Recently, more and more U.S. businesses have turned to Total Quality Management (TQM) to give them a competitive advantage. Gradually, construction firms also have begun to adopt TQM philosophies.
To learn how TQM is changing the construction industry, FMI Corp., a construction management consulting firm based in Denver, surveyed the nation's largest construction companies. A primary objective was to determine major barriers to successfully implementing TQM. Respondents identified more than 60 obstacles. The top five are:
- Lack of trained workers
- Competitive markets
- Poor plans and specifications
- Bad attitudes
- Lack of competent field managers
