The Effects of TQM Implementation in ISO 9001 Certified Construction Firms

Transcription

1 De La Salle University From the SelectedWorks of Behnam Neyestani Spring March 12, 2018 The Effects of TQM Implementation in ISO 9001 Certified Construction Firms Behnam Neyestani, De La Salle University This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC_BY-NC International License. Available at:

2 The Effects of TQM Implementation in ISO 9001 Certified Construction Firms A PhD Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of Civil Engineering Department Gokongwei College of Engineering De La Salle University, Manila In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering Major in Construction Technology and Management By Behnam Neyestani Dissertation Advisers Dr. Joseph Berlin P. Juanzon Dr. Andres Winston C. Oreta March 2018 Revision Number: 1 Revision Date: May P a g e

3 APPROVAL SHEET

4 DECLARATION I, Behnam Neyestani, declare that this dissertation is an original research work has been done by me and has not been submitted to earn a degree at any other academic institution previously. All sources of information (Materials) that extracted and reproduced from other authors in this dissertation, were accordingly acknowledged, and a reference list has been appended. I acknowledge that some parts of this research work were used to write some conference papers, articles, and working papers during preparing this dissertation, as listed below. Conference papers: Neyestani B., & Juanzon, J. B. P. (2017). Effects of ISO 9001 Standard on Critical Factors of Project Management in Construction Industry. In Plaisent, M., & Valenzuela, A.J. (Eds.), Proceedings of 2017 Manila International Conference on Trends in Engineering and Technology (MTET-17), pp , Jan , 2017 Manila, Philippines. (ISBN: ). (Available at uruae: (Best final Paper Award). Neyestani B., & Juanzon, J. B. P. (2017). Impact of ISO 9001 Standard on the Quality Costs of Construction Projects in the Philippines. In Plaisent, M., & Valenzuela, A.J. (Eds.), Proceedings of 2017 Manila International Conference on Trends in Engineering and Technology (MTET-17), pp , Jan , 2017 Manila, Philippines. (ISBN: ). (Available at uruae: Journals publications: Neyestani, B., & Juanzon J. B. P. (2017). ISO 9001 Standard and Organization's Performance: A Literature Review. International Journal of Advance Multidisciplinary Research, 4(2), pp Neyestani, B., & Juanzon, J. B. P. (2016). Identification of A Set of Appropriate Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for Successful TQM Implementation in Construction, and Other iii

5 Industries, International Journal of Advanced Research, 4(11), pp Neyestani, B. (2016). Impact of ISO 9001 Certification on the Projects' Success of Large-Scale (AAA) Construction Firms in the Philippines, International Research Journal of Management, IT & Social Sciences, 3(11), pp Neyestani, B., & Juanzon, J. B. P. (2016). Developing an Appropriate Performance Measurement Framework for Total Quality Management (TQM) in Construction and Other Industries. IRA International Journal of Technology & Engineering, 5(2), pp Working papers: Neyestani, B. (2017, January). Effects of ISO 9001 on Non-Financial and Financial Performance in the Organizations: A Review, Neyestani, B. (2017, March). Seven Basic Tools of Quality Control: The Appropriate Quality Techniques for Solving Quality Problems in the Organizations., Neyestani, B. (2017, March). Principles and Contributions of Total Quality Mangement (TQM) Gurus on Business Quality Improvement, Neyestani, B. (2017, March). Quality Costing Technique: An Appropriate Financial Indicator for Reducing Costs and Improving Quality in the Organizations, Neyestani, B. (2016, December). Effectiveness of Quality Management System (QMS) on Construction Projects, Signature: Date: iv

6 ABSTRACT TQM philosophy was first introduced by quality gurus, it is an organization-wide approach considering all crucial factors for producing the products and services with good quality. Indeed, TQM system can be successful to capture its goals with adopting ISO 9001, establishing a proper QMS for processes of an organization. In fact, the construction practitioners and researchers are rarely serious to apply critical TQM practices and ISO 9001 at the same time. Thus, this study designed particularly to identify the effects of a set of TQM CSFs and ISO 9001 solely and conjointly on organizational performance, and also to verify whether ISO 9001 as a TQM tool has a complementary role with TQM in enhancing organizational performance within ISO 9001-certified construction firms belonged to Large-scale and located in Metro Manila, Philippines. To shed more light on these issues, a systematic literature review was carefully done on the context of the study across a lot of sources from databases, which could provide valuable insight on specifying the main concepts of this research. However, the seven most essential TQM practices, ten right KPIs in the basis of BSC, and the mechanism of ISO 9001 were uncovered that are so much important in formulating a successful TQM implementation model. After determining main variables, an initial TQM framework has been made in corresponding with the evidence of the literature body. In order to test the eleven derived hypotheses, representing the interrelationships among TQM CSFs, ISO 9001, and organizational performance (KPIs) in the construction industry. To examine empirically this aforementioned TQM framework, a mono quantitative design based on survey strategy was justifiably selected as an appropriate methodology, and accordingly a survey questionnaire was built to collect data at a particular point in time. A self-administered questionnaire method was enforced, and 172 questionnaires have been sent to the targeted sample, but the only 126 of them with a response rate of 73.3% could be valid and usable for use in statistical data analysis. Also, statistical methods such as descriptive statistics and inferential statistics techniques were applied in analyzing the obtained data using SPSS 17 software. v

