ST.

MARY’S UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

THESIS PROPOSAL

Assessment of Project Quality management Practices: the Case of Addis Ababa River Side
Green Project
BY
BY BEALU GIRMA – SGS/0577/2011A

ADVISOR:

Dr. Abebaw Wake

JUNE, 2021

i
 ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

ASSESSMENT OF PROJECT QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES: THE CASE

OF ADDIS ABABA RIVER SIDE GREEN PROJECT

BY

BEALU GIRMA SGS/0585/2011A

THESIS SUBMITTED TO ST. MARY UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF

GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF PROJECT MANAGEMNT

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

JUNE 2021
 ST. MARY’S UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

THESIS TITLE

ASSESSMENT OF PROJECT QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES: THE CASE

OF ADDIS ABABA RIVER SIDE GREEN PROJECT

BY

BEALU GIRMA

APPROVED BY BOARD OF EXAMINERS

------------------------------------------- --------------------
Dean, Graduate Studies Signature

------------------------------------------- --------------------
Advisor Signature

------------------------------------------- --------------------
External Examiner Signature

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Internal Examiner Signature
DECLARATION
I, the undersigned, declare that this thesis entitled “Assessment of Project Quality management
Practices: the Case of Addis Ababa River Side Green Project ” is my original work, and has not
been presented by any other person for an award of a degree in this or any other University.

BEALU GIRMA -----------------------

Name Signature

ST. MARY’S UNIVERSITY

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

JUNE 2021
ENDORSEMENT
This is to certify that this project work, “Assessment of Project Quality management Practices:

the Case of Addis Ababa River Side Green Project” undertaken by BEALU GIRMA for the partial
fulfillment of Master of project management at St. Mary University, is an original work and not submitted
earlier for any degree either at this University or any other University.

Research
Advisor

-------------------------------------- ------------------------------

Dr. ABEBAW WAKE DATE

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
First of all I want to thank GOD for helping me for the successful completion of this research and bringing my
desire to reality. Then I would like to express my gratitude and deep appreciation to my advisor, Dr. Abebaw
Wake for his valuable comment, suggestions and advice during the period of preparing this thesis paper and
also to saint marry University for giving me the chance to enroll the PM program.
Contents
Acronyms ............................................................................................................................................... ii
List of Tables and Figures .................................................................................................................... iii
ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................................................... iv
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background of the study ................................................................................................................ 1
1.1.1 Research Gaps ........................................................................................................................ 3
1.2. Problem Statement ....................................................................................................................... 3
1.3 Research Questions ....................................................................................................................... 5
1.4 Objectives ...................................................................................................................................... 5
1.4.1 General objectives ................................................................................................................... 5
1.5. Significance of the study ............................................................................................................... 6
1.6. Scope and Limitation of the study ................................................................................................. 6
1.7 organization of the thesis ............................................................................................................... 7
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW........................................................................................ 8
2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 8
2.2 Theoretical Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 8
2.2.1 What is Quality? ..................................................................................................................... 8
2.2.2 Project quality management .................................................................................................... 9
2.2.3 Quality management in construction...................................................................................... 11
2.2.4 Quality assurance in construction .......................................................................................... 13
2.2.5 Quality Control in Construction............................................................................................. 13
2.2 Empirical Review of Literature .................................................................................................... 15
2.2.1 Conceptual Framework ........................................................................................................ 17
2.4. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 18
CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ..................................................................... 19
3.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 19
3.2 Research Design........................................................................................................................... 19
3.3. Research Approaches.................................................................................................................. 19
3.4. Sampling Techniques and Population Sample design................................................................... 19
3.5. Sources of data and Data Collection Method............................................................................... 21
3.6. Data Collection Tools/Instruments .............................................................................................. 21

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 3.7. Validity and Reliability................................................................................................................. 21
3.8. Methods of Data Analysis............................................................................................................ 22
3.9. Data Analysis and Interpretation ................................................................................................. 22
CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................................................... 23
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION ................................................. 23
4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 23
4.2 Response Rate ............................................................................................................................. 23
4.2 Respondents Profile ..................................................................................................................... 24
4.2.1 Gender disposition ................................................................................................................ 24
4.2.2 Educational Background ....................................................................................................... 25
4.2.3 Role and Experiences ............................................................................................................ 25
4.3 Quality management planning practice ........................................................................................ 25
4.3.1 Content of the Quality Plan ....................................................................................................... 27
4.4 Quality Assurance Practices ......................................................................................................... 28
4.5. Factors Affecting Quality management ....................................................................................... 28
4.6. Challenges in Project Quality Management ................................................................................. 29
4.7. Quality management Improvement ............................................................................................ 30
4.8. Discussion ................................................................................................................................... 31
CHAPTER 5 ........................................................................................................................................ 32
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMONDATIONS .......................................................... 32
5.1. Summary of the Finding .............................................................................................................. 32
5.2. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 33
5.3 Recommendations ....................................................................................................................... 34
5.4. Future Studies ............................................................................................................................. 34
References ............................................................................................................................................ 35
APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE ST. MARY’S UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE
STUDIES ............................................................................................................................................. 39
APPENDIX B: KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEW GUIDE .............................................................. 44
Acronyms
QMPs…………………………………..Quality management Practices
CCCC…………………………………China Communication Construction Company
SPSS…………………………………...Statistical Package for Social Science
GTP………………………………….... Growth And Transformation Plan
TQM……………………………………Total Quality Management
TRB…………………………………….Transportation Research Board
PMI……………………………………. Project Management Institute
PMBOK ……………………………….Project Management Body of Knowledge
BRE……………………………………..British Research Environment

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List of Tables and Figures
List of Tables
Table 3.1 Distribution of Sample size in the target …......................……………20

Table.4.1 Response Rate…………………………………………………….…..23

Table 4.2 gender …………………………………………………….…………..24

Table 4.3 education background…………………………………………….…...25

Table 4.4 experience…………………………………………………………...…25

Table 4.5 project design …………………………………………..…..………….26

Table 4.6 quality management plan ………………………………………..…….26

Table 4.7 quality assurance practice……………………………………..……….28

Table 4.8 factors affecting quality management……………………….…………29
Table 4.9 challenges of quality management….…………………………....…….30
Table 4.1.1 Quality Improvement.…...………………………...…………..…..….30

List of Figures
Figure 3.1 Conceptual framework of the study ……………………………..……..18

Figure 4.1: gender distribution of respondents………………………………......…24

Figure 4.2 Factors affecting quality management…………….…………………....29

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 ABSTRACT

This study considers the practices of construction quality management of the material on
building construction sites. Quality management is a critical component of the construction
industry. As such, the effectiveness of project execution is the organizations get to understand
the major effects of techniques of quality management. A properly implemented quality
management program can to take the flow with time of equipment and materials to the job
site, and thus facilitate improved work face planning, productivity of labor is induced, the
scheduled is better and minimum project costs. Quality management is an essential function
in terms of productivity improvement in construction projects. It is defined quality
management functions which include quality planning, quality assurance, quality control and
quality improvement of a project. The main tools for the collection of data included
questionnaires, and site visit were used to identify the annual requirement of the construction
work. Simple descriptive analyses involving tables of the annual requirement of the
construction quality were used in analyze the results from the questionnaire. Secondary
sources of data were obtained from relevant literature that covered thesis related to the case
study.

iv
 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Ethiopia’s economy experienced strong, broad-based growth averaging 9.9% a year from
2007/08 to 2017/18, mainly construction, and services accounted for most of the growth. The
government is implementing the second phase of its Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II)
which will run to 2019/20. GTP II aims to continue expanding physical infrastructure through
public investments and to transform the country into a manufacturing hub (World Bank, 2019).
The current and concerning issue now is quality output.

Every construction project is different with its own specific requirements, and way of operation
which are followed by different challenges. In the implementation phase attaining the required
quality is one of the big concerns of managers and beneficiaries. To achieve this quality
management practices are employed in projects whether they vary from one project to another.

Quality is one of the main factors in the success of construction projects. Quality of construction
projects, as well as project success, can be regarded as the fulfillment of expectations of the
project stakeholder. Quality, cost and time have been recognized as the main factors concerning
the client. However, for the majority of projects, the cost and time parameters are the main pre
occupying factors for construction project. The quality in the construction industry is linked with
client’s satisfaction and the implementation of a quality management is a key tool in consistently
and reliably managing the construction (Mane, 2015).

The implementation of QMP (quality management practices) practices is vital to minimize the
cost of a project that are incurred due to delay and meeting the required specification. To address
the issue of quality management practices on the case study company which is CCCC, the
research will try to answer question to meet the goal or objectives. These questions are

• What is quality?
• What is quality management system?

