TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

Abstract

The industrial revolution and the concentration of workers under one roof has forced the facilities to become "the container and the focus" of the production line and the administration centre (Akhlaghi, 1994). This connotes that facilities are "inseparable and essential functions which were required to ensure successful execution of the organisation's core activity". The facilities management profession has emerged in the latter half of the 20th century in parallel with the technological revolution. Presently, facilities management has been described as a hybrid management discipline that combines people, property and process management expertise to provide vital services in support of the organisation. A facilities manager with TQM knowledge plays an important role as the proponent of quality using innovative quality techniques to enhance the quality of a property and this translates into better investment value. The aim of this dissertation is to examine the TQM philosophy into the arena of facilities management and in the process, provide a TQM framework for facilities management that is relevant for the organisation. The survey results indicate the success of TQM implementation in the manufacturing companies when all the critical elements of TQM are put into practice. The case study, on the contrary, shows that the facilities managers are not aware that they are practising partial TQM. Nevertheless, the manager interviewed has expressed enthusiasm in an effective TQM approach.