7 The outcomes of this investigation demonstrated that the implementation of a set of critical TQM practices is not generally performed at a desirable degree in the construction companies. Interestingly, the results of multiple regression analysis indicated that customer focus has the greatest impact on better performance, followed by employee involvement, training, process management, leadership, and supplier quality management. While information and analysis cannot be able to have a significant role in promoting organization's performance. Most importantly, this research found that each of both TQM CSFs implementation and ISO 9001 certification has meaningfully a positive contribution on organizational performance, and provide noticeable benefits in the construction context. It is worth to bear in mind that TQM possesses better outcomes and much broader approach than ISO 9001 in an organization. Overall, the enhanced performance can be significantly obtained by performing the combination of a set of six TQM CSFs and ISO 9001 as a whole at very high level, and the absence of contradiction between them, has suggested to use and integrate these quality management programs for achieving superior performance at all aspects of the construction firms. Finally, based on enough evidence, an optimal TQM model is developed with the six most critical TQM and ISO 9001 as enabling criteria, and a set of ten right KPIs (BSC) as result criteria, providing the overall guidance for pursuing performance excellence at project and enterprise levels in the construction industry. vi

8 vii

9 TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE...i APPROVAL SHEET...ii DECLARATION...iii ABSTRACT...v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...vii TABLE OF CONTENTS...viii LIST OF TABLES...xvi LIST OF FIGURES...xix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS...xxi LIST OF APPENDICES...xxii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY Main Objective Specific Objectives SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY Academic Significance Practical Significance SCOPE, AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY ASSUMPTIONS OF THE STUDY OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS...14 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM), AND ITS EFFECTS ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE The Concept and Definitions of Quality Basic Definitions of Total Quality Management Evolution of Total Quality Management The Quality Gurus Approaches Quality Award Models (Frameworks) for TQM Implementation Deming Prize (DP) Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Comparison of Quality Awards Quality, Total Quality Management, and Construction Industry Quality and Construction Total Quality Management and Construction Implementations of TQM within Construction Firms...34 viii

10 2.1.8 Total Quality Management Critical Success Factors for Construction Performance Measurement (Indicators) System for TQM Organizational Performance Measurement in Construction Constructors Performance Evaluation System (CPES) Main formal Performance Measurement Systems (PMSs) for TQM Implementation Identifying KPIs for PMS (BSC) Barricades of Implementing TQM in Construction Industry Tools and Techniques of Total Quality Management (TQM) Total Quality Management and Organizational Performance in Construction ISO 9001 AND ITS EFFECTS ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE History and Development of ISO and ISO Revision of ISO 9001 Certification The ISO 9000 Family (Standards) ISO 9001:2008 Requirements Overview of ISO 9001: Requirements of ISO 9001 Standard Adoption of ISO 9001 Certification in the World ISO 9001 certification and Construction Industry Barriers of ISO 9001 Certification in Construction Industry The Effects of ISO 9001 Certification on Organizational Performance TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT, AND ISO 9001 CERTIFICATION TQM and ISO 9001 Certification within Construction Firms Comparison of TQM and ISO 9001 Certification The Relationship of TQM and ISO 9001 Certification, and their Effects on Organizational Performance...81 CHAPTER 3 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS, AND HYPOTHESES FORMULATION OF CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Process of Constructing a Conceptual Framework Identification of Key Concepts (Variables) from Literature Review Identification of the TQM Practices Variables Identification of Organizational Performance Variables The Identification of ISO 9001:2008 variables Conceptual Framework of the Study HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT ix

