Quality improvement in construction by using a Vandermonde interpolation technique

Abstract

Cost and quality are considered as the two most important elements in all construction activities. However, the quality of products or services does not focus only on their ultimate delivery, but also on the quality of the whole business model. Prevention-appraisal-failure (PAF) modelling is the most commonly adopted methodology to assess the quality performance of the construction organization. However, it cannot successfully show the correlation between prevention, appraisal, and failure costs, hence, it is difficult to determine the optimal point among these costs. A case study is proposed in this paper by presenting activities of a hydro-seeding company. Quality management data of the company are also attached and analysed by using a Vandermonde interpolation technique. This new method clearly shows an optimal point of the total cost which is a summation of prevention, appraisal and failure costs. Comparisons with the PAF modelling of the data are made. Data interpolation can also be used to thoroughly study the company's performance in terms of investment and managing its resources.