There is no one singular, universally accepted definition of ‘quality’. Over the years different
scholars gave definition for quality (Garvin, 1984; Reeves and Bednar, 1994; Seawright and
Young, 1996; Russell and Miles, 1998; Beaumont and Sohal, 1999; Sebastianelli and Tamimi,
2002; Ojasalo, 2006).

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Quality, according to Juran, means that a product meets customer needs leading to customer
satisfaction, and quality also means all of the activities in which a business engages in, to ensure
that the product meets customer needs (management perspective)(Juran, 1974; 1988). In the case
of Philip Crosby, an influential contributor to management and quality theory took a slightly
different angle on quality. He defined “quality” not in terms of fitness, but in terms of
requirements: those established for the product, and those of the consumer (sales perspective)
Crosby (1979). And off course in our context the attainment of acceptable levels of performance
from construction activities (construction perspective)

Quality management as the name indicates is all about managing quality in services and
products. When it comes to managing projects, ensuring desired quality is the overall
achievement. Project delivery should guarantee quality management. However, quality does not
always mean perfection and high-quality products and services but maintaining consistency in
quality across projects and different products and services. The quality to be sustained in a
project is decided by the stakeholders, owners, and clients of the project. Quality management
incorporates quality assurance, quality control and quality improvement.

Quality assurance is performed by a continuous and repetitive monitoring and appraisal of

various facets of the project. Its purpose is to make sure that the work is made with at least the
minimum acceptable levels of quality. It involves establishing project-related policies,
procedures, standards, training, guidelines and systemic activities implemented in a quality
system to fill quality requirements (Basu, 2004; Freeman-Bell &Balkwill, 1996; Aziz & Abdel-
Hakam, 2016; Panuwatwanich& Nguyen, 2017). In construction, project managers and project
consultants are responsible for the delivery of the work within the specified agreed up on costs
and time as well as the necessary quality and supervision.

Quality standards are mostly defined based on organizational values and standards (Chandana,
2017).

The project in which my study is based on is Addis Ababa river side project which is initiated by
the prime minister of Ethiopia Dr. Abiy Ahmed. The project is under taken by the china company
CCCC and it is vital to meet the required quality. the project is located in the center of Addis
Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia with the area of 285767 m2 The completion of this project
will show the Ethiopia’s national image of opening to the outside world, embodies the key core
values that are “national unity and harmonious symbiosis”, highlight the important position of
Ethiopia’s national political core area, and become popular leisure tourist place. Therefore the
research will explore a foreign company QMP working in Ethiopia. The project dispatched the
Chinese feasibility study team in February 2019. The company that is responsible for the
construction employed 1500 Ethiopian workers that are engaged in the construction of parking
lot, embossed wall, rostrum, central rally plaza, and artificial lake; two belts: flower belts and
active waterfront belt; finishing before the end of May 2020.

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Almost all construction projects are undertaken having a predefined cost, completion time and
quality. Common assessment of the success of construction projects is that they are delivered on
time, to budget, to technical specification and meet client satisfaction. From the view point of
cost, completion time and quality of the projects, the construction industry of Ethiopia is not at
required level compared to the rest of the world. Among different factors that contribute to poor
practices of construction industry of the country, the usage of inferior quality of formwork
systems (Amare,2015) therefore it is important to see the quality management practices of the
specified company in the specified project.

1.1.1 Research Gaps

There is a wide body of literature exploring quality management practices in construction

projects. Most of these studies have highlighted quality management in projects and
recommended best practices. But, a majority of the studies exploring quality management in the
construction industry have been conducted outside the country. The findings may not be
applicable in the Ethiopia context due to political, economic, social, and technological factors
that usually unique in each country.

According to Tim McClintock there are different tools and techniques useful in quality planning,
assurance, and control, but the writer failed to explain them in a practical way. There is gap in
knowledge regarding the quality assurance and control in Ethiopia building constructing industry
and how these practices are linked to successful completion of projects. And the researches that
are undertaken in the context of this country don’t address thoroughly concerning quality
assurance management. For example Many researches that are done based on Ethiopian
construction on quality either have been in identifying the problems they face (Beshah,2011) or
overall performance of projects (Tagesse,2017). In a research done by MelatGirma, the
researcher identifies quality as one factor for measuring success but doesn’t clarify on how we
can achieve quality through the implementation of quality management. So these are the
motivation behind the objective of this study.

Hence the concern of this research is to assess the implemented quality management practices in
the Addis Ababa river side project that is under gone by the foreign company CCCC.

1.2. Problem Statement

A problem faced by construction industry is poor quality standards. It is very common and
serious problem as the expected quality is not complied in the construction projects. Failure in
achieving required quality has also significant impact of project cost. It is stated that quality cost
(non-conformance) in construction industry of USA contributed to 12% of total project cost. And
studying quality performance of construction projects through case studies showed that quality

3
failures had resulted in rework which incurred extra cost approximately 2% to 12% of project
cost while stated that quality rectification problems Contributed to approximately 3.4% to 6.2%
of project cost (Oluyemi-Ayibiowu; 2019).

A study was conducted by WubishetJekale to enhance understanding of low performance of

public construction projects in Ethiopia by taking two case studies from public construction
projects. The research clearly indicates that the performances of Public Construction Projects in
both the case studies exhibited low accomplishment rates. Consequently, completion time
suffered low performances for both the Case Studies. But, while Case Study I revealed low
performances in cost overruns, Case Study II made known that low performances were strongly
associated with quality related issues. Subsequently, the immediate objectives had also suffered
in their performance.

In another study by Diresin 2016 shows that in most Addis Ababa condominium buildings which
are constructed by the government there are many complaints about defects in the building
elements of the house. One of the causes of this condition is due to poor workmanship during
construction. This will affect the life of the occupants and also giving a bad image of the parties
involved in the construction of condominium housing (Dires,2016)

Fekadu in 2007 under the title of Investigation of failure of the super structure of some buildings
in the Addis Ababa, which focused on the existence of building failure at the construction site of
different building projects only for superstructures; and Bedru in the year 2015 under the title of
Construction Defects in Federal Government Office Building Projects in Addis Ababa for his
MSc work. Similarly Abraham (2004) citied by Miressa (2017) showed to enhance
understanding of low performance of public construction projects in Ethiopia by taking two case
studies from public construction projects. The research indicated that the performances of public
construction projects exhibited low accomplishment rates. Consequently, completion time, cost
overruns and strongly associated with quality related issues contributed to low performances for
both the case studies (Abraham, 2004).

It is a well known fact that many mega projects that are under taken in Ethiopia are done by
foreign companies. Like the construction of the commercial bank of Ethiopia, the construction of
nib bank, the construction of the greening projects that are under construction and some of them
finished. We can take the construction of the Ethiopian renaissance dam which is under the
responsibility of METEC. It is widely talked by different Medias that the project has been
delayed and quality is compromised due to different factors.

All these studies show that there is an existing problem in the construction industry meeting the
required quality.It begs the question why projects in Ethiopia fail to meet the criteria.

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The reason why these projects don’t meet expectations regarding quality can be argued that the
ineffective planning of project control methods, the lack of professionals capability involved in
the process, the lack of constant improvement in process implementation and financial
constraints contribute as a huge factor. The fact that Today’s projects are becoming more and
more technically complex and logistically challenging makes construction vulnerable to setbacks
in assuring quality unless the developing and implementing of new quality management
practices.
Therefore this study assessed the practices and challenges of project quality management in the
Addis Ababa green project; considering that the application of best practices of project quality
management is important so that the project would be able to meet the customer’s expectation as
well as for the growth of the sector and the utilization of project quality management best
practices also improves the overall project management performance. In addition, the study
assessed the level of implementation of selected independent variables to the project quality
management of the project and perceived project quality.

1.3 Research Questions

In light of the above problem statement and objectives, the study will seeks to answer
the following questions.

1. What are the practices of the project quality management in Addis Ababa greening
project in CCCC?

2. What are the challenges of the project quality management in Addis Ababa greening
project?

1.4 Objectives

1.4.1 General objectives

The general objective of the research is to assess the quality management practices and major
quality management challenges in Addis Ababa greening project
1.4.2 Specific Objectives
the specific objectives of this study are:
1. To assess the major quality management practices those are implemented in the Addis
Ababa greening project.
2. Identify the major challenges of quality management practices in Addis Ababa greening
project.
3. To further comment for future studies on how to improve quality management.

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1.5. Significance of the study
this research is important for the city administration by alerting the current status of the project
regarding its quality. It will also benefit government statutory bodies and policy makers in terms
of providing input for policy making to improve the overall state of construction concerning
quality. The recommendation can be used as a stepping stone for other researchers to fill the
knowledge gap or to further explore new approaches and ideas for quality assurance frame work.