11 3.2.1 Implementation of TQM Practices and Organizational Performance TQM Implementation and Organizational Performance TQM Practices, and Organizational Performance ISO 9001 Certification and Organizational Performance Integrated TQM Implementation and ISO 9001 on Organizational Performance TQM Implementation and ISO 9001 Certification PROPOSED TQM FRAMEWORK OF THIS STUDY CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY RESEARCH Concept of Research, Research Methodology and Method Purpose of the Research RESEARCH PROCESS Research Onion Research Philosophies Research Approaches Research Strategies Research Choice Research Time Horizons DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Research Data Secondary Data Primary Data Sample Design and Sample Method Sampling Design Process Population and Sampling Frame of the Study Sampling Method Sample Size Research Instrument Development Survey Questionnaire Design Construction and Structure of the Questionnaire Development of Questionnaire Scale Pilot Study Reliability and Validity of the Instrument Administration of the Survey DATA ANALYSIS Data Management Data Analysis Techniques SUMMARY OF SELECTED RESEARCH METHODOLOGY x

12 CHAPTER 5 DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION Response rate Demographic characteristics of the respondents according to Gender Age distribution of the respondents Demographic characteristics of the respondents according to work experience Demographic characteristics of the respondents according to educational background Demographic characteristics of the respondents according to Job Designations Demographic characteristics of the respondents according to organizational level Demographic characteristics of the respondents according to principal classification of the construction companies Demographic characteristics of the respondents according to the implementation of formal TQM framework Demographic characteristics of the respondents according to the main reason for being an ISO 9001 certified construction firm Demographic characteristics of the respondents according to the length of ISO 9001 certification RESEARCH INSTRUMENT RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY Procedure for analyzing the reliability and validity of research instrument Content validity Analysis Reliability Analysis Construct validity analysis Principal component analysis for TQM CSFs implementation Principal component analysis for ISO 9001 certification Principal component analysis for organizational performance indicators Criterion-related analysis Correlation analysis between TQM CSFs and organizational performance Correlation analysis between ISO 9001 and organizational performance RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DATA ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH OBJECTIVES DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS xi

13 5.4.1 Normality analysis Descriptive statistics analysis of TQM critical success factors (CSFs) Descriptive statistics on Leadership (L) Descriptive statistics on Customer Focus (CF) Descriptive statistics on Process Management (PM) Descriptive statistics on Supplier Quality Management (SQM) Descriptive statistics on Employee Involvement (EI) Descriptive statistics on Information and Analysis (IA) Descriptive statistics on Training (T) Status of implementing TQM CSFs across Large-scale construction companies Descriptive statistics for ISO 9001 certification Descriptive statistics for organizational performance Descriptive statistics of the effects of TQM implementation on organizational performance Descriptive statistics for the effects of ISO 9001 on organizational performance Descriptive statistics for impact of TQM-ISO 9001 on organizational performance INFERENTIAL STATISTICS Relationship of the statistical techniques used with each hypothesis Specifications of models for regression analysis Assumptions of the linear regression Normality and outliners Linearity and homoscedasticity multicollinearity Sample size xii

14 Effects of TQM implementation, and its CSFs on organizational performance (Model I) Checking the assumptions for Model I (Multiple linear regression) Multiple regression analysis (Model I) Impact of ISO 9001 certification on organizational performance (Model II) Checking the assumptions for Model II (Simple linear regression) Simple regression analysis (Model II) Impact of integrated TQM-ISO 9001 on organizational performance (Model III) Checking the assumptions for Model III (Simple linear regression) Simple regression analysis (Model III) EVALUATING HYPOTHESIZED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TQM IMPLEMENTATION AND ISO / SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS OF HYPOTHESES CHAPTER 6 DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS ANALYSIS OF DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION Response rate Characteristics of participating individuals Characteristics of participating construction firms LEVEL OF TQM PRACTICES (CSFs) IMPLEMENTATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IMPACT OF TQM IMPLEMENTATION, AND ITS SEVEN PRACTICES (CSFs) ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY TQM implementation and organizational performance Leadership (L) and organizational performance Training (T) and organizational performance xiii

15 Customer focus (CF) and organizational performance Employee Involvement (EI) and organizational performance Supplier Quality Management (SQM) and organizational performance Information and Analysis (IA) and organizational performance Process Management (PM) and organizational performance IMPACT OF ISO 9001 CERTIFICATION ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IMPACT OF INTEGRATED TQM-ISO 9001 ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY CORRELATION BETWEEN TQM IMPLEMENTATION AND ISO 9001 CERTIFICATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT OF AN EFFECTIVE FRAMEWORK FOR TQM IMPLEMENTATION BASED ON THE FINDINGS Development of an initial TQM framework based on secondary data Empirical examination of initial TQM framework based on primary data Arrangement of TQM components within a framework based on TQM philosophy Plan phase Do phase Check phase Act phase CHAPTER 7 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS SUMMARY OF RESEARCH STUDY AND BASIC FINDINGS KEY OUTCOMES BASED ON RESEARCH QUESTIONS POSED IN THIS STUDY xiv

