| Title |
A cluster analysis of the audit result on quality management system in architectural design and engineering firms |
| Authors |
Bae, Dae-kwon ; Kim, Kyung-Hwan ; Kim, Jae-Jun |
| Abstract |
ISO 9001, the quality management system issued by the International Organization for Standardization, is being used by architectural design and engineering firms in order to strengthen the capability of business activities through the implementation of the international and advanced quality management systems. However, there have been significant problems in stable implementation and settlement of ISO 9001 in construction industry, which seem to be caused by key employees' lack of proper recognition and comprehension. The purpose of this research, accordingly, is to find and analyze nonconformity results which were found when the third party registrars audited the conformity of companies' quality management systems for ISO 9001 certification especially in architectural design and engineering firms. For this purpose this research was conducted by a cluster analysis of 647 audit reports out of representative 15 architectural design and engineering firms that have been audited periodically from 1997 to 2003 by the third party registrars. The analysis showed that the most frequent problems were generated in the areas of 『Design and Development』, 『Production and Service Provision』, and 『General requirements』of the quality management system. The following, the areas of 『Monitoring and Measurement』and 『Purchasing』were also analyzed as main factors which caused frequent nonconformity results. This research also shows that the corrective actions for nonconformity results are closely connected with the whole management activities in architectural design and engineering firms. Consequently, corrective actions for disposition of nonconformities should be implemented more specifically in order to settle and activate the quality management systems in architectural design and engineering firms. |