Managing information flows for quality improvement of projects

Abstract

The construction industry has always been bedeviled with great difficulties in sharing information among its participants. Although many construction firms have claimed to be ISO 9000-certified, there is still missing an effective channel of information flow for quality management. There are information asymmetries in quality management from internal and external organizations. Internally, information asymmetry exists between contractor, subcontractors and suppliers; and externally, there is no information sharing mechanism between project departments; information feedback is more difficult than information transferring in a construction firm. This paper analyses the channel of information flow for quality management. It proposes to reengineer current management strategy for establishing an effective information network for quality management.