16 7.2.1 What is the status of TQM practices implementation of Large-Scale (AA & AAA) construction firms in the Philippines? What are the effects of TQM implementation, and ISO 9001 certification solely or conjointly on organizational performance (OP) in construction companies? What is the impact of the implementation of vital TQM practices as a whole, and also each of its CSFs on organizational performance in construction industry? What is the Impact of ISO 9001 certification on organizational performance? What is the impact of integrated TQM ISO 9001 on organizational performance of construction companies? What is the relationship between ISO 9001 certification and TQM implementation? What can be the specifications of an optimal model for TQM implementation that is adopted ISO 9001 as its TQM tool, in order to achieve performance excellence continuously at project and enterprise levels within Philippine construction companies? GENERAL CONCLUSIONS LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH WORKS REFERENCES APPENDICES xv

17 LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1 Theoretical knowledge gap from existing studies in TQM, ISO 9001, and OP...6 Table 2.1 Quality management gurus...23 Table 2.2 The comparison of guru's approaches...24 Table 2.3 Common themes comparison in international QAs...29 Table 2.4 Analysis of Critical Success Factors in different TQM frameworks by various authors...42 Table 2.5 The criteria of CPES in evaluating performance during construction and upon its completion Table 2.6 The ranges of CPES ratings and their equivalent qualitative descriptions...50 Table 2.7 Commonly utilized performance measures in the UK industries...54 Table 2.8 Commonly selected KPIs by scholars from 26 TQM frameworks...55 Table 2.9 The tools and techniques of TQM and its performance zones...59 Table 2.10 Numbers of ISO 9001 certificates issued for construction from 1993 to Table 2.11 Relevance of ISO 9001: 2008 with TQM elements...79 Table 2.12 Summary and analysis of literature review in terms of the relationship between ISO 9001 certification (ISO) and TQM, and their effects on Organizational Performance (OP)...83 Table 3.1 List of seven most cited critical factors of TQM from past 37 TQM frameworks...89 Table 3.2 Ten most cited KPIs from 26 TQM frameworks that arranged based on BSC...96 Table 3.3 A list of hypotheses Table 4.1 Comparison of four philosophies in management research Table 4.2 Relevant situation for different research strategies Table 4.3 Impact of various factors on choice of probability sampling methods Table 4.4 Sample size, confidence levels and confidence intervals for random samples Table 4.5 Main attributes of questionnaires Table 4.6 Structure of questionnaire Table 4.7 Summary of selected research design elements Table 5.1 Analysis of the response rates for survey in AA and AAA construction firms Table 5.2 Distribution of the respondents according to Gender Table 5.3 Distribution of the respondents according to Age Table 5.4 Distribution of the respondents according to Work Experience xvi

18 Table 5.5 Distribution of the respondents according to Educational Background Table 5.6 Distribution of the respondents according to Job Designations Table 5.7 Distribution of the respondents according to the organizational level based on PCAB Table 5.8 Distribution of the respondents according to the principal classification of the construction organizations based on PCAB Table 5.9 Distribution of the respondents according to the implementation of formal TQM models Table 5.10 Distribution of the respondents according to the most significant reason for possessing ISO 9001 certificate Table 5.11 Distribution of the respondents according to length of ISO 9001 certification Table 5.12 Results of the content validity analysis Table 5.13 Guidelines for specifying the level of reliability of scales according to Cronbach's alpha coefficient Table 5.14 Reliability analysis for variables Table 5.15 Guidelines for identifying the suitable levels to employ factor analysis (PCA) according to KMO measure of sample adequacy Table 5.16 Results of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and the Bartlett's test of sphericity for TQM Table 5.17 Total variance explained for TQM variables Table 5.18 Results of the rotated factor loadings for 35 items measuring TQM implementation Table 5.19 Results of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and the Bartlett's test of sphericity for ISO Table 5.20 Total variance explained for ISO 9001 variables Table 5.21 Results of the rotated factor loadings for 25 items measuring ISO Table 5.22 Results of KMO and the Bartlett's test of Sphericity for organizational performance Table 5.23 Total variance explained for organizational performance variables Table 5.24 Results of the rotated factor loadings for items of organizational performance indicators Table 5.25 Cohen's principle of correlation strength Table 5.26 Results of correlation analysis between TQM CSFs and organizational performance Table 5.27 Results of correlation analysis between the ISO 9001 clauses and organizational performance Table 5.28 Normality analysis Table 5.29 Descriptive statistics on Leadership (L) Table 5.30 Descriptive statistics on Customer Focus (CF) Table 5.31 Descriptive statistics on Process Management (PM) Table 5.32 Descriptive statistics on Supplier Quality Management (SQM) Table 5.33 Descriptive statistics on Employee Involvement (EI) xvii

