Date of Graduation

12-2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Industrial Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

Kim Needy

Committee Member

Thais Alves

Second Committee Member

Heather Nachtmann

Third Committee Member

Edward Pohl

Fourth Committee Member

John White

Keywords

Construction Industry, Construction Management, Strategic Leadership, Supplier Assessment and Evaluation, Supplier Practices, Supplier Quality Management

Abstract

The aim of the research is to determine the best practices for supplier quality management (SQM) in the construction industry that ensure that the supplied materials and equipment for construction projects are within the quality requirements. The research is based on three main objectives. The first objective is to describe and assess the process of assuring supplier quality inside and outside the construction industry. The second objective is to develop a framework for the supplier quality process based on the collection of SQM practices from multiple data sources. The third objective is to assess the SQM practices within the developed framework of supplier quality process, and to discuss the development of strategic leadership for SQM.

The contribution of this research can be used by stakeholders in the construction industry to improve SQM within their organizations. Researchers can also benefit from this research to better understand SQM practices within the construction industry.

The findings of the research show that SQM practices outside the construction industry appear to be similar to the existing practices within the construction industry. However, construction organizations with highly effective SQM systems implement the SQM practices more consistently, as compared to the other organizations. Also, construction organizations with highly effective SQM systems focus on quality when selecting their suppliers, and hold joint quality planning with their suppliers because these practices have high impact on quality and are easy to implement. Finally, the research shows that having a quality director that helps create a quality culture for SQM is very important to strategically lead SQM within construction organizations.

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