Cost of quality evaluation in mass-housing projects in developing countries

In the construction industry, one of the most important concerns of organizations is how to achieve a balance between the desired level of quality and the expenses associated with it. The evaluating of the cost of quality (COQ) can help achieve this balance. This study surveys quality-related activities and costs in mass-housing projects in Iran by conducting 77 structured interviews on 60 mass-housing projects. The survey uses the prevention- appraisal-failure (P-A-F) model, which is the most widely used model for determining and classifying COQ, as the main framework. This research first specifies the most common quality-related activities and components of quality costs. It also develops a model for evaluating the total COQ of the studied projects by fitting third-order polynomial trend lines to the compiled data. Then, the research evaluates potential cost savings as a possible result of quality-management approach to the optimum level of COQ on the basis of the developed model. This study contributes to the project's quality management by introducing a new model for evaluating the COQ and its optimum level in mass-housing projects. The model evaluates the potential savings in quality costs as a result of achieving the optimum level of COQ.