The finding of the research whether be indicating the current practice in the company in question
are excellent or lacking, it will give local contractors to take lesson to further improve their
practices and be competitive. In summary the research is expected to:

➢ Contribute to the improvement of quality in projects

➢ Contribute to the advancement of better QMP

➢ Fairly asses the constraints in QM

1.6. Scope and Limitation of the study

This study is limited to quality management practices and challenges on these practices of Addis
Ababa greening project limited to primary phase 1 under gone by CCCC. Generally, the study is
limited to examining the nature of process quality management in the project management
process there by identifying the root causes of achieving project quality in the project
construction within the last 2 years (2020-2021) and factors affecting the implementation of
QMP. In this regards the study will address quality defects of the project, the cause of quality
problems, the solutions under taken, and the overall project quality management practices of the
project to achieve consumer satisfaction. This study is also limited to project contractor while
actors in project implementation and management are also owner, consultant and among others
due to limited financial capacity and shortage of time and lack of willingness.

The geographical boundary of the study area is in Addis Ababa around taitu road near to
Sheraton Addis hotel, the thematic scope of the study is limited to gathering of data related to
quality assurance practices and factors that can affect them. It is to the advantage of the
researcher to do the research on this project since he is a major part of it. And hence gathering
reliable data and detailed knowledge regarding the project is unquestionable.

Quality in this research is considered as per the contractor or the implementer’s eye not as per
customer satisfaction.

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1.7 organization of the thesis

This research consists of five main chapters as follows:

1. Chapter one: Introduction: this chapter shows background of the study, statement of the
problem, objectives of research, research questions, justification, significance and scope and
limitations of the research.
2. Chapter two: Literature review: this chapter shows a detail review from concepts and
definitions to identify the main factors affecting QAP. It will constitute of theoretical frame work
and conceptual frame work that will help us achieve by guiding the data collection methods.
3. Chapter three: Research methodology: this chapter shows the methodology used in this
research in order to achieve the required objectives and to answer the research questions.
4. Chapter four: Result analysis and discussions: this chapter shows result, description and
discussion of research results.
5. Chapter five: Conclusions and recommendations.

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 CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
This section covers review literature of different scholars and authors that have been reviewed in
the area of quality management. It deals with both theoretical and practical findings of various
researchers concepts related to projects, project quality management process, quality assurance,
quality assurance tools and Techniques and factors affecting QMP. It deals with the review of
related literature gathered from different secondary sources such as published books, articles and
related websites. In this regard, efforts were exerted to include as much significantly related
literatures as possible by reviewing available documents that exhibits points, targeting at the
attainment of the research objectives.

It is important to understand the end products or the deliverables and the process employed to get
them so as to implement QMPs that can assure the quality in construction projects. In order to
understand the implementation process of QMPs in construction industry, it is important to
navigate the present theory on the quality practices processes included in this study. The current
theory focuses on the overall concepts of quality practices in the construction project and project
management structures.

This section will be composed of two frameworks.

1. Theoretical literature review: - this section will define what is meant by Quality from
different literatures and more specifically in the construction context. And hence quality
assurance and control are part of project quality management, definitions and aspects of
quality management will be briefly discussed in this section. Those aspects are quality
planning, quality assurance, quality control and quality improvement. Furthermore
specifically quality assurance and control in construction will be explored to the extent of
available literature.
2. Empirical literature review: - The empirical literature provides empirical evidences of
quality management in construction projects. Additionally, at the end of this section the
conceptual framework of this study is presented.

2.2 Theoretical Literature Review

2.2.1 What is Quality?

The term quality means different things to different people. Some takes it to be the characteristics
of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy a need. Whilst others take it as the degree
to which a product exceeds a customer's requirements and expectations. On the other hand,
others think it is the attainment of prescribed standards. (Quality Digest Magazine, 2013)

8
The international organization of standard for standardization (ISO DIS 9000.2000), formally
defines quality as the degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfils the requirement.

In the situation of quality assurance, quality is not a statement of excellence in a comparative

sense. It is just a short cut for desired quality that should be laid down as clearly as possible. The
producer, on the other hand an attempt to attain the desired quality at an optimum cost while the
customer requires confidence in the producer’s ability deliver and firmly maintain quality.

However, quality in construction is more difficult to explain. Firstly, the product is not a
mechanical unit but a piece of work with specific characters. An example would be a building
has different components that make up the whole body. Each of these components has a specific
character and quality is viewed in terms of the procedures and materials that are used to achieve
it. In other aspect the construction cost and time delivery will depend on how well the designing
of the building and the required detailed specification and end results.

The quality of the finished works will be controlled by ways of inspecting and testing as
construction process. For example the quality of the concrete used in the site are first inspected
and tested before it can be used. And after the concrete that already passed sample test will
ultimately be tested again to check whether it attained the required strength. Due to poor
workmanship and not following the specified steps it can pass the quality test and yet still not
attain the desired end result. The importance of implementing quality assurance and control can’t
be stressed enough, because the errors that occur in construction can’t be reversed and will cost a
lot of money. It is up to the management to employ quality assurance and control and diligently
oversee it.

2.2.2 Project quality management

Quality management as the name indicates is all about managing quality in services and
products. When it comes to managing projects, ensuring desired quality is the overall
achievement. Project delivery should guarantee quality management. Quality must be integrated
into the design process by giving attention to early stages of the construction life cycle, thus
eliminating the need for bulk inspections which leads to operational cost reduction when shifting
from a reactive to a proactive mode of quality management (Kaiser &Raisinghani, 2011).

According to Crawford the overall aim of quality management is to satisfy the customer,
conform to requirements, ensure fitness for purpose, and to ensure the product for use. Project
model looks at quality management as set of activities or tasks that are required to ensure the
project satisfies all the needs for which it was undertaken based on documented in the state of
work and includes a focus on quality management from the perspective of product, processes,
and the people needed to make quality an effective and efficient aspect of successful project
completion (Crawford, 2002).

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Moreover PMBOK Guide explains that “Project Quality Management includes the processes and
activities of the performing organization that determine quality policies, objectives and
responsibilities so that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken. It
implements the quality management system through policy and procedures with continuous
process improvement activities conducted throughout, as appropriate” (PMBOK, 2008:189).

PMBOK explains Project quality management compromises of quality planning, quality

assurance, quality control.

2.2.2.1 What is quality planning

“PMBOK” defines quality planning as the process for "identifying which quality standards are
relevant to a project and determining how to satisfy them": In other words, it means planning
how to fulfill process and product (deliverable) quality requirements: "Quality is the degree to
which a set of inherent characteristics fulfill requirements". By planning the quality one has to
respect some principles, and these are:

• Customer satisfaction comes first: Quality is defined by the requirements of the customer
• Prevention over inspection: It's better to avoid mistakes than to inspect the result and
repair the defects.
• Management responsibility: Costs of quality must be approved by the management
• Continuous improvement: Becoming better is an iteratively structured process.

2.2.2.2 What is quality assurance?

Quality assurance is performed by a continuous and repetitive monitoring and appraisal of
various facets of the project. Its purpose is to make sure that the work is made with at least the
minimum Acceptable levels of quality. Where us, (ISO 9001:2000) also defined quality
assurance as a part of quality management focused on providing confidence that quality
requirement is fulfilled.

Despite all the wealth of site experience throughout the past years, one out of ten building
contracts still leads to client’s dissatisfaction and complains against contractors. Researchers
made by the (British Researches Establishment) in the United Kingdom indicate that 40% of
building defects occur during the construction phase (BRE, 1982).

In most cases these defects happen because of

• Poor workmanship
• Misinterpretation of drawing and specification
• Not clearly specified requirement
• Lack of supervision
• Lack of proper planning
10
 • Poor communication between the existing stakeholders

2.2.2.3 What is Quality control?

The PMBOK refers to quality control as the technical aspect of quality management. Project
team members who have specific technical expertise on the various aspects of the project play an
active role in quality control. They set up the technical processes and procedures that ensure that
each step of the project provides a quality output from design and development through
implementation and maintenance. Each step’s output must conform to the overall quality
standards and quality plans, thus ensuring that quality is achieved (PMI, 2008).

According to Zenebe (2017), Quality control involves monitoring specific project results to
determine if they comply with relevant quality standards and identifying ways to eliminate
causes of unsatisfactory results. It should be performed throughout the project. Project results
include both product results such as deliverables and management results such as cost and
schedule performance. Quality control is often performed by a Quality Control Department or
similarly titled organizational unit, but it does not have to be. The project management team
should have a working knowledge of statistical quality control, especially sampling and
probability, to help them evaluate quality control outputs. Among other subjects, they should
know the differences between:

• Prevention (keeping errors out of the process) and inspection (keeping errors out of the
hands of the customer).
• Attribute sampling (the result conforms or it does not) and variables sampling (the result
is rated on a continuous scale that measures the degree of conformity).
• Special causes (unusual events) and random causes (normal process variation).
• Tolerances (the result is acceptable if it falls within the range specified by the tolerance)
and control limits (the process is in control if the result falls within the control limits).

