Creating Standards for Industry-wide Quality Metrics

Companies that consistently produce high quality products and services will have high customer loyalty and a strong corporate brand. For this reason, many companies use quality metrics to improve their business systems. The construction industry is no exception. Quality in constructed facilities is equally important to the clients, the contractors and the capital facilities delivery industry as a whole. Therefore, creating standards for quality metrics is the right direction for the capital facilities delivery. Metrics can be organized into various operational and financial categories such as productivity, people, safety, quality and maintenance. Companies can apply quality metrics, in some form, to virtually every system or process available.

Predetermined and standardized common quality metrics would provide the capital facilities delivery industry a tool to be able to assess quality and drive improvement. Without standardization, it is difficult to consistently evaluate and benchmark companies. By developing standard quality metrics similar to standardized safety metrics, the capital facilities delivery industry will have metrics that are few in number, precise, and objectively defined. When applied across the capital facilities delivery industry they will be applicable regardless of organization or project size.

The Business Dictionary defines the word metrics as "standards of measurement by which efficiency, performance, progress, or quality of a plan, process, or product can be assessed." Quality metrics are used to measure whether or not a given process produces products and services that meet quality standards.