Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to define the quality and productivity problems, and improvement opportunities that face the construction industry today. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted interviews and surveys plus they researched pertinent literature to come to their findings. Findings – The paper concludes that there is a lack of good research for improved approaches and that construction work is considered an undesirable profession. It also concludes that there has been a slow change over from quality control (QC) to total quality management (TQM). Research limitations/implications – The research for this paper was limited to surveys and interviews conducted in the USA. Practical implications – The paper concludes that improved quality and productivity is needed to eliminate high levels of waste in the construction industry. Originality/value – The paper defines construction problems as they exist today.
Harrington et al. (Fri,) studied this question.