ApplyingTQM to major water supply projects

Abstract

Water supply and treatment projects the world over are characterized by similar constants and constraints and a similar sequence of project phases. These projects are also alike in that they are governed by the same rules of management, which can be applied regardless of project objective, technology used, local conditions, type of financing, and even the personalities of the project participants. Almost every project progresses through the same sequence of stages: appraisal, preliminary study, feasibility study, decision to finance and realize the project, detailed engineering design, tendering, final engineering design, construction, startup, commissioning, and maintenance. Through these stages, the project is defined, studied, assessed, financed, designed, contracted, specified, constructed, tested, commissioned, and operated. Each stage is critical to the project's ultimate success or failure; many projects founder when their objective is not properly defined, that objective is lost sight of, or approval procedures are inadequate. Total quality management (TQM) offers the guidelines and controls to help ensure that each phase of the project is successfully completed. To create a high‐quality facility or infrastructure, the project owner, financing institution, management office, and other components of the project team must work together while carrying out their individual responsibilities at the highest level.