Introduction Contractors Knowledge of TQM

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CHAPTER V DISCUSSION

5.1 Introduction

The first stage of this study identifies the current implementation and adoption of TQM principles in the construction industry through an in-depth questionnaire. The questionnaire was divided into six parts, namely: their knowledge of TQM, their perception of quality, the data acquisition methods used by them, quality in their organization, the degree of training provided to their employees towards TQM, and the obstacles faced by them in implementing TQM in their companies. Below is the discussion for the results.

5.2 Contractors Knowledge of TQM

The results show that the contractor with the highest level of knowledge in TQM was Adhi Karya, which already had 94 of its managerialsupervisor staff undergoing quality improvement training. On the other hand, the contractor with the lowest level of knowledge in TQM was Hutama Karya, with only 53 of its managerialsupervisor staff had undergone quality improvement traning. Three of the six contractors Wijaya Kusuma, Hutama Karya and Adhi Karya used customer satisfaction as their measure to define quality. For Waskita Karya and Pembangunan Perumahan their measure to define quality was team work, while for Wijaya Karya the measure was expenses. The majority of contractors thought that if they could increase customers satisfaction, their profits would also increase in the long run. Any contractor needs to fulfill customers’s needs by providing the best services and product for them. In the construction industry, giving the best services for the measures means providing good facilities that is satisfactory to the customers, since they are the final users of the facility built by contractors. Also, by focusing on customer satisfaction, the contractors can get a good feedback and further evaluation to make sure that they are providing the quality of service that their customers expect them to provide. The results sho that the TQM worked very well in three of the contractors Pembangunan Perumahan, Wijaya Kusuma and Adhi Karya, while in Waskita Karya, Wijaya Karya and Hutama Karya, the TQM only worked to some extent. All of them, however, agreed that the TQM had brought benefit to their respective organizations. The 87 respondents thought that TQM had done very well in their organization because it helped the contractors increase their productivity and bring benefits for their organization. Some, however, thought that TQM worked only in some particular area i.e., improving the process the system that creates products or services to a point that they are error-free and yield minimal scrap or waste of resources. TQM has enabled these contractors improve their quality in their projects. TQM also had other benefits, including the improvement in employees’s job satisfaction and productivity as well the increase in profits. According to the respondents, TQM had been used in their company especially to improve good planning 50 of respondents and increase market share 35.7. Also by good planning the contractors can get access to the best organization to supply them with the best products and services to improve operation and increase profits. The majority of respondents were also aware of TQM implementation programs in their organization. all of the respondents from three contractors Waskita Karya, Wijaya Karya and Wijaya Kusuma were even aware of the implementation of TQM program. These results show that in general contractors surveyed in this research had good knowledge about the TQM and the potential benefits of its implementation in their respective organization.

5.3 Contractors Adoption and Implementation of TQM