the budget when possible.
Quality control does help to reduce project errors and in turn, reduces the potential for parts of a project to be reworked, extending deadlines and spending more money.
We’ve learned that good quality control management in the construction industry means:
All of this makes your construction company look good.
Future potential clients want to hire a construction company that credits themselves on quality control and completing great work.
By implementing good quality control practices, you are building a good reputation and putting your construction business in a great position to win potential future bids.
When it comes to how a project is run and completed, who is in charge? Ultimately, who is responsible for quality control in construction?
Primarily, the project manager or site manager, or the general contractor is who takes care of quality control management. They are running the project from start to finish, making decisions, and delegating work.
However, inspectors also carry some of the weight of responsibility for quality control in construction. They are inspecting and approving job sites and buildings to ensure that they are safe to use and to code.
Although most of the burden of quality control falls on these people, responsibility trickles down to all of the workers who have a hand in a construction project. This could include:
When a project is complete, every person who played a part in the process holds some responsibility for quality control.
Quality assurance and quality control are both significant parts of quality management in construction. One cannot fully function without the other.
Quality assurance is the set of activities in a system that fill quality requirements. Essentially looking at a plan and meeting the requirements.
Quality control is how quality assurance works. Quality control is the assurance of quality in products. Essentially making sure to fulfill the requirements of a final project without defects and mistakes.
Is your construction business struggling to make it through a project without many mistakes, having to rework parts of projects, miscommunications, and more?
You’re likely having issues with quality control management.
Quality control in construction is a major important piece to running a construction project smoothly and effectively.
By taking advantage of the features offered in CM Fusion’s cloud-based project management software, you can improve your quality control and make your construction business more reputable.
Try out CM Fusion for free for 30 days to see how it works before you commit.
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