Quality management for Hotel Tower in Dubai - Assignment Example

Quality Management of the Hotel Tower in Dubai Introduction Quality management is an important tool in any quality control project as it involves various components of quality management. This is because quality management is a primary objective in most of the construction industry. The project will involve setting up of the Tower hotel. The quality management involved quality process, quality procedures, quality factors to be adhered and the ISO certification of the project which is used across the globe and in almost all the industries. Basing on the British standards BS 6079 quality management is the major component responsibility of the project manager. Quality management is a very important component in most production processes .Quality is those products and services that are perceived to meet or exceed the expectations of the customer at a cost that represents outstanding value. But according to ISO definition it is the totality of feature and characteristics of a product or service that bears on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs. The project involved the constructing three basement floors, ground floor, three podiums, pool deck level, six guest floors, roof, 2 upper roofs totalling to a height of 110 meters above the ground. The Hotel Tower is to be situated on plot number BB.A03.041 at the business bay in Dubai. The total plot area was 50587 Square feet, the total build up area for the project was 46,614 square feet, the total gross floor area was 260,567 square feet and finally a parking of 216.Land is freehold owned solely by the client purchased by the client in early 2011. The land is in rectangular shape with levelled top soil located at business bay, Dubai. Front of land is connected with road with the backyard facing the creek. The project stakeholders like the Local Authorities involved for the project are as below: Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone Authorities, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) for electricity and water utility services for the building, Dubai Civil Defence for fire escape stairs, elevators, fire fighting, fire alarm, central battery system, Dubai Civil Aviation for air craft warning lights use of the building, Road and Transport Authority (RTA) for surrounding road networking, Dubai Municipality (DM) for drainage networking of the building, Empower for district cooling supply of building and lastly Dubai Police for CCTV use of building. The Hotel Tower is designed as per the 5 Star Hotel standards consisting of 227 king double, 108 king twin, 4 king accessible, 14 junior suite and another senior suite. Discussion Quality process Different management systems of the hotel must work in tandem to achieve guest satisfaction the main qualitative of the business is maintained which includes measuring of consistency and quality of service and food that is being offered. The quality process includes effectively utilising the quality management concepts. There is need to incorporate total quality management concept which involves widespread involvement and commitment of the staff. TQM aims at extensive involvement and commitment throughout the implementing unit. They include tools and techniques and use the organization's own employees and managers and trainers rather than outside consultants. Six Sigma reduces cost by reducing variability in the processes leading to decreased effects by using statistical tools and supportive software. The specialists are within a Six Sigma program in the form of green belts, black and master belts, champions and finally team members. It uses DMAIC problem solving model. Lean thinking detects over-production, unnecessary inventory, excessive transportation, defects and waiting. Lean Six sigma is used to reduce cycle time and waste in production processes. International Organizations for Standards that a system provides confidence that the organization will be consistent in their management processes. Use of Six Sigma gives clear change of structure and is much more orientated on fast and tangible results in comparison with TQM. Lean Six Sigma uses more statistical tools for tackling more complex problems. Lean is primarily used to tackle visible problems. Lean is therefore defined as the systematic removal of unproductive members of the organization from all sectors of the value stream. Lean strives to make organizations more competitive in the market by increasing efficiency, decreasing costs incurred due to elimination of non value-adding (VA) steps and inefficiencies in the processes. Lean thinking views the entire project in production system terms as they are designed to attain three important goals product delivery, maximizing value and minimizing waste. Swimming pool, a Jacuzzi and a kids pool at podium top. This location gives the aesthetic value of the swimming pool as people can enjoy the overhead winds that blow over the podium top of (Michael, 2012).On citing swimming pools, one is made to consider the support system, the load calculations of the existing hotel structure, factors like the splashing water, rain water runoff in the pool in case of rain, the zoning regulations of the hotel building determines the location of the filter system (Boyle, 2003). Quality Procedures Following the appropriate quality procedures using the quality control system is vital in every quality management of construction projects. The project manager incorporates quality assurance to obtain that finished construction projects that it meets all the contract requirements. The quality assurance personnel ascertain that the contractors work is in compliance with contract requirements. The quality assurance personnel also ensure that the necessary changes are made in the contractor’s QC system, help the contractor in comprehending and understanding of the contract requirements, examining quality control methods used to establish if the contractor is adequately managing the design activities. According to Hopper et al (2000) to prevent any occurrence of any hazardous incident by incorporating control management design regulations the swimming pool is made in such way that there is safe entry and exit from the water. The contractor’s quality control ensures successful execution of the realistic plan meet the quality construction standards. The contractor determines the procedures to manage and control his own, designer