2.2.3 Quality management in construction

Quality Management Systems can provide a solution for several ancient issues in construction
companies. It can also constitute a good opportunity for restructuring and modernization, as well
as changes in traditional ways that have been accepted without indepth analysis. Principally, the
QMP in the construction housing industry refers to quality planning, quality assurance and
quality control. For the implementation of quality management in construction housing projects,
the concepts of quality planning (identification of quality standards), quality assurance
(evaluation of overall project performance) and quality control (monitoring of specific project
results) in the quality management processes were defined by (PMI, 2000).

According to (Rumane, 2011), construction project quality management is defined as the

fulfillment of owner’s needs per defined scope of works within a budget and specified schedule
to satisfy the owner’s requirements. Every project has elements that are unique that means no
11
two projects are identical. It is always the owner’s desire that his project be unique and better. To
a great extent, each project has to be designed and built to serve a specified need. Construction
projects are more customized than a routine and repetitive business (Rumane, 2011). This shows
that a comprehensive and proper quality management practice that encompass all the components
and participants in the construction activities need to be addressed for successful implementation
of a practical plan to ensure that the required standards of quality construction will be achieved.

A well-implemented QMP will impact all sectors in the company. According to (Fixsen et al.,
2001), implementation is defined as a specified set of activities designed to put into practice an
activity or program of known dimensions. According to this definition, implementation processes
are purposeful and are described in sufficient detail such that independent observers can detect
the presence and strength of the "specific set of activities" related to implementation. In addition,
the activity or program being implemented is described in sufficient detail so that independent
observers can detect its presence and strength. The principles of Quality Management Systems
regarding quality include the establishment of policies and objectives by Construction Company
to manage resources, the delegation of responsibilities, roles and authority to personnel, and the
development of a company’s structure among the personnel. The empirical literature provides
pragmatic support of quality management practices in construction projects.

Nowadays for solving quality problems and to meet the needs of the customer, construction
companies have adopted QMP in their activities. Hence, this section is concerned with other
studies conducted on in similar discipline. One of the earlier empirical studies conducted in the
QM area by (Saraph et al., 1989) have used data obtained from 162 managers of 20
manufacturing and service industries collected in the region of USA to identify the CSFs of
TQM. They identified eight factors: top management leadership, role of quality department,
training, product design, supplier quality management, process management, quality data
reposting, and employee relations. For empirical review purpose this study selected the study
conducted by (Agbenyega, 2014), which focuses on quality management practices of
construction firms in Ghana. The study emphasis on solving the potential barriers, which are to
be the main measures to be taken, namely: management commitment, communication between
managers and employees, employee involvement, detailed and logical work program, regular
inspection, quality audit report, lack of training and education of team members and review and
analysis. The other study conducted by Birhanu, who identified that lack of effective supervision,
communication, management of commitment, proper equipment and materials available for 16
uses, inefficient resource management and problems with contractors are some of the challenges
to the attainment of project quality (Birhanu, 2014).

The research conducted on Quality Management in Construction Projects” in Malaysia, is also

considered for empirical review of this study. This Malaysian researcher explores preliminarily
the practices of quality management, management commitment in quality management, and
quality management implementation problems in construction projects in the context of

12
Malaysian construction industry. The findings of the study indicate that the state of quality
management in construction projects in Malaysia needs to be strengthened and there are
problems in relation to quality management implementation that require attention. The identified
problems by the scholars are more or less similar even though there is variation due to their
practical context of the projects. Hence, these variables are also considered in my study to
consider in the context of the housing construction projects.

2.2.4 Quality assurance in construction

QA in construction projects is one part of quality management system. QA involves establishing
project-related policies, procedures, standards, training, guidelines and systemic activities
implemented in a quality system to fill quality requirements (Basu, 2004; Freeman-Bell
&Balkwill, 1996; Aziz & Abdel-Hakam, 2016; Panuwatwanich& Nguyen, 2017). Having
specific procedures, clear policies, standards, training, guidelines and systems designed to
maximize employee performance in facilitating a business’ strategic objectives correlates with
project success by directing attention, motivating and maintaining an efficient quality-
management system (Arditi&Gunaydin, 1997; Nyakala, 2017). These training, guide lines and
systems backed up by constant tests In lab and site. In practice, field engineers conduct
construction materials testing and inspect construction processes. Specifically, materials’ testing
refers to the pre-qualification process for materials (e.g., certified material product list,
commercial quality product) and sampling and testing at the source, at the plant, or on the jobsite.

It is the believe of different researchers that unless the contractors in construction are active in
involving in improving the productivity through an organized quality management system, the
efforts of the individuals in the company will be unrecognizable (Arditi&Gunaydin, 1997; Basu,
2004; Bierman). In Ethiopia, project managers and project consultants are responsible for the
overall construction success related to delivering infrastructure projects within the approved costs
and time as well as the necessary quality and supervision. For any built-environment project to
improve its competitive abilities in the construction industry, it should be able to determine the
cost of poor quality and its impact on productivity and profitability (Ahmed, 2015). Therefore,
contractors cannot view quality as an expensive process, an expensive product, or time
consuming, but rather as quality assurance that can improve their competitive capabilities in the
marketplace (Mofokeng&Thwala, 2012: 713; Kruger, Ramphal& Maritz, 2014).

2.2.5 Quality Control in Construction

Project Quality control in construction is the process of verifying that the project is built to plan,
that the tolerances allowable by industry standard and engineering practices have been met and
that the finished project meets with quality standards of the project as inspected by the involved
stakeholders. A good quality control system should have the to consider; select what to control,
set standards that provide the basis for decisions regarding possible corrective action, establish
13
the measurement methods used, compare the actual results to the quality standards, act to bring
nonconforming processes and material back to the standard 22 based on the information
collected, monitor and standardize measuring devices, include detailed documentation for all
processes (Chang, 1999).

There are different quality planning tools and techniques

• Cost benefit analysis: analysis the cost benefit analysis is similar to cost benefit ratio.
The cost and benefits are measured to analyze the trade offs of providing quality.
• Cost of quality: cost of quality (COQ) includes all the costs that conform to the required
quality of the project, including the cost to ensure conformance to requirements as well as
the cost of non-conformance, and finding the right balance. Modern quality management
philosophy emphasizes preventing mistakes rather than detecting them later because the
cost of nonconformance is very high.

The following are associated with quality:

• Prevention costs are associated with keeping defective products away from the
customer. Examples include quality training, quality planning, reliability engineering,
or data analysis.
• Appraisal costs are associated with checking the product to make sure it is
conforming, such as inspection, testing, calibration, studies, or surveys.
• Failure costs can be categorized in a couple of ways:
➢ Internal: non conformance that is found while the product is still within the
performing organization is called internal failure costs, and includes rework
or scrap.
➢ External: non conformance that is found when the product has been given to
the customer is called external failure costs, and includes repair or returns.
• The cost of non conformance can be divided in to direct and indirect
➢ Direct: direct failure costs include scrap, warranty cost, rework, engineering
changes, liability insurance, or inventory costs.
➢ Indirect: indirect costs include fewer sales, lost customers, increased costs to
get customers back, decreased team moral, or decreased project efficiency.

Additional planning tools

• Brainstorming is a technique for gathering information, where multipleunfiltered inputs

and ideas are solicited and captured for later analysis and decision making.
• Force field analysis (FFA) is a technique for analyzing by grouping characteristics or
factors that are for (pros) and against (cons) the idea.

14
 • Nominal group technique (NGT) is an enhancement of brainstorming that adds
mechanism for ranking ideas. It is based on the assumption that a nominal group ( one
that has agreed to work as a team) will produce better results than a group engaging in
traditional brainstorming. NGT collects anonymous input from group members and
encourages discussion of all input. Then each member prioritizes the input items. The
items are further prioritized based on their cumulative score.

2.2 Empirical Review of Literature

From the perspective of a construction company, quality management in construction projects

should mean maintaining the quality of construction works at the required standard so as to
obtain customers’ satisfaction that would bring long term competitiveness and business survival
for the companies. Further, the adoption of quality in construction industry has been promoted in
some literature. The application of ISO standards has received much attention from researchers.
ISO certification is nowadays a trend in most industries including construction industry.

According to study by Mallawaarachchi, for the implementation of quality management in

project management, the concepts of quality planning (identification of quality standards),
quality assurance (evaluation of overall project performance) and quality control (monitoring of
specific project results) in the quality management processes are importance. Among those,
quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) are mostly used in construction. The quality
control procedure in construction projects is based on tender documents, specifications, working
drawings etc., therefore, the pre tender stage quality and standards of the work should be
properly maintained. Therefore it is important to maintain quality control of the building projects
from the inception of its design stage up to the completion of construction including the
maintenance period. Quality Assurance (QA) is a program covering activities necessary to
provide quality in the work to meet the project requirements (Mallawaarachchi, 2015).