19 Table 5.34 Descriptive statistics on Information and Analysis (IA) Table 5.35 Descriptive statistics on Training (T) Table 5.36 Level of each of TQM CSFs in Large-scale construction firms Table 5.37 Level of TQM implementation in Large-scale construction firms Table Different levels of TQM implementation in AA and AAA construction firms Table 5.39 Descriptive statistics on ISO 9001 certification Table 5.40 Descriptive statistics for the impact of TQM on organizational performance Table 5.41 Descriptive statistics for the impact of ISO 9001 on organizational performance Table 5.42 Descriptive statistics for the impact of integrated TQM-ISO 9001 on organizational performance Table 5.43 Summary of methods that used to test each hypothesis Table 5.44 Model I Summary b Table 5.45 ANOVA b for Model I Table 5.46 Correlation Coefficient between each of TQM CSFs and OP in Model I Table 5.47 Model II Summary b Table 5.48 ANOVA b for Model II Table 5.49 Correlation Coefficient between ISO 9001 and organizational performance in Model II Table 5.50 Model III Summary b Table 5.51 ANOVA b for Model III Table 5.52 Correlation Coefficient between integrated TQM and ISO 9001 and organizational performance in Model III Table 5.53 Correlation between TQM implementation and ISO 9001 Certification Table 5.54 Result of hypotheses tests xviii

20 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 The four levels in the evolution of TQM...21 Figure 2.2 The MBNQ model, including seven basic criteria...27 Figure 2.3 EFQM excellence model...28 Figure 2.4 A framework to identify the levels of TQM implementation...37 Figure 2.5 The Balanced Scorecard (BSC)...52 Figure 2.6 Performance measurement framework...53 Figure 2.7 Mechanism of PDCA in ISO Figure 2.8 Model of a process-based quality management system...67 Figure 2.9 The TQM/QMS relationship in simple terms...81 Figure 3.1 Conceptual framework for this study Figure 3.2 A model for Total Quality Management Figure 3.3 Proposed TQM framework for evaluation empirically Figure 4.1 The research onion Figure 4.2 The cycle of research Figure 4.3 Sampling frame distribution of AA and AAA construction companies in Metro Manila Figure 4.4 Choosing statistical tests for parametric data Figure 5.1 Developing a roadmap for the research instrument reliability and validity analysis Figure 5.2 Screen plot for TQM CSFs implementation Figure 5.3 Screen plot for ISO 9001 certification Figure 5.4 Screen plot for organizational performance indicators Figure 5.5. Example of curvilinear and linear relationships with standardized residuals by standardized predicted values Figure 5.6 Examples of homoscedasticity and heteroscedasticity Figure 5.7 Histogram- Normality of dependent variable (Model I) Figure 5.8 Normal P-P Plot of Regression Standardized Residual in Model I Figure 5.9 Scatter-plot between Regression Standardized Predicted Value and Regression Standardized Residual in Model I (TQM vs. OP) Figure 5.10 Scatter-plot with the regression line between the implementation of TQM CSFs and organizational performance Figure 5.11 Histogram- Normality of dependent variable (Model II) xix

21 Figure 5.12 Normal probability plots (P-P) of the independent variable (ISO 9001) in Model II Figure 5.13 Scatter-plot between Regression Standardized Predicted Value and Regression Standardized Residual in Model II (ISO 9001 vs. OP) Figure 5.14 Scatter-plot with the regression line between ISO 9001 and organizational performance Figure 5.15 Histogram- Normality of dependent variable (Model III) Figure 5.16 Normal P-P Plot of Regression Standardized Residual in Model III Figure 5.17 Scatter-plot between Regression Standardized Predicted Value and Regression Standardized Residual in Model III (Integ.TQM-ISO 9001 vs. OP) Figure 5.18 Scatter-plot with the regression line between integrated TQM-ISO 9001 and organizational performance Figure 6.1 Role of each of management paradigm in achieving performance excellence Figure 6.2 An optimal TQM model for achieving performance excellence in the construction industry Figure 7.1 An optimal framework for obtaining non-stop performance excellence in construction industry xx

