A qualitative data analysis for supplier quality-management practices for engineer-procure-construct projects

The process of assuring the procured and fabricated materials for an engineer-procure-construct (EPC) project are within their quality requirements is challenging because nearly every EPC construction project is complex and distinctive from previous projects in terms of its size, supply chain, and materials usage. In particular, EPC projects include contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers who collaboratively perform the engineering design for the project, procure the required materials and equipment, and then construct. Many (or most) construction organizations, representing owners and contractors, place high importance on documenting and tracking the quality performance of their suppliers as part of their sup plier quality management (SQM) to ensure that procured and fabricated materials are within the quality specifications. However, these organizations still face problems with their SQM, evidenced by the large number of rework tasks and replacement efforts for the supplied materials in the EPC projects. This highlights the importance of investigating the current supplier quality practices to explore effective practices to deliver products with the expected quality and zero rework. In this paper, six structured interviews were conducted with contractors, and 92 SQM documents including procedures and reports from 21 owners and contractors in the EPC industry were analyzed to identify the current practices used by these organizations with regard to SQM, and the most effective practices that construction engineering managers could borrow to improve the existing SQM in the EPC projects. The contribution of this research can be used by stakeholders in the construction industry to improve SQM within their organizations. Researchers can also benefit from this research to better understand SQM practices within the construction industry.