QA involves establishing project related policies, procedures, standards, training, guidelines, and
system necessary to produce quality. QA provides protection against quality problems through
early warnings of trouble ahead. Such early warnings play an important role in the prevention of
both internal and external problems". On the other hand Quality Control (QC) is the specific
implementation of the QA program and related activities. Effective QC reduces the possibility of
changes, mistakes (Mallawaarachchi, 2015).

As bezawit cited (Beshah, 2011) Ethiopia was the 68th member of the international organization
for standardization (ISO). The need for quality control in Ethiopia was recognized since 1972
making the establishment of Ethiopian standards institute. At national level, the government of

15
Ethiopia considered quality as a development infrastructure starting from 1940s when
agricultural products export began to expand (Bezawit, 2020).

QMP certification was a very expensive and tedious process for Ethiopian industries, because
there were no system certified organizations which can certify local companies. In February
2009, quality and standard authority of Ethiopia (now called Ethiopian Conformity Assessment
Enterprise) obtained system certification and localized the processes. Now the Ethiopian
Conformity Assessment Enterprise is giving internationally accepted certificate to not only
Ethiopian construction companies but also for any other companies. Ethiopian Quality Standard
Agency is also giving training and technical support on QMP (Beshah, 2011). Through analyses
of the Ethiopian Quality Award (EQA) self-assessment report evaluation, generally, quality
management practices in Ethiopia was found to be low in all the tenets 17 including leadership,
policy and strategy, resources management, process management, customer satisfaction, business
performance, and impact on society (Beshah & Kitaw, 2014).

Among these factors, policy and strategy is the most critical problem area despite the least
weight given by the EQA. Comparatively, the service industries quality management practice is
weaker than that of the manufacturing industries as measured by all the quality parameters.
Beshah and Kitaw (2014) also suggested that the quality promoters, particularly the government
should give special attention to the service industries quality. However, both manufacturing and
service industries should be supported to lay down their day-to-day activity on a long-term
strategy and also to improve the root causes for the poor quality management practice.

Joy stated in his study on factors influencing quality of construction projects, the major factors
that affect quality; material, labor, financial issues, conformance to codes and standards, top
management support, management factors, selection of contractor, selection of designer design,
co-operation of parties, contract documents and lack of communication (Joy, 2014).

According to Tim McClintock there are different tools and techniques useful in quality planning,
assurance, and control, but the writer failed to explain them in a practical way. There is gap in
knowledge regarding the quality management in Ethiopia building constructing industry and how
these practices are linked to successful completion of projects. And the researches that are
undertaken in the context of this country don’t address thoroughly concerning quality
management. For example Many researches that are done based on Ethiopian construction on
quality either have been in identifying the problems they face (Beshah,2011) or overall
performance of projects (Tagesse,2017). In a research done by Melat Girma, the researcher
identifies quality as one factor for measuring success but doesn’t clarify on how we can achieve
quality through the implementation of quality management practices.

16
Further Birhanu in his study on his he identified that lack of effective supervision,
communication, management of commitment, proper equipments and materials available for use,
quality assurance team lead the process, staff turnover, skilled turnover, Inefficient resource
management and problems with contractors are some of the challenges he identified to the
attainment of project quality (Birhanu, 2014).

A research under gone by Betework (2019), stated that top management support, commitment of
project participants. Communication, regular u budget update and availability of trained
resources are the determinants of project quality management on achieving the desired quality.(
BeteWork ,2019)

A study by Obare, Kyalo, Mulwa&Mbugua (2016: 420) points out that the quality cost model,
the evaluation of quality management practices, customer focus, teamwork, employee
empowerment, education and continuous improvement influence project success. In addition,
Fotopoulos &Psomas (2009) also assert that performing check-up, analysis, and corrective
actions seemed to obtain customer’s satisfaction. Martin and Lewis (2014) indicate that an
effective communication system between project team leaders and management is crucial for the
success of construction projects Jarkas and Younes (2014: 61) stipulate that, in situations where
management commitment is ineffective, these should be revised, or new control actions be
implemented, thus enabling continuous improvement in construction projects.

And hence this study is conducted based on the following hypothesis that QMP are affected by
the following factors.

➢ Qualified and experienced personals

➢ Quality of material and equipment
➢ communication
➢ Top management support

And here are the challenges that quality management faces

➢ Lack of management support

➢ Lack of continuous supervision
➢ Financial constraints
➢ Lack of communication

2.2.1 Conceptual Framework

The construction industry like any other industry has been constrained with challenges that affect
the performance and output of the project. Identifying potential critical factors that affect the

17
project quality assurance of the Addis Ababa greening project before the commencement of
projects will ensure project quality at the completion of project because by knowing the factors
that have an impact on the project implementers and responsible entities can apply preventive
activities and implement approaches that would improve the overall process in a way to satisfy
the project goal and meet customers satisfaction. However, identifying the potential critical
factors alone will not eliminate the problem of quality practices rather it will provide a large
extent of help to project team to improve such positive factors and strictly adhere to project
specifications to reduce errors. The conceptual framework shows the underlying process applied
to guide this study. Hence, in this study, the conceptual framework was adapted from the study
above empirical literatures and the variables are derived from them. Figure 2.1 illustrates the
level of implementation of those independent variables on the project assurance.

Figure 2.1:- conceptual frame work

QM process QM factors QM challenges

➢ Quality planning ➢ Qualified and ➢ Lack of management

➢ Quality Assurance experienced personal support
➢ Quality control ➢ Quality of material and ➢ Lack of continuous
➢ Quality equipment supervision
improvement ➢ Communication ➢ Financial constraints

➢ Top management ➢ Lack of

support communication
Figure 2.1: Conceptual framework of the study ➢

2.4. Summary ➢ Top management

support
The construction in Ethiopia at the current state is going in a fast rate, although it has a long way
to go. The mega projects and many business centers that are being constructed are a testament for
that. But as it is seen in other developing countries it is faced with stifling problems.

In the well developed countries it is well seen different delivery methods with advance
technological and effective management skills are put into effect that allowed them to be
successful in their Projects. These diverse options have not yet been sufficiently assimilated into
the local construction scene in Ethiopia since most respondents admitted to working within the
traditional medium of project delivery. As per this facts this research aims to perform an
assessment whether the practices of QM in a foreign company {CCCC) resonates to the local
ones and further dig in the factors that influence QM.

18
 CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1. Introduction
This chapter of the research explains and justifies the methods and means in which the objectives
of the study will be met. Steps that will be used to gather all relevant information are presented in
detail. It also presents research instruments and strategy that will be employed in the study. It
finally presents the sample size, data collection approaches and method for the analysis of the
data gathered.

3.2 Research Design

According to Fox W. &Bayat, M.S. (2007) the advantages of descriptive research are effective to
analyze non-quantified topics and issues; the possibility to observe the phenomenon in a
completely natural and unchanged natural environment; the opportunity to integrate the
qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. Thus, this study will employ descriptive
research design to assess project quality control and assurance practices that are in practice in
CCCC and causal research design to assess factors that affect QMP.

3.3. Research Approaches

As Creswell & Plano Clark (2007) argues that that no one studies is purely quantitative or
qualitative and that each method has many of the same elements. The quantitative approach was
important to gather more data, especially those data having numerical nature. The other approach
was qualitative approach which is important to collect information that has qualitative nature and
useful to conduct and in depth investigation of the issue at hand. Thus, the mixed approach is
important to assess opinions and attitude of different respondents and to gather data related to
factors that influence QMPs.According to Mark (2009), as cited in Aida (2015) mixing
qualitative and quantitative approaches gives the potential to cover each method’s weaknesses
with strengthens from the other method Therefore, this study will employ both qualitative and
quantitative methods (mixed approach).

3.4. Sampling Techniques and Population Sample design

To select the respondents for the questionnaire a purposive sampling technique was employed.
This sampling method is chosen for it allowed the researcher to focus on a limited number of
informants that were selected purposively from the project based on convenience to get the
required information to carry out the study in order to get optimal insight. The respondents were
selected based on their experience, information and area of work they have about project
implementation.

19
 The project is located in the center of Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia with the area of
285767 m2. The completion of this project will show the Ethiopia’s national image of opening to
the outside world, embodies the key core values that are “national unity and harmonious
symbiosis”, highlight the important position of Ethiopia’s national political core area, and
become popular leisure tourist place.

The population for the study includes all the employees of the contractors, the consultants and
the client which is the Ethiopian government. Since it is difficult to gain information from the
client side the study will only involve in the contractor and the consultants.1500 Ethiopian
employees are working in the contractor side. Out of these employees only 5 engineers and 3
surveyors are there. The study needs information that is reliable and timely response and also due
to budget constraints only these local employees will be taken in to account. As for the Chinese
employees in the company, there are 147 workers including top level management.

