Introduction
Providing high-quality services and products is an essential aspect of any company, since it ensures customer satisfaction. High quality is guaranteed by the correct planning, organization, and creation of a service or product, which implies many different elements and many employees’ work. At the same time, although the quality is necessary for any company, a failure in its provision in one case can lead to the loss of a client or additional expenses for correction, but in another case, to fatal consequences. This paper will look at the quality assurance process for a house renovation, which belongs to the third category of projects; thus, Crosby’s philosophy will be applied to design the steps.
Philosophy of Quality
House renovation is often a complex and durable process, especially if the clients want to change the interior significantly. For this reason, every stage of quality assurance, from planning to final inspection, must take into account many details such as customer desires, staff skills, and features of the environment. The most appropriate approach, in this case, is the Crosby philosophy as it has all elements to provide the highest quality of house renovation.
The first feature that must be considered when renovating a house is the absolute quality of all work since any mistake can bring fatal consequences. For example, house layout changes, and electrical and plumbing connections must be perfect to avoid fires, floods, or collapsing walls. Since Juran’s philosophy determines that quality depends on how many customizers find a product useful, this approach is not suitable for a specific home renovation for one client (Furman, 2015). At the same time, Deming’s philosophy is aimed at continuous quality improvement, which is also impossible because the renovation must be completed within a certain time frame. However, Crosby’s philosophy characterizes the quality of such project execution as “zero defects”, and thus, it is most suitable. Although this approach implies only striving for the ideal, it helps avoid any mistakes (Furman, 2015). In addition, another Crosby’s principle sounds like “prevention, not inspection”, which implies the correct implementation of all requirements instead of fixing them, which is usually more expensive (Furman, 2015). These two principles ensure that homeowners will not continually experience minor or major breakdowns after a house renovation.
Moreover, the house design should meet all the clients’ requirements and wishes, since the home should ensure the physical and mental comfort of its owners. Clients are less likely to make concessions if the company wants or needs to make changes after the planning phase, for example, changing the previously discussed color of the walls. Hence, all the details must be made according to the requirements of the clients. Deming’s philosophy defines quality as customer satisfaction, but the need for constant change to improve will be a nudging factor for clients and the team and reduce their satisfaction (Furman, 2015). Thus, this philosophy is not aligned with the goals of the project.
In addition, Juran’s approach is also inappropriate as, more often than not, people want a unique design for their home and not one that suits the majority. The only way to apply this approach might be in a house with many residents whose interests need to be met. However, this feature is better fulfilled by Crosby’s philosophy. Crosby defines this approach as “conformance to specifications” and explains that quality can be measured by its exact implementation (Furman, 2015). Therefore, Crosby’s philosophy is most appropriate in terms of organizing the renovation process.
Furthermore, assessing the project’s quality also should be straightforward and understandable to determine the company’s success. Deming’s philosophy measures change at different stages of the project and between the initial and final product (Furman, 2015). However, tracking changes in every detail is impractical, and the definition of stages is often impossible, for example, when strengthening walls. Juran’s measurements are also inappropriate, as the final product will only be useful to several customers. Nevertheless, Crosby’s approach makes assessment simple by calculating the failure costs, that is, the funds used to fix design and construction errors (Furman, 2015). However, in this process and the contract with customers, it is necessary to indicate the time and conditions under which the company fixes the breakdown since the mechanisms and parts of the house wear out over time. Accordingly, the lower the failure costs, the higher the quality of the project. Thus, Crosby’s philosophy is the most suitable for house renovation as it considers all the features of the project.
The Project’s Development
The application of Crosby’s philosophy in practice should be achieved through several stages that take into account all the details of the project. Since Crosby’s philosophy in most aspects coincides with the PIM, this approach can also be applied to develop a project. Consequently, a house renovation will have three stages or processes to ensure the project’s quality, such as planning, execution, and controlling.
The first process is preparatory and should take into account all the details that will be involved in the project. For this reason, the first step is to define the renovation requirements of the clients, such as building a fireplace or patio, repainting the walls, and resizing the room. In addition, such aspects as terms and cost of the project must also be taken into account at this stage to determine their coincidence with reality.
Moreover, a risk assessment should be carried out, since some details can be missed and customers’ wishes may not coincide with reality (Project Management Institute, 2017). For example, a house can require additional insulation due to the climate, and the desired location of the fireplace can be hazardous due to the ventilation system. The assessment should include project risks such as unexpected breakdowns and difficulties, personnel problems, a supply of materials, and others. In addition, the identification of crucial systems and processes requiring quality assurance, such as foundation depth, wiring isolation, and fireplace safety, should be identified at this stage (Project Management Institute, 2017). The roles and responsibilities of employees should also be determined during the planning phase. All details should be recorded in documentation and contracts with customers, employees, and suppliers to guarantee the quality of work and compensation for its failures (Project Management Institute, 2017). Thus, all the details must be considered at the planning stage, which ensures quality work for the following renovation processes.
In the next phase of the renovation, quality assurance is also essential for the project’s success. This stage assumes that all employees responsible for specific jobs follow the client’s specifications or requirements, as well as the general quality rules (Furman, 2015). For example, builders must use approved techniques and be careful about safety regulations such as insulating wiring, wearing protective clothing, or using the required amount of materials. At the same time, the manager must control that the renovation takes place according to the client’s requirements, for example, to make sure that the color of the paint from the suppliers matches the requested one. In addition, at this stage, detailed documentation of all processes is also maintained, and employees must report any problems and their possible sources to prevent breakdowns (Project Management Institute, 2017). Thus, this approach will prevent potential errors, and in case of their occurrence, the documentation will allow managers to identify their source and fix them faster.
The last step is to control the quality of the work. Firstly, this process involves evaluating the completed renovations according to the client’s specifications using a checklist. Since Crosby defines quality by meeting all requirements, the checklist must be 100% complete (Furman, 2015). In addition, quality control also includes checking that all systems work correctly and safely. In a home renovation, such a check can consist of any detail from all switches and sockets to the correct work of a fireplace. At the same time, quality control at this stage should be carried out by an unbiased expert who can objectively assess all processes and mechanisms according to the checklist (Furman, 2015). This way, the company will be able to see the problems and fix them before the project is completed and avoid the failure cost.
Conclusion
Therefore, this project demonstrates that house renovation requires applying the Crosby philosophy for quality assurance, as it guarantees that there are no or fewer errors. Since any malfunction at the house can lead to negative financial and even fatal consequences, this approach is critical. For this reason, a renovation project must be completed through a planning phase that takes into account all the details and sets requirements, quality assurance to prevent errors, and quality control to eliminate them and comply with specifications.
References
Furman, J. (2015). The project management answer book (2nd ed.). Management Concepts.
Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (6th ed.). Project Management Institute.