The benefits of surmounting the quality challenge

Developing a quality strategy is like climbing a mountain, Derek Geyer from McLaughlin & Harvey told delegates at GIRI’s members’ meeting – it requires planning, preparation and commitment, from the most senior level all the way down to the operatives on site. 

Management commitment

Derek joined McLaughlin & Harvey as head of quality as part of the business’s drive to reduce errors and avoid legacy defects, and the first thing he did was secure high-level commitment to a quality strategy.

“This is the critical first step. From the start I wanted to secure this commitment from our entire management team, so I engaged with every board member, and I have regular conversations with my managing director and CEO. Their support is so important.”

These conversations led to the development of McLaughlin & Harvey’s senior management quality charter, setting out the company’s commitments to a right-first-time culture at every stage of a project, from pre-construction through to finished project and taking in every aspect of the business, including IT, HR, procurement and business development.

Structure

The next step was structure, said Derek. “The existing structure included SHEq advisors, but it was very much a small ‘q’. So when we restructured in 2021, we invested in dedicated quality advisors and a lead auditor. The advisors are linked to each of our projects and are involved from set up to close out and conduct regular compliance and support visits.”

People

Derek emphasised the importance of training, not just of people on the frontline but also of the supply chain and even clients and their teams. “We take a holistic approach to training to ensure that everyone on a project is on board with our objectives and knows exactly what is required of them.”

McLaughlin & Harvey has set up a black hat academy, which delivers a two-day, off-site training course on the core requirements of health and safety, quality, and environment. “We have also created a specific training module for ITP (inspection and test plan) training, and train our staff and supply chain to use Field View, which we use to capture installation inspections and flag up snags. And on large, complex projects we also have a full-time compliance advisor. They are the glue that holds the quality part together.”

Derek added that the business intends to invest in GIRI’s train-the-trainer training next year to enable the delivery of error-reduction courses in house. “The content is great, and it provides a clear message we can take to our teams.”

Processes

The new quality strategy included a rethink of the existing quality KPIs. Previously, these focused on the numbers of NCRs (non-conformance reports) and site visits. Now they look at inspection and test plans, inspection check sheets and site diaries. “The lagging indicators are NCRs and snags, and it is important to capture these. We should be rewarding site teams for picking up errors, not penalising them.”

He explained that design audits are now conducted at the start of projects and on specific installation packages throughout the programme to check that what has been installed meets the requirements. “We have also started doing internal audits, and some people get it, others don’t. We capitalise on the people who have welcomed these and use them as advocates to support the role of the audits. This strategy has been very successful.”

Quality assurance procedures and the IMS system were also reviewed in light of the changes. “The rebrand at the start of the year was a great opportunity to get rid of the deadwood from the system. It’s about making things as simple as possible. If it’s not adding value, get rid of it.”

Derek added that digital tools have been a gamechanger. McLaughlin & Harvey now requires everyone in its supply chain to procure tablets and provides them with access to its system, trains them in its use, and reinforces this via the black hat academy. “We have gone from not having data about quality on sites to being able to log in and see what every site is doing, who is carrying out inspections, and look at pictures and NCRs and view trends on snags. So much improvement comes out of this.”

This capturing of date via technology, and the revised KPIs, has transformed McLaughlin & Harvey’s visibility of project quality, and a vastly increased number of inspections and check sheets recorded is not only capturing more snags and NCRs but is also enabling an analysis of root causes.

The benefits of zero error

The benefits that accrue from the resulting increase in quality impact multiple areas of the business, said Derek, including sustainability and reduced environmental impact through building better. “This improves the longevity of the build, which means less maintenance and repair and fewer materials and deliveries. And fewer construction errors mean less waste to landfill.”

There are also health and safety benefits, such as risk reduction, improved compliance, and the potential to reduce accidents where these are the result of rework. “We intend to create a box in our accident reporting to capture whether an incident occurred during rework. This will help us understand whether we need to tighten our paperwork when people go back to site, as original works are generally planned for and have risk assessments, method statements and inspection and test plans approved and in place.”

Other important benefits include customer satisfaction and business reputation, as well as the productivity improvements that result from delivering projects more efficiently.

“It is all about that journey up that mountain,” said Derek in conclusion. “Have a vision, know where you want to get to, and take everyone with you – that’s how you will get the benefits of a zero-error approach.”

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