of record, consultant, architect engineers; all subcontractors besides the supplier activities so that the finished project of Tower hotel meet the contract requirements. A quality control plan is paramount because it assures that all documents are reviewed by a technically qualified personnel and the review should not include the designers that produced the plan. The design management plan is managed by the Design QC manager under the watchful eye of the QC manager. The employment of qualified staff at the swimming pool so that they can assist those that do not how to swim from floating and gliding, propulsion to submerging in water is very vital Hopper et al (2000). Basing on the Japanese quality management philosophy the quality of services of the Tower hotel required the management is to know the true cost of defective work, true payback, the cost of quality, preventive rather than responsive action, global improvement and true trade-off model. At the podium of the Tower hotel it is the best place to establish a natural swimming pond that mimic the natural ecosystem by combining landscape design and biotechnology. The maintenance costs are reduced besides providing naturally clean swimming pool water without incorporating the use chemicals (Bodeker & Cohen, 2012). With the CQC being a contractor’s obligation must ensure that the quality specified in the plans is produced. Moreover must perform all the tests and control activities. Develop and maintain an efficient CQC system, and lastly to prepare valid documentation of the progress of the CQC. A reliable representative should be there to oversee the CQC system. Contractor representative should ensure that work is done by competent and careful craftsmen by using proper techniques of workmanship (Boekel, 2007) With the recent technological advancements that have included the water delivery systems like the Vichy shower have been incorporated in Jacuzzis used by therapists to provide full body treatment using a sequence of horizontal showers. This is overseen by the Dubai Water and Electricity Authority. Further developments include pipe less motors and ionization self-cleaning systems that disinfect internal piping and remove dirt in addition to the reticulating system that filter, reticulate and heat water so as to conserve water and the energy consumption of the system (Bodeker & Cohen, 2012). To ensure quality, construction is done in phases. The three phases of the construction management system incorporated here include; preparatory, initial and follow up phases. The responsibility of the three-phase is to develop, schedule and implement measures for tracking control phase, reminding the appropriate personnel of time, date and lastly agenda of the project. Organizing meetings, safety procedures and Activity Hazard analyses (AHAs), documenting the actual proceedings of meetings thus providing minutes to attendees (Brian Thorpe, 2004). The preparatory phase is performed before the start of work on every definable feature of work. The Dubai government is notified of any required actions of the preparatory level in advance as stated in the QC specifications. The phase includes a meeting conducted by the QC manager attended by the construction superintendant of the Tower hotel. The initial phase must be completed at the beginning of a definitive feature of work. The phase verifies if the control for the work scheduled in the preparatory meeting is implemented and fulfils the level of workmanship of mutually consented to. In the preparatory phase the following people are include; QC manager, QC specialist, superintendant, subcontractor foreman, and QA Representative. In the initial phase the following people are involved; QC Manager, QC Specialists, Superintendent, Subcontractor foreman, and QA Representative with same group maintained in the follow up phase (Brian and Thorpe, 2004). The follow up phase involve the daily checks done to make sure that there is continued compliance with the contract requirements of the Tower hotel construction. Moreover the safety and control testing until the completion of the particular feature of work is done. The findings are documented and all the faults are to be corrected before the start additional features of work made possible by competent QC personnel. Quality factors To ensure quality several factors are put in place. These include quality control, quality assurance, meeting of quality objectives, quality audit and quality assurance plan and review objectives are met (Brannigan & Corbett, 2010). The quality policy is a statement of the objectives of the organisation, it clearly defines the organisation's attitude and approaches to quality and it is analogous to a stated safety policy. It would generally be formulated and issued by specialist quality consultants in response to a commission from senior management. The principal components of the quality policy consists of; the stated organisation quality objectives, minimum levels of acceptable quality, and individual organisation member’s responsibility for implementation. The quality objectives must reflect the reality and practical possibility. The objectives convert the major aspects of the policy into individual statements of what that has to e done by the independent components. Each contributing component must be aware of its level if performance. Quality assurance is the collective term applied to a range of activities and techniques within the process which are aimed at creating specific quality characteristics. Such processes include continuous sampling with results being availed by some form of statistical analysis. A QC system would compare actual with standard performance in order to isolate quality variances. These would then act as focal points for subsequent remedial action or for re-defining standards for the next operating period. Quality audit is likewise important in the quality management of construction projects. It entails a high level check, carried out by independent personnel in order to ensure that the project’s quality performance standards are achieved. Most QA and QC systems would be subject to internal and external audit this applicable to auditors outside the Intercontinental Group of hotels for an effective quality system. Quality assurance plan and review work content is broken down to enable certain tools and techniques applied to each section. Quality assurance plan (QAP) is a document that states the rules