DEVELOPMENT OF A QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR PRECAST CONCRETE FACTORIES

The precast concrete (PC) method involves manufacturing reinforced concrete building components in a factory that are then transported to and assembled on a construction site. Compared to conventional methods, PC is widely employed as an advantageous means of creating a sustainable environment and improving construction quality. However, due to time and cost increase, many modern PC factories inspect only randomly selected component samples, for which they write inspection reports using paper-based forms. The storage and management of these documents associated with inspections within factories are essential because any defects that occur during the manufacturing process adversely affect the subsequent delivery and assembly activities. In this study, a mobile application capable of automated documentation and the storage, and input of systematic data was developed to generate a system for comprehensive quality management and assurance within PC factories. The developed system was tested in a PC factory, achieving a 47% time-saving rate compared to the conventional inspection method. Inspection reports of the developed system contain considerably more information than those of the conventional method and fundamentally prevent the risk of document damage and loss as they are automatically archived on a server in digital format.

Automated summary

The precast concrete (PC) method is a process of manufacturing reinforced concrete building components in a factory and then transporting them to and assembling them on a construction site. It is widely used as an advantageous means to create a sustainable environment and improve construction quality. However, due to time and cost increase, many modern PC factories only inspect randomly selected component samples using paper-based forms for inspection reports. This study developed a mobile application that automates documentation and storage, and allows for systematic data input to achieve comprehensive quality management and assurance within PC factories.