A purposive sampling technique will be used since the required data needs specific knowledge.

For this research, the formula provided by Yamane (1967) was used to determine the sample size
with 95% confidence level and with 0.05 margin of error.
N
n= 1+Ne2

Where: n = Desired sample size

N =Total population size

e = Accepted error limit (0.05) on the basis of 95 percent degrees of confidences

56
n= 1+155(0.052 )

56
n= 1.38

n=49

Table 3.1: Distribution of Sample size in the target area

number Target Group Total population Target Sample size

1 Chinese managers 10 10 10

Chinese site 137 31

2 38
engineers

3 Local employees 1500 8 8

20
3.5. Sources of data and Data Collection Method
Primary data sources like questionnaires, field observation and interviews will be used
in order to realize the target group. The primary sources of data were employees (professionals)
on project. All quantitative data’s will be gathered through questionnaires and secondary data’s
from the company while the qualitative data’s are gathered through interviews. The study relied
on Secondary data sources that are gained from the company backlog, similar research done on
the same and related topics, articles.

3.6. Data Collection Tools/Instruments

Semi-structured interview and questionnaires were administrated as survey instruments to the
project manger of the contractor and project managers of consultants. The main tools that will be
to gather the primary data from the primary sources mainly include questionnaire, interview
guides and experiences of the researcher. Regarding the questionnaire; primary data will be
collected using self-administered semi-structure questionnaire composed of close-ended and
open-ended questions. The methodology for the work consists of four step form. The first step is
quality planning, second step is quality control; third step is quality assurance and last step
quality improvement. Questionnaires have been prepared considering quality aspects( quality
assurance and control) and factors affecting these aspects and the interviews of project manager
was conducted since the responses contributes to the understanding of current project quality
assurance practices and problems the projects encountered.

The first phase of data collection will be the establishment of the study framework which
includes the survey and secondary data. The survey framework includes the identification of all
relevant documentation and formulation of questions for the interviews and questioners. The
second phase pilot test will be done on the questioners by distributing questions to verify the
clarity and include any comments before distributing to the total target. And the final version of
questioner distributed to respondents and finally collected the data. Likewise interview will be
used in gather more of in-depth qualitative data from the key informant of the project.

3.7. Validity and Reliability

The validity of questioners developed for this study will be checked before distributing the final
questionnaires to the respondents by friends and project personnel and the advisor of the
researcher and pilots will be done to check the validity. The final version of the questioners will
be distributed after incorporating all the comments and feedbacks obtained from different
professionals.

Reliability analysis will be carried using cronbach’s alpha and in principle cronbach’s alpha of
0.7 is acceptable for internal consistency of data obtained from respondents. It is expressed as a
number between 0 and 1 where the higher the score of Cronbach alpha, the more reliable the
generated scale when the closer the alpha coefficient is to 1.0, the grater the internal consistency
21
and the reverse is true. Therefore, the reliability will be checked based on the data process on
SPSS.

3.8. Methods of Data Analysis

After collecting all required data using the above mentioned instruments from the identified
sources, both qualitative and quantitative methods of data analyses will be applied. The data
obtained from the questionnaire respondents used to assess the quality management practices and
challenges will be analyzed using SPSS (Version 20). After organizing, coding, and defining
variables, responses of the cases will be entered into the software. Then for analysis descriptive
methods will be used. And results will be presented using tables and figures.

3.9. Data Analysis and Interpretation

In order to summarize the result and to communicate the result descriptive statistics will be used
based on the collected data. Charts, tables and graphs will be use to analyze the existing QMP in
the case study. For our casual research design regression analysis will be used. Basically In
regression analysis there is an independent and dependent variables and here are the assumptions.

Linear regression analysis is based on the following set of assumptions:

1. Assumption of linearity. There is a linear relationship between dependent and independent
variables.
2. Assumption of homoscedasticity. Data values for dependent and independent variables have
equal variances.
3. Assumption of absence of co linearity or multi co linearity. There is no correlation between
two or more independent variables.
4. Assumption of normal distribution. The data for the independent variables and dependent
variable are normally distributed
For this study the ordinal logit model will be applied; according to Gujarati (2004), ordinal logit
model is used where the dependent variable has more than two outcomes usually these outcomes
are ordinal in nature; which mean they cannot be expressed on an interval scale. Frequently, in
survey-type research, the responses are on a Likert-type scale, such as “strongly agree”, “agree”,
“neutral”, “disagree” or “strongly disagree.” Or the responses in grading survey may be
“Excellent,” “Very good,” “Good,”, “Relatively good”, “Pass” or “Fail”. Very often these
responses can be coded as 1 (excellent), 2 (very good), 3 (good), 4 (relatively good), 5 (pass) and
6 (fail). These are ordinal scales in that there is clear ranking among the categories but we cannot
say that 1 (excellent) is twice 2 (very good) or 3 (good) is three times 1 (excellent).

The raw data of the questioner will be coded and analyzed using Microsoft excels and/or (SPSS)
computer program for statistical analysis to facilitate the interpretation of the data. Both
qualitative and quantitative methods of data presentation will be used. In order to present the data
in a simple form so as to draw the conclusion directly by viewing at the data.

22
 CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.1 Introduction
In this chapter the results of the study will be discussed that are derived from the questionnaires
and the interviews that were formulated to achieve the desire objective.

To accurately and adequately present the survey data certain steps were followed. First vetting
the data to exclude irrelevant information’s was done. Meaning the questionnaires’ that are done
appropriately was gathered for processing. A coding scheme was developed and data imputed
into the Statistical Package for Social Scientists version 25 (SPSS) for descriptive statistical
analysis. Code 1 was assigned to the lowest level of agreement while code 5 was assigned to the
highest level of agreement with the respective statement.

The descriptive analysis and statistical calculation was done in order to interpret raw data into
useful information. Descriptive data was analyzed using frequencies and percentages to find the
views of the respondents on quality management practices of construction projects. The result of
the analysis was presented in tables and charts.

To summarize all the relevant data starting from the personal information of the respondents to
the challenges of quality management have been presented in this chapter.

4.2 Response Rate

A total of 55 questionnaires’ were distributed to sample population who are the workers of the
contractor CCCC. This includes engineers that are local and foreign nation that participated in
the Addis Ababa greening project. After the data have been collected, out of the 56questioners 49
were returned. That gives a response rate of 87.5%.

There are now higher expectations for survey response rates. Response rates approximating 60%
for most research should be the goal of researchers and certainly are the expectation of the Editor
and Associate Editors of Journals. For survey research intended to represent all schools and
colleges of project management, a response rate of ≥ 80% is expected (Fincham, 2008).

Table.4.1 ResponseRate
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid returned 49 87.5 87.5 87.5
non returned 7 12.5 12.5 100.0
Total 56 100.0 100.0

23
4.2 Respondents Profile

4.2.1 Gender disposition

The table and the pie chart below shows the demographic statistics of the genders of the
respondents. Participants were asked to indicate their gender by selecting the appropriate option
provided (male or female). Accordingly only 6 (12.3%) of the respondents were female while the
remaining 87.7% were male.This shows most of the workers are male.

Table 4.2 gender

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid male 43 87.8 87.8 87.8
female 6 12.2 12.2 100.0
Total 49 100.0 100.0

Figure 4.1: gender distribution of respondents

Sales

male
female

24
4.2.2 Educational Background
From the analysis on educational background of the respondents, it was found that only 5
respondents (10.2%) have College Diploma, respondents (69.4%) are undergraduate degree, the
rest 8 respondents (20.4%) have graduate degree /masters and above. This profile shows that
majority of the respondents have undergraduate degree or first degree level.

Table 4.3 education background

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid post graduate 10 20.4 20.4 20.4
undergraduate 34 69.4 69.4 89.8
diploma 5 10.2 10.2 100.0
Total 49 100.0 100.0

4.2.3 Role and Experiences

The positions of each respondent are categorized in to three different levels. These are contractor,
consultant and project owner. But for these study because of reasons mentioned in the limitation
section of the research only the contractor’s side information is gathered.

Table 4.4 experience

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid 1-5 years 8 16.3 16.3 16.3
5-10 years 30 61.2 61.2 77.6
16-20 years 4 8.2 8.2 85.7
21 and above 7 14.3 14.3 100.0
Total 49 100.0 100.0

In the above table it shows that none of the respondents have an experience in the range of 10 to
15 years. But 16.3 % have experience up to 5 years, 61.2% have up to 10 years, 8.2 % have up to
20 years and 14.3 have 21 and above experience.

4.3 Quality management planning practice

1. Have you participated in the primary project designing process before
implementation starts?
25
 Table 4.5 project design
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid yes 8 16.3 16.3 16.3
no 41 83.7 83.7 100.0
Total 49 100.0 100.0

The of the theory of policy as statement of starting, promote consistency across projects, explain
organizational view of quality and provide specific guideless for changing which was suggested
by Kerezen is disproven as most of the respondents responded to the question, is quality
management policy in your organization?

