Does Quality Matter?
For the past fourteen years of my career I have been a quality geek – long enough to develop and refine web-based ISO 9001-compliant software and become quality director at a major Canadian construction company. And long enough to have some thoughts about quality that may be of value to others.
I hope to share those thoughts in my next book, provisionally titled “An Architect’s Guide to Quality – Getting There and Why That Matters” (AAGQ).
AAGQ is about getting to quality, specifically the 2015 version of ISO 9001, and why that matters. It’s about getting there quickly and efficiently, at substantially less cost than you might think. It’s about the financial and reputational benefits of getting there. It’s about feeling better that you’ve done it.
But first I need to do some research in addition to my own experience. I hope to avail myself of you, my audiences at LinkedIn, FaceBook and my forum at AnArchitectsGuide.com.
I believe social media is the most efficient means to harvest the most ideas from the broadest audience. If I am wrong, I can always revert to the traditional research and experience that underlie my first book, “An Architect’s Guide to Construction – Tales from the Trenches.”
So here’s my approach. I will ask you a series of questions designed to elicit your thoughts around a number of quality-related topics. You can respond to me via social media or by email to bpalmquist@quality-works.net. All ideas that I incorporate into AAGQ will be attributed, unless you advise you want anonymity.
Shall we get started?
My first and perhaps most fundamental question is “Does quality in design and construction matter? Is there a place for quality in your life’s built environment?”
Over to you.
Yes but I think we live in a efficiency fast food world instead of a affective restaurant world. It is easy to get sucked into being efficient as it is the general paradigm but I think to be more environmentally friendly we need to start to change paradigms to have longer lasting value.
Absolutely, it reflects the Company's Integrity!
Yes, quality matters. In choosing between a 25 year or 45 year roof the owner has made his informed decision (informed by his design and other professionals) based on his own constraints (budget, financing ability, how long they plan to be at the property, other...) CHOSE the 25 year roof QUALITY LEVEL. A failure at year 26 is not necessarily a quality failure. However, if the constructed 25 year roof (with no identification of non-compliance at the time of construction and completion) fails in 10 years, then the owner has not achieved the quality that mattered for that project. I appreciate Steve Cox's comments that a strategy is to have processes in place in the contract to help the construction tradesmen excel on your project to achieve the contracts stated quality. Many specifications include processes to assure folks excel; such as qualifications, training, on site demos, manufacturer inspections, etc...; these types of controls help the tradesmen and companies excel and deliver the quality that was contracted.
Most certainly design and construction quality matter a great deal Brian. In fact they go hand in hand. I could design the most structurally sound bridge on the face of the planet yet if I were to turn the design over to a construction company lacking the needed equipment, personnel, core competencies and skills to build it, then the quality of the design would be of little to no consequence what so ever. Further still and as an example, I recently attended our local St. Patrick's day parade. I stood on a roof top overlooking our historic city. One of the buildings in full view was one of our oldest downtown banks and a landmark in our region. Some years back it underwent a major expansion project. While the design and quality of work is acceptable, the modern look combined with the historic architecture looks very odd and even misplaced. It takes away from the original design and looks plain, flat and modern. I would have been screaming NO if I were on the planning board. As I stood there looking at it, almost as if he could hear my thoughts, I heard a gentlemen telling his wife "wow, look at the bank, what a shame they didn't put more thought into that."
The problem with specifying quality is cost. For example a 45 year torch on roof is a better quality than a 25 year torch on roof. But the budget demands a 25 year roof. This of course is not cost effective in the long run. After 25 years, replacing the roof with a 15 year roof will probably cost twice what it would have cost on day one. Maybe three times the cost. This simple calculation should be enough to convince clients that quality saves costs in the long run. However, the client only has so much initial budget and is an optimist that he/she can finance the higher costs at a later date. Quality matters to the architect, but does not necessarily matter to the client. Of course the architect should protect himself/herself by categorising the building as a 25 year building not a 45 year building. So on the 26th year when failures occur due to quality shortcuts the architect is not to blame. Yes, quality matters.