| This thesis is part of an extensive study conducted by Research Team 308 Achieving Zero Rework Through Effective Supplier Quality Practices from the Construction Industry Institute (CII). The main objectives of this study are centered on the belief that owners, contractors, and suppliers in the construction industry engage in multiple supplier quality (SQ) practices to ensure that project components are procured to the site with the highest quality possible in order to avoid any rework associated with components that are defective or do not conform to the required specifications. Furthermore, data obtained for this study focuses on four different types of material: tagged/engineered equipment, fabricated goods (structural steel and pipe spools), and manufactured/bulk goods (non-engineered/bulk valves).;The first outcome of this study was the development of a Supplier Quality Process Map (SQPM) that illustrates how the process of procuring components to the project site with sufficient quality is currently being implemented by the Engineer-Procure-Construct (EPC) industry. A detailed description of the SQPM is provided and depicts five major stages within the process. The first two stages illustrate the supplier selection process and the development of a quality plan. These stages are known as planning and selection and execution. The last three stages pertain to key milestones where measurements for the quality of the production process occur; these stages are release from shop, received on site, and mechanical completion..;The second outcome was a statistical analysis of how SQ practices are used by EPC contractors and how these SQ practices impact the resulting quality of goods supplied based on the number of non-conformances (NCs) throughout the process outlined in the SQPM. The statistical analysis resulted in several findings related to the SQ process: More NCs are found when more time is spent observing and inspecting work; developing a quality control/inspection and testing (QC/IT) plan, and projecting the cost of the inspection effort with the supplier helps find problems earlier in the SQ process. Moreover, for meetings held before execution (specifically before any manufacturing, fabrication, or assembly takes place) results suggest that NCs will appear at the shop (upstream), which is a good way of avoiding higher costs associated with the correction of NCs on site (downstream). Moreover, the use and implementation of registered or certified quality management systems (QMS) does not affect the number of NCs found throughout the SQPM. The third outcome is the statistical comparison of a group of companies, labeled as highly effective companies (HECs), to regular companies. Results show that HECs find NCs earlier in the SQPM, engage in more hours of observation in suppliers' facilities, and put more effort in the planning phases by conducting more pre-award and pre-inspection meetings, aimed at reducing the number of NCs. Keywords: Engineer-procure-construct, supplier quality surveillance, supplier quality practices, inspection, non-conformances, lessons-learned, supply chain management, non-parametric statistics. |