that will be followed in order to ensure that quality standards are maintained during the execution of the contract. Any plan is only effective if there is some system for determining that it is executed correctly. The quality assurance review, monitoring the execution of the QAP is the responsibility of the quality assurance review (QAR) which is a checkpoint that finds the performance of the QAP. The QAP and the QAR have a number of standard objectives which include: as an initiator, an enforcer, as a statement of procedures, as a cost and schedule plan, as a generator of uniform quality and as an encouragement to attend to standards (Diehl and Donnely, 2001) The elevators are used to connect the other areas of the hotel to the banquet and the atrium improving their accessibility. The movement of people in and out of the banquet and the atrium is further enhanced by increasing the number of the elevators and escalators. This is an advantage because the escalators lead to the toilet for men, toilet and dressing for women (Harper, 2003). Total quality management (TQM) is a system that combines quality control techniques and organizational models. It is slowly picking up as the standard component in organizations. It is a logical evolution of management by objectives, strategic planning, quality assurance and various other systems.TQM has three major components: breakthrough planning, daily management and lastly cross-functional management (Dawn, 2012). The last factor quality management is safety management. In the UK some principal legislation which affects health safety and welfare in construction includes, Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Mines and Quarries Act 1954, Factories Act 1961, Offices, Shops, and Railway Premises Act 1963, Control of Pollution Act 1974, Highway Act 1980, and the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. The CDM regulations are essentially necessary because construction is characterised by having a wide range of different activities involved in the execution of a relatively complex task and a high-risk activity hence the need for a safety regulation. The obligations under CDM regulations is that it imposes specific duties on five parties, namely (i) the client, (ii) the designers, (iii) the planning supervisor, (iv) the principal contractor, and (v) the sub-contractors and other self-employed persons (Sterling & Carmody, 1993). King twin is an executive room that has the same properties as the king double but it has two single beds (Andrews, 2009). This is a vital component in the hotelier industry because meeting customer demands and ensuring their satisfaction is the main objective of the Tower hotel. Most of the junior suites are to have separate living area and a small terrace with table and chairs coupled with the modern touch that utilizes space and aesthetic oriented results (Baird, 2010).Senior suite is suite that is specifically fitted for use by the business executives, the rooms are classy, plush laced with fine fabrics and maple furnishings.. The geared traction elevators should be avoided because they are only efficient to a maximum of 107 meters (350 ft.) but the recommended elevators are the gearless traction elevators that are used for high rise buildings like the Tower hotel. They operate at 6 meters per second and run for 153 meters to 610 meters per minute. This makes them very efficient, quitter, and need minimum maintenance when compared to the geared traction elevators. Though they are more efficient they are pricier than the geared traction elevators (Binggeli, 2011). To facilitate faster mobility of people in the hotel exterior escalators are to be erected to provide an appealing and economical way for transporting people to elevated entry points in the Tower hotel. The using of both escalator and elevator is presumed to be the best solution for vertical transportation of people in and out of the hotel as well as intra-movements within the building (Grondzik, Kwok, Stein, & Reynolds, 2009). The restaurants should be evenly distributed on the 110 storey Tower Hotel from the podium its’ fulfilling quality objectives. Quality improvement teams are formed, using improved technology and creating a good relationship with the suppliers of the raw materials the restaurant uses to produce food (Evans, Lindsay, & Lindsay, 2008). Market orientation of the hotel industry is vital with services sphere of influence has been a source competitive advantage offering a direct contribution to the business performance. The degree to which the business the restaurant business unit will acquire and utilize information from the customers and formulate a strategy that will meet the customer requirements and implementing the strategy by responding to clients’ needs and requests (Lopez & Radzi, 2012). The executive lounge is to situated high up the hotel like the 70th floor hosting VIP guests. The area is to be connected to broadband and wireless internet, 24 hour security surveillance cameras, and also a 24-hour electronic key card access as the guest is allowed to use the computer at will (Marks, 2008).The squash court acts a recreation centre for the squash loving players who are guests to the Tower hotel with adequate showering facilities with regular maintenance done by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority. The court with its proximity to the gym facilities guests can easily work out then head to the squash court to play. The using of the squash court by employees of the Tower hotel acts as way of motivating the workforce (Loosemore & Uher, 2003). Building shall be equipped with total 5 Nos. of service elevators of speed 1.7 m/s, 3 Nos. of guest elevators shall serve all floors from basement to roof and shall facilitate satellite kitchens to main kitchen. The kitchen according to the modifications made to the location of the executive lounge and the number of restaurants the kitchens are to be increased to eleven because of the eleven restaurants on the Tower hotel. A fully equipped kitchen, hydro-massage, fireplace, heating and phone service connected to the kitchen to make communication with other departments easier (Baraban & Durocher, 2010). The project for it to achieve its quality objectives documentation is required. First it involves quality record keeping. It ensures a comprehensive keeping of records and information exchange system that can not be written off because it is a vital quality management