The application of total quality management on Ghanaian construction site: a case study of Tema port
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Date
2019-06
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KNUST
Abstract
In the manufacturing and service industries, it has been testified that the implementation of TQM has led to improvements in competitiveness, quality and productivity in only 20-30% of the organizations that have applied it. However, the evidence of improvements in companies applying TQM practices is quite low, particularly in the construction industry in Ghana. The main objective of the study was to ascertain the challenges of effective TQM practices on construction sites within the Tema Port. Specifically, the study sought to establish the extent of application of TQM principles on construction sites at the port, to determine the extent of TQM practices; and then to ascertain the challenges faced in effective TQM implementation. Data was collected from a sample of 50 construction project personnel at the GPHA in Tema using questionnaires and the Relative Importance Index technique (RII) was applied to be able to rank the factors under each objective. The overall RII for evidence of the existence of RII principles was 0.585 (medium). This means that generally TQM principles were not very evident in the activities of construction companies at the Tema Port. Generally, the RII for TQM practices was 0.45 (low). Generally the RII for Challenges against effective TQM implementations was 0.766 (high). This means that challenges against effective TQM implementation were high at the Tema Port. The findings indicate that implementation TQM practices are still at nursery stage within the construction industry as principles and practices were found to be at medium level of observation. There is low evidence of the principles and observation of TQM practices within the activities on construction sites. The low level of practice can be attributed to the high level of challenges experienced in ensuring effective implementation of TQM practices. The study therefore recommended management commitment, education and training for staff, as well as government initiative to make TQM standards mandatory.
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These submitted to Kwame Nkrumah University of science and technology, Kumasi, Ghana