According to the interview with head of the project who is the manager, quality planning starts
when specification of material by the consulting company in charge with a joint venture. The
document which aims to ensure compliance of constructions with the minimum requirements for
design, procurement procedures, construction and quality of materials set down by the Ministry.

Only few of the respondents participated in the planning of the quality management system. Out
of the 49 respondents only 7 of the top managerial position engineers participated in formulating
the policy. Based on the interview that was conducted the company have quality policy that is
constructed before the project started.

2. How important do you think the quality management plan is to your constriction
projects?
Based on the question that was asked most of the respondents answered that it is very important
to have quality management plan in construction project. This shows that for a project to be
successful and meet the desired standard one must have quality management plan.

Table 4.6 quality management plan

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid moderate 13 26.5 26.5 26.5
high 15 30.6 30.6 57.1
very high 21 42.9 42.9 100.0
Total 49 100.0 100.0

26
4.3.1 Content of the Quality Plan
Based on secondary data that was gathered after the interview was conducted revealed that the
quality management plan consists of the following listed standards.. The result shows that the
project is briefly described with sufficient documents and quality objectives. The organization
provides continuous quality tests with specific instructions and procedures. But regarding in
improving the existing quality plan it failed tremendously. Respondents think it lacks continuous
improvement while only (18.45%) thought it has improved. The quality management plan consist
the following different aspect

1. Brief description of project

2. List of contract documents and drawings
3. Project quality objectives
4. Responsibilities and authorities of project staff
5. Inspection and test plans, or list thereof;
6. list of project-specific procedures, work instructions and inspection

But it lacks in the area of Site organization chart, with named personnel if known and Frequency
of updating the quality plan. So what is the implication of these facts? Identifying these items
might require updates to the project management plan or schedule, which emphasizes the
evolving nature of the plan and project documents. The plan, like other components created
during the planning phase, is written by the project manager with input from stakeholders. When
planning for quality on a project follow the corporate quality policies that are in place. If a
corporate quality policy does not exist, the project team should create one for the project. The
project team might even need to adapt an existing policy to better suit the nature of the project.

As it was explained in the literature review there are different types of tools and techniques that
can be used in the planning of quality and out of `them the company employed the following
tools and techniques.

1. Benchmarking
2. Design of Experiments
3. Quality Audits
4. Inspection
5. Statistical Sampling

Quality planning tools help organization collect and analyze data for employees to easily
understand and interpret information. Quality Management models require extensive planning
and collecting relevant information about end-users. Customer feedbacks and expectations need
to be carefully monitored and evaluated to deliver superior quality products.

27
4.4 Quality Assurance Practices
This section of the study discusses the desirable measures for effective quality assurance
practices in CCCC. To do this, the respondents were presented with two questions and 5 sub
questions. These items are identified based on the literature from other similar projects and
understanding quality assurance in construction projects, the following table summarizes the
responses of the target respondents on factors included in quality assurance.

Table 4.7quality assurance practices

tools No of Strongly agree Moderately Slightly Strongly

response agree agree disagree disagree

Select the appropriate 49 3(6.5%) 8(16%) 38(77.5%)

quality system
requirements for each
contract

Clearly specify the 49 1(2%) 42(85.71%) 6(12.29%)

quality system
requirements in tender
and contract

Evaluate and select 49 1(2%) 29(59.18%) 19(38.82%)

subcontractors on their
ability to satisfy
specified requirements

Monitors the works 49 32(65.3%) 12(24.5%) 5(10.2%)

and the
implementation of the
quality system

Collect, reviews and 49 20(40.8%) 19(38.82%) 10(20.38%)

control the quality
record

4.5. Factors Affecting Quality management

This section of the study assesses the factors that influence quality management in CCCC
surveyed based on the literature reviewed list of factors. The respondents were presented with
four variables on which are supposed to influence quality management to rank from ‘strongly
agree’ (5) to ‘strongly disagree (1). The result of the responses is presented in the table below:
28
Table 4.8 factors affecting quality management

factors No of Strongly agree Moderately Slightly Strongly

response agree agree disagree disagree

Qualified and 49 38(77.5%) 8(16%) 3(6.5%)

experienced personnel

Quality of materials and 49 42(85.71%) 5(10.2%) 2(4.09%)

equipments

communication 49 29(59.18%) 12(24.48) 8(16.34%)

management support 49 32(65.3%) 5(10.2%) 12(24.5%)

From above table materials and equipments used in the project construction(95.2), qualified and
experiences personnel(93.5%), communication(83.66%) and top management support(75.5 %)
ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively are estimated the three most important factors in that affect
quality management of Addis Ababa greening project undertaken by CCCC.

Figure 4.2 Factors affecting quality management

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50% moderately agree
40% agree
30% strongly agree
20%
10%
0%
Qualified and Quality of communication Top
experienced materials and management
personnel equipments support

4.6. Challenges in Project Quality Management

The respondents were asked if they encounter problems as highlighted in the literatures for the
implementation of quality management is concerned. The researchers identified certain

29
challenges of quality management and were presented to the respondents and the responses are
presented below.

Table 4.9 challenges of quality management

factors No of Strongly agree Moderately Slightly Strongly

response agree agree disagree disagree

Lack of management 49 29(59.18%) 7(14.28%) 13(26.54%)

support

Lack of continuous 49 25(51.02%) 7(14.28%) 15(34.7%)

supervision

Financial constraints 49 22(44.9%) 10(20.41%) 15(34.9%)

Lack of 49 35(71.43%) 6(12.24%) 8(16.33%)

communication

From the above table, the first there major problems in the order of their rank were lack of
communication (83.67%), lack management support (73.46%), and each financial constraints and
lack of continuous supervision are (65.31%). This shows that financial constraint is not as an
issue as the others which was quite a surprise to the researcher.

4.7. Quality management Improvement

Below this, the table shows that the quality management practices that are exercised in the
company on the specific project is mostly maintained and to some extent decreased as the work
execution is done. But the extent of its improvement isn’t as it is expected to be.Only 20.4 %
agreed it is improving.

4.1.1 Quality Improvement

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid improved 10 20.4 20.4 20.4
maintained 21 42.9 42.9 63.3
decreased 12 24.5 24.5 87.8
stopped 6 12.2 12.2 100.0
Total 49 100.0 100.0

30
4.8. Discussion
In light of the data obtained through the three data collection tools (questionnaires, interviews
and documents reviews), the following major points of discussions have been identified and
discussed as follows.

There is no separate Quality management policy separately in the Organization unlike in the
literature most studies recommend that to have separate quality policy in the organization which
help as guiding principle to undertake the whole process of quality management. Kerezen(2003)
described quality policy is instrumental in creating the organization’s standing and quality image
since it is statement of principles stating what throughout the organization and across the project
and Tonnen (2002) stated that the main advantages of this approach over conventional planning
systems are that it combines strategic objectives with tactical daily management, covers all
functions in a company and increases quality goals’ consensus.

Quality management tools are important factors for the implementation of quality management in
construction projects, where identification of quality standards, evaluation of overall project
performance and quality control monitoring of specific project results in the quality management
processes were defined by PMI (2000).

In the study majority of the respondents agrees that there is an astounding performance
measurement to control quality (87.9%) in primary construction project.

A research under gone by Betework (2019), stated that top management support, commitment of
project participants. Communication, regular u budget update and availability of trained
resources are the determinants of project quality management on achieving the desired quality.(
BeteWork ,2019)

Joy stated in his study on factors influencing quality of construction projects, the major factors
that affect quality; material, labor, financial issues, conformance to codes and standards, top
management support, management factors, selection of contractor, selection of designer design,
co-operation of parties, contract documents and lack of communication (Joy, 2014). And as per
this research it found that materials and equipments used in the project construction (95.2%),
qualified and experiences personnel (93.5%), communication (83.66%) and top management
support (75.5 %) are the factors that affect quality.

31
 CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMONDATIONS

This chapter has three sections. The first section presents summary of major findings, the second
section presents conclusion of the study derived from findings and the last section deals with
recommendation that were made on basis of the findings.

