Construction quality has many faces: it can mean the quality of a product, process or service. The designer, the builder and the customer have different views on quality. Sometimes even a flawless product does not please the consumer due to its surface materials, for example. On the other hand, a product with errors can receive excellent feedback if the errors have been corrected and the customer experience is good.
It's not even a question of a small thing financially. The direct costs of construction warranty repairs are 0,5–1 percent of the value of the final product. In the Finnish construction industry, the direct costs of warranty repairs are around 300 million euros per year, so "Oy Takuukorjaus Ab" would be one of the largest construction companies in Finland. With indirect costs, the costs of warranty repairs rise to several percent of the price, i.e. to the same magnitude as the industry's operating profit.
The built environment accounts for more than 70 percent of our national wealth. Quality is a matter of profitability, social responsibility and reputation. The quality of the built environment also affects our health. An example of this is homeschools. Quality also affects the reputation of the entire industry. It has received more column space and discussion on social media than any other topic related to the construction industry.
Who is responsible for the quality of the construction then? The builder would sometimes like to shift the responsibility for quality deficiencies to the customer, subcontractor or designer. However, it is a team game where every position is important. Responsibility cannot be outsourced. We must make quality together.
Engineers have already successfully developed processes and quality systems. The construction industry RT supports companies with various guidelines, and it has established a quality group that shares the best practices in the industry. The industry organizations Rakennusteollisuus RT ry, Rakennusliitto ry, Rakenninten Laatu RALA ry, Rakli ry and Skol ry do good quality development work. And we know how to do it in the north too: we could learn from the model of the Oulu Building Construction Authority in the south as well.
Processes must be in order, but according to research, up to 70 percent of quality problems are related to culture rather than processes. A culture of quality construction is needed. Culture change requires attitude, values and leadership, but also resources, rewards and communication. The commitment to quality starts from the management, and for my part, I commit to set an example to create a better quality culture.
Tero Kiviniemi
chairman, Construction Industry RT
vice president, YIT
The blog text was originally published RALA's on the website on 15.1.2016 January XNUMX.
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