PROCESS AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT USING SIX SIGMA IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Construction industry presents an extremely complex combined process, production flow, various structures, high quality requirements and long construction cycle. Large quantities of concrete and time are wasted during building construction due to management procedures, construction processes and reworks. Besides, the final construction quality cannot fully meet customer requirements. This paper explores practical solutions for construction process and quality improvement by using prefabricated composite structure (PCS) based on Six Sigma method. The D-M-A-I-C model of Six Sigma has been applied to conduct the analysis of the construction process, to discover essential factors to improve and thus to achieve higher customer satisfaction. This research finds out what influences construction process, construction quality and then adopts design and technique correction measures. It improves the construction process, quality resistance to various performances and proposes the best mix proportion. These improvement measures help to overcome and reduce considerably concrete cracking and slippage in building construction. Based on Design for Six Sigma model (Define, Characterize, Optimize and Validate: DCOV) and using the finite element analysis model (ANSYS), this study develops for scientific and economical use in construction industry a composite steel-concrete model. The proposed approach falls into three phases. Based on measurement and construction process analysis from Six Sigma black belt consultant, construction managers, Engineers, clients, architects, the model helps to find and eliminate critical defects and failure before they occur.