Assessment of Quality Management Practices of Building Construction Firms in Uganda: A Case of Kamwenge District

Abstract

Quality management in the construction industry includes quality control, quality planning and quality assurance to improve the quality of buildings. However, there have been challenges related to cost variations, timeliness and delays in maintenance which affect quality management of buildings. The study assessed quality management practices of building construction firms in Uganda with the purpose of developing a framework that can be used by construction firms to improve on the quality of buildings. In this study, descriptive design was employed in which both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from a sample size of 54 respondents purposively selected from employees of construction firms and Kamwenge local government using a survey questionnaire and documentary reviews. Data were analyzed using descriptive and multivariate analysis in SPSS version 25. The contribution of each of the factors on the quality of construction firms was determined by use of Relative Importance Index (RII) and the ranking of these attributes in terms of their criticality as perceived by the respondents. The findings indicated that procurement systems, third party certification and on site supervision greatly influenced the cost, timeliness and delivery of buildings hence affecting the quality management practices. The developed framework shall be used to engage stakeholders in the phases of the construction projects mainly buildings to improve on cost estimation and timely completion hence improving on quality management of buildings and service delivery.