22 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS TQM QM QMS ISO CSFs SME DP MBNQA EFQM SMEs PDCA QCs SPC SPSS M Sig. P-value Df F β SD BEM KMO Total Quality Management Quality Management Quality Management System International Organization for Standardization Critical Success Factors Small and Medium Enterprise Deming Prize Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award European Foundation for Quality Management Small and Medium Enterprises Plan Do Check Act Quality Circles Statistical Process Control Statistical Package for Social Sciences Mean Significant Probability Degrees of freedom Factor Loadings Beta Standard Deviation Business Excellence Model Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin xxi

23 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A Survey Questionnaire Appendix B Expertise Evaluation REFERENCES Neyestani B., & Juanzon, J. B. P. (2017). Effects of ISO 9001 Standard on Critical Factors of Project Management in Construction Industry., Proceedings of 2017 Manila International Conference on Trends in Engineering and Technology (MTET-17), pp , Jan , 2017 Manila, Philippines. Neyestani B., & Juanzon, J. B. P. (2017). Impact of ISO 9001 Standard on the Quality Costs of Construction Projects in the Philippines., Proceedings of 2017 Manila International Conference on Trends in Engineering and Technology (MTET-17), pp , Jan , 2017 Manila, Philippines. Neyestani, B., & Juanzon J. B. P. (2017). ISO 9001 Standard and Organization's Performance: A Literature Review. International Journal of Advance Multidisciplinary Research, 4(2), pp Neyestani, B., & Juanzon, J. B. P. (2016). Identification of A Set of Appropriate Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for Successful TQM Implementation in Construction, and Other Industries, International Journal of Advanced Research, 4(11), pp Neyestani, B. (2016). Impact of ISO 9001 Certification on the Projects' Success of Large-Scale (AAA) Construction Firms in the Philippines, International Research Journal of Management, IT & Social Sciences, 3(11), pp Neyestani, B., & Juanzon, J. B. P. (2016). Developing an Appropriate Performance Measurement Framework for Total Quality Management (TQM) in Construction and Other Industries. IRA International Journal of Technology & Engineering, 5(2), pp Neyestani, B. (2017, January). Effects of ISO 9001 on Non-Financial and Financial Performance in the Organizations: A Review, Neyestani, B. (2017, March). Seven Basic Tools of Quality Control: The Appropriate Quality Techniques for Solving Quality Problems in the Organizations., Neyestani, B. (2017, March). Principles and Contributions of Total Quality Mangement (TQM) Gurus on Business Quality Improvement, Neyestani, B. (2017, March). Quality Costing Technique: An Appropriate Financial Indicator for Reducing Costs and Improving Quality in the Organizations, Neyestani, B. (2016, December). Effectiveness of Quality Management System (QMS) on Construction Projects, xxii

24 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION If we knew what we were doing it wouldn't be research. Albert Einstein 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Construction activity is recognized as one of the oldest human concerns and built environments, which run the entire system of human pursuits, and activities (Hedre, 2010). Globally, the construction industry is the backbone of its infrastructure, and economy (Metri, 2005). Construction industry considers as one of the main sectors that contributes strongly to the Gross Domestic Profit (GDP) of any country (Anup et al., 2015). In the Philippines, construction industry has a vital role in the social and economic development. Doubtlessly, construction industry contributes to reduce unemployment rate, promote economic growth, and generate new residential, non-residential and infrastructure. Significantly, the share of construction industry to total GDP was 5.5 percent, and likewise almost 2 million jobs, or 5.9 percent of the total employment was related to construction industry in the Philippines by 2012 (World Bank, 2013). Over the past three decades, numerous government and business organizations have been reported that construction industry in many parts of the world suffers from many problems, especially for construction quality issues (Ali and Rahmat, 2010; Harrington et al., 2012; Khattak and Arshad, 2015). Great amount of time, money and resources, both human and material, are wasted each year in the construction industry for inefficiency, or lack of quality management procedure (Polat et al., 2012). Similarly, the manufacturing and service sectors had the same problems in the last decades, but they successfully solved most of them by effective methodologies and techniques. With the turn of the new millennium, the increasing effects of globalization and competitive pressure have significantly generated a paradigm shift within construction industry to change its performance by implementing Total quality management (TQM), 1