tool besides determining the faults and careful analysis of reports to identify the patterns in the team’s performance. If the patterns are hazardous early diagnosis will save time, effort and money for both the contractor and the government (Lambrou, Besseries, & Alafodimos, 1999). The contractor quality control report is also important. The contractor submits daily QC reports as determined in the QC specification. The government conducts a final follow up inspection for the finished Dubai hotel project. This leads to the government to formulate a quality assurance report that is derived each time visits were made to the project recording project related events. Finally a deficient tracking system which is incorporated in the CQC program is also made. It comprises of cumulative list of job deficiencies items. It consists of items determined by QA personnel, QC staff and testing failures. The system is also subject to constantly being checked by the government (Loosemore & Uher, 2003). Testing is also an important tool for CQM. It involves either QC testing and QA Testing. In the QC Testing the contractor performs control testing to establish if the construction procedures and materials are giving desired contractual product. While in QA Testing the government performs the assurance testing to ascertain that the contractor’s testing is fulfilling. The quality management completion procedures include testing of completed systems as required by the technical specifications. Secondly is the contractor punch-out by preparing punch-lit and making amendments. Thirdly is pre-final and final inspections with the specified personnel who will diagnose any deficiencies and make appropriate corrections. Next is complete as built drawings which are continually updated in the project. Next procedure is submitting of the operations and manuals for scrutiny. Sixth procedure is providing training and instruction to the personnel on board. Next is determining of the material turn-over by the QC manager prior to inspection. Then lastly is warranty details must be submitted with the procedures for warranty notification and correction in place (Lambrou et al, 1999). ISO 9000 Quality Management Standards ISO is a quality system that is applicable to any product, service or process, anywhere in the world. ISO 9000 is divided into 5 main categories; ISO 9000: defines the key terms and acts, and acts as a pointer to the other standards within the series. ISO 90001: used as the basis for the approach of a contractor or manufacturer in developing quality management systems for design, production or installation. ISO 90002: is a section is a quality system model for quality assurance in manufacture and installation. ISO 90003: for quality assurance in final inspection and testing. ISO 9004: this section provides management guidelines for any organisation wishing to develop and implement a quality system The implementation of ISO 9000 QMS can be categorized into five stages: Planning (plan), documentation (do), verification and validation (check), deployment (act) and continuous improvement. ISO 9000 is a series of standards for systems and paperwork by furnishing organizations with guidelines on how to establish systems for managing quality products and systems. Studies have shown that 99% of the ISO registered firms are registered under ISO 9001 or ISO 9002. Though an ISO certificate does not guarantee that the processes of construction are of the highest quality, it only states that there is a system in place which provides confidence that the organization will be consistent in their management processes. Conclusion In summary the tools used for determining quality include plan-do-check-Act style, fishbone diagram, Pareto chart, flow chart, control chart, stratification, brainstorming, tree diagram, and finally Gantt chart. The project is reviewed considering the performance against factors like time, cost and quality so that all knowledge gained is made accessible to facilitate organizational learning. The principle issues to be reviewed in the closeout process include; Business objectives if they were they achieved or not. Besides identification of the benefits that arose from project participation and their prioritisation for future use. Outstanding problem issues by identifying matters that have become problems as this will aid learning for future projects and lastly identification of issues that need to be addressed by the organisation for future projects. For any successful project it must ensure that the quality management concepts are implemented so that the project can have the desired. This is best achieved if the CQC are implemented to determine the faults that may occur in the progress of the project and appropriate precautionary and corrective measures are taken. In summary using of the Six Sigma gives clear change of structure and is much more orientated on fast and tangible results in comparison with Total Quality Management, and Lean Six Sigma uses more statistical tools for tackling more complex problems. Lean is primarily used to tackle visible problems. Project managers need to be involved in arrangement for and executing the gradual reduction of the workforce associated with the project so as to contribute to sensitive personnel management practices that can ensure the smooth and efficient operation of the Tower Hotel project. In conclusion most of the firms are registered under the ISO 9001 and 9002 showing how many firms are striving to remain afloat in providing quality services to their clients. This attained through comprehensive quality management systems. It involves a continuous process of planning, controlling and documentation. An ISO accredited company proves that it has the required procedures in place to at the time the appropriate inspections were made. Reference list (Lambrou, Besseries, & Alafodimos, 1999) Andrews, S. (2009). Hotel Front Office Training Manual 2E. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Baird, D. (2010). Former’s Mexico 2011. River Street, Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Baraban, R. S., & Durocher, J. F. (2010). Successful Restaurant Design. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Binggeli, C. (2011). Building Systems for Interior Designers. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Bodeker, G., & Cohen, M. (2012). Understanding the Global Spa Industry. 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