An investigation into the use of Six Sigma within the Irish construction industry - Dissertation Example

.8 Ethical Considerations 40 3.9 Method of Data Analysis 41 3.10 Conclusion 41 Chapter 4: Results and Discussion 42 4.1 Introduction 42 4.2 Results 42 4.3 Discussion 71 Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations 77 5.1 Conclusions 77 5.2 Recommendations 79 References 82 Appendix A – Survey Questionnaire 87 List of Tables Table 1. Frequencies: Intent of the company to adopt Six Sigma in the near future. 43 Table 2. Frequencies: Number of years of existence of the company within the industry 43 Table 3.

Frequencies: Company size in terms of number of employees. 44 Table 4. Descriptive statistics: Improvement of company metrics: Financial Aspect. 44 Table 5. Descriptive statistics: Improvement of company metrics: Customer Aspect. 45 Table 6. Descriptive statistics: Improvement of company metrics: Operations Aspect. 46 Table 7. Descriptive statistics: Assessment of leadership ability. 48 Table 8. Descriptive statistics: Assessment of leaders’ passion. 49 Table 9. Descriptive statistics: Management interest in quality improvement.

50 Table 10. Descriptive statistics: Customer focus. 51 Table 11. Descriptive statistics: Management of information. 53 Table 12. Descriptive statistics: Strategic management. 54 Table 13. Descriptive statistics: Assessment of the leader’s capacity to execute strategy. 55 Table 14. Descriptive statistics: Assessment of process management competence. 58 Table 15. Descriptive statistics: System of measurement. 59 Table 16. Descriptive statistics: Problem solving capacity. 60 Table 17. Descriptive statistics: Assessment of infrastructure, management system and resources.

61 Table 18. Descriptive statistics: Independent and dependent variables overall. 63 Table 19. Coefficient of determination: Predictors of Six Sigma adoption and use. 64 Table. The objective of the study aims to establish if key / top management ability influences the readiness of adoption and use of Six Sigma in the said industry. This factor was found to positively and significantly predict the readiness for adoption and use of Six Sigma within the Irish construction industry. The next objective is meant to establish if organisational ability influences the readiness of adoption and use of Six Sigma in the said industry.

This variable did not significantly predict the dependent variable. Given the Six Sigma scheme’s propensity for facilitating business processes, it is applicable in a whole host of industries besides the manufacturing industry, the construction sector included. While traditional quality improvement initiatives focus heavily on detecting errors and then correcting them, a company operating under the Six Sigma scheme would be able to ensure that such errors never occur in the first place by establishing and then strictly adhering to a set of standards.

The construction sector is the largest labour-intensive industry that makes significant contributions to the Irish economy (Duffy, Graham, and Thomas 2007). The process of planning in Ireland has brought about numerous regulations that emphasize the design, manufacturing and construction of buildings, particularly the need to adhere to quality standards and ensure that the expectations of owners or occupiers are met.