5.1. Summary of the Finding

Based on the results of the study carried out the major summary of finding of the study shows
that:

➢ CCCC has a written quality policy but that are formulated with joint venture of the
consulting company. Most of the activities identified as quality plan content on the
guiding of other literature project quality document are in one way or another included in
their project work.
➢ The overall project planning process is with a direct participation of the implementers
starting from planning phases. But the level of involvement is mostly at implementation,
follow up and the controlling.
➢ inspection seem as the common practices to most of the projects which count for 93.88 %
followed by statistical sampling 89.79 % were confirmed as quality management tools
and technique respectively.
➢ materials and equipments used in the project construction(95.2), qualified and
experiences personnel(93.5%), communication(83.66%) and top management
support(75.5 %) ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively are estimated the three most
important factors in that affect quality management of Addis Ababa greening project
undertaken by CCCC.
➢ Defining purpose of the project (91.4%) and collects reviews and controls the quality
records that the supplier is conducted (93.1%) are the major variables affect quality
assurance of the project.
➢ The quality management practices that are exercised in the company on the specific
project is mostly maintained and to some extent decreased as the work execution is done.
But the extent of its improvement isn’t as it is expected to be. Only 20.4 % agreed it is
improving.
➢ The major problems in the order of their rank were lack of communication (83.67%), lack
management support (73.46%), and each financial constraints and lack of continuous
supervision are (65.31%). This shows that financial constraint is not as an issue as the
others which was quite a surprise to the researcher.

32
5.2. Conclusion
Directing a construction project towards quality with low cost and time is a greater concern
today. It is because quality is required to meet project requirements of the owners, constructors
and other parties involved with a greater satisfaction. Moreover, poor quality could lead to
unnecessary cost to the organization where it could create costs due to failure, appraisal and
prevention. Hence, it creates a necessity to introduce the concept ‘quality’ into building process
throughout its whole life phases. Implementing proper quality management plan is important at
the project inception where, quality drawings, quality standards and constructability of design
may lead to enhance the project quality. However, the commitment and the support of the
management are important to continue the process. The awareness and training provides a base to
collaborate all parties into the process, in which the collaboration of such all parties in quality
management process is essential to lead towards construction project success.

The following conclusion, which is made from the research findings, could help to give insight to
Flintstone real estate Construction Company in relation to the management ‟s responsibility in
implementing and practicing QMS.

➢ This finding is self-assertive to conclude that the leadership support to the mission and
vision of the QMP provides a quality culture that could motivate the project team in
overall project environment in the company.
➢ The findings also allow one to conclude that the foreign company CCCC top
management is committed in the implementation and practice of QMP.
➢ It can be concluded that the good management made the company to be competent in the
construction market.
➢ It can be concluded that the practice of activities related to overall improvements within
the organization is done unsatisfactorily.
➢ Regarding to using different techniques of quality assurance the company failed. it can
be concluded that the company was only moderately able to recognize the processes
needed for the QMP and their application throughout the project activities by identifying
and realizing the processes and establish the interaction between them.
➢ Additionally regular and periodic construction site supervision and inspection were the
most important measure to improve quality of primary construction projects. The next
important measure is implementing a comprehensive quality control mechanism starting
from the planning phase and continuing into the end of the project implementation
phases.
➢ The project quality management is challenged by various factors mainly; lack of
communication, insufficient management support, financial constraints and continuous
supervision.

33
5.3 Recommendations
The following recommendation is given to enhance the level of management responsibilities
within Flintstone real estate construction projects.

➢ It is recommended that people operating within the QMP need to be evaluated for
performance and continued competency.
➢ There should be an encouragement to continually utilize a process approach, focusing
efforts on planning, procedure, provision for effective documentation, document control,
and effective corrective actions.
➢ For improving the accessibility of accurate and reliable data both company need to
understand what data is and why its reliability is important and therefore they need to
work on effective collection and management of data. It is recommended that these
company need to collect data through various methods. Hence based on the accurate and
reliable data the company needs to establish clear procedures for managerial decisions
which can improve the quality and impact of their decisions would be efficient.
➢ The company’s quality management improvement is low and hence there should be an
effort to amend this.
➢ The challenges that arise in a project should be tackled as a team and this team should be
involved in the planning process of quality management. In which the case study
company failed to do since only top 7 officials were involved in the formulation of the
quality policy.
➢ The strong side of the company which are consistency in inspection , financial capacity
and benchmarking should continue

5.4. Future Studies

The practice of quality project management based on the project management skills and
knowledge is in its early stages in Ethiopia and only few researches were conducted that are
relevant to project management in general specially to quality management. For in-depth
understanding further research should be made on other contributing factors on project quality
management performance, and project quality. Furthermore, additional investigation on the
quality management of other types of commercial and industrial building projects is required.

34
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 St. Mary’s University

Post Graduate program

Department of project Management

M.A thesis on quality assurance

APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE ST. MARY’S UNIVERSITY SCHOOL

OF GRADUATE STUDIES

Bealu Girma,

St. Mary’s University,

Phone number: +251920595322,

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Dear Respondent,

SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR RESEARCH DATA

I am a graduate student at St. Mary’s University. In partial fulfillment for the award of a Master of
Arts Degree in Project Management, I am carrying out a research study on the ‘Assessment of
Project Quality Control and Assurance Practices: “The Case of Addis Ababa River Side Green
Project’’

You have been identified as one of the people that could be of assistance with the research and I thus
request your participation in the research. Essentially, you would be required to complete a
questionnaire. You will be treated anonymously and your responses will be treated with utmost
confidentiality. The information you provide will be used only for academicpurposes.

39
Yours Faithfully,

Thank you in advance

我是圣玛丽大学的研究生。为了部

Research Questionnaire

Kindly answer the following questions by writing a brief answer or ticking “√” in
the boxes provided.

PART A: Background Information

1. What is your gender?

Male []

Female []

2. What is your position in the organization?

Contractors []

Consultant []

Project owners []

3. Which is your highest level of education?

Post Graduate []

Undergraduate []

Diploma []

Certificate []

Any other (specify)…………………………………………………………

4. How long have you been in this industry?

40
1 to5years []

5 to10years []

11 to15years []

16 to20years []

21 years and above []

PART Ⅱ:This part of questionnaire covers Quality management practices, Quality

control tools and challenges in Addis Ababa greening project.
A. Quality Management & process

1. Have you participated in the primary project designing process before

implementation starts? □1 .Yes □2. No

2. If yes at which stage? □1. Planning □.2.Implementation □3. Controlling

□4. All stage

3. How important do you think the quality management plan is to your constriction
projects?

□1.Very low □2. Low □3. Moderate □4. High

□5. Very high

B. Quality Management Tools and Control

4. Is there a way to measure actual performance? □1.Yes

□ 2. No

5. Do you use any quality management tools? □1.Yes

□ 2. No

6. If yes, which method you use in your project?

41
 7. Please express your opinion on the following quality management factors that
affect performance of construction projects;

The scale rating description: 5 = very strongly Agree, 4= strongly agree, 3=

moderately agree, 2= slightly Disagree, 1= strongly Disagree

no Quality factors Rating

5 4 3 2 1

1 Qualified and experienced personal

2 Quality of material and equipment

3 Communication

4 Top management support

C. Quality Assurance

9. Is the purpose of the projects defined in the first instance?

□1.Yes □ 2. No

10. Do you consider the following factors in your quality assurance mechanism?

(a) Selects the appropriate quality system requirements for each contract.

□ 1.Yes □ 2. No

(b) Clearly specifies the quality system requirements in tender and contract
documents.
42
□1 Yes □ 2.No

(c) Evaluates and selects subcontractors on their ability to satisfy specified

requirements.

□ 1.Yes □ 2. No

(d) Monitors the works and the implementation of the quality system.

□1.Yes □ 2. No

(e) Collects, reviews and controls the quality records that the supplier is contracted
to provide.

□ 1.Yes □2. No

D. Quality Management Challenges

11. What are the main challenges and obstacles of quality management in the
project in your opinion?

Description: 5 = very strongly, 4= strongly, 3= Moderate, 2= Less, 1= very less

no Quality factors Rating

5 4 3 2 1

1 Lack of management support

2 Lack of continuous supervision

3 Financial constraints

4 communication

43
12. Does the company solve these challenges? □1.Yes □2. No

13. How the organization’s quality management practice look like?

1. It is improved □ 2. It is maintained □ 3.It is decreasing □ 4. It is stopped □

Other, Please specify______________

APPENDIX B: KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEW GUIDE

1. Would you tell me your current position in your organization, level and type of
your education and experience on project management?

2. What is your general experience in your organization in project implementation

and management with reference to time, budget and quality of outputs?

3. Do you have project quality management system in your organization?

4. What are the policy and procedure of CCCC concerning quality?

5. Do you have a quality manager separately? What are the major responsibilities?
Or do other departments participate on the preparation of the quality plan? Other
department staff responsible for contracts, purchasing, logistics, etc.

6. How do you control the quality of material and work? Who is responsible?

7. Does CCCC team conduct regular supervision? How frequent?

8. Do you have training on project management? Especially on project quality

management?

9. How do you see management commitment and priority for project Quality
implementation and management?

10. How are projects quality maintained? What are the measures you take to
control quality of projects?

44
11. How and in what ways are project quality related issues communicated?

12. What are the challenges you face in project quality implementation and
management in your primary hospital construction?

13. What do you think must be fulfilled for successful project quality
implementation and management in general?

Thank You for Your Participation

45