Total quality management in the construction industry in Hong Kong: A supply chain management perspective

Total quality management (TQM) is increasingly being adapted by constructio n companies as an initiative to solve quality problems in the construction industry and to meet the needs of the final customer. However, TQM should i ncorporate the integrated quality management activities of members in the s upply chain. This supply chain context is especially salient in the quality assurance of construction projects as a general contractor often outsource s most of the construction work to other members in the supply chain, i.e. its suppliers and subcontractors. Therefore, this paper aims to delineate t he supply chain management issues in total quality for construction project s. Through the use of an in-depth case study on the TQM system of a leading construction company in Hong Kong, the strategy, structure and tasks for m anaging supplier/subcontractor relationships are examined. The study conclu des with identification of some supply chain management issues in the const ruction industry, as well as future research topics in integrating supply c hain management with TQM.