Can TQM Provide Good Quality Highway Essay In Myanmar?

Can TQM provide good quality highway projects in Myanmar?

Need for Good Quality Highway Construction in Myanmar

The construction of highway is one of the most basic need of infrastructure for country development. We need to transport our goods, products and services to reach as fast as possible. Therefore, the construction of highway project must be the essential need of transportation and economic development for a country.

With an expansion in Myanmar’s population growth, the rate of urbanization and industrialization will increase generously with a requirement for higher energy and asset utilization. “This expansion in urbanization and industrialization would also produce higher need for foundation improvement and related work” (Battika, 2016).

The speedy development of transportation system in our country, the needs of highway construction are becoming more and more important. To prevent unexpected conditions and accident, the quality of highway is also prominent for safely transportation of vehicles. From the basic concept of sustainable development, the characteristics of highway construction is depended on the meeting and fitting the development of the necessities in social economic development, it can not only meet the facilitated improvement of incorporated transport framework, additionally make society, environment, economic and to keep the long-term coordinated development resources and promote social advance and national financial advancement.

During the large highway construction, the institution of construction management is far away from the units of the development and supervision; additionally, poor data traded between the units. It is easy to bring about administration issues and low effectiveness. The level of modernization for the site construction control means is low and subjective elements have incredible effect on observing measures, the construction quality could not be successfully guaranteed.

The Yangon-Mandalay highway, at the center of growing tragedy (the country’s most important road connection was poorly funded and quickly built), opened in late 2010, it has seen an accident almost every day. In 2016, a sum of 744 rollovers, 167 deaths, and 1317 injuries occurred on this highway- that is around two accidents for every day. The Yangon-Mandalay highway, which is over 300 miles was constructed within six years and it does not meet the standard and regulation set for highway. Therefore, there are a lot of accidents happen frequently and many death cases. The government has goodwill towards the people, they should be looked for the long-term. And also, there are some flooding on the road in the rainy seasons and potholes in summer.

Along the highway, there are some warning sings, or light reflectors to indicate the curve or bend of the road, while at many places there is no railing along the roadside. Moreover, tire punctures caused by the improper design concrete road’s surface are leading to cause of accidents, especially on hotter days.

Issues in Highway Construction in Myanmar

The 27 curves between the commercial and national capitals, 21 were observed to be poorly designed. The 21 bends be viewed as dark zones and be marked with cautioning of a high danger risk. Another consideration fact is third lane in Yangon-Mandalay highway. When driving at speed in the third lane, there is a hazard and will hit the roadside concrete barriers.

“Additionally, one of the wellbeing concerns raised about the highway is its bridges, as most of them are narrower than the road” (Joiner, 2007). This can be perilous for drivers who are unfamiliar with the highway. “The concrete barriers at some bridges lack reflective security strips or are not painted white, making them difficult to see during the night” (Kojo, 2014).

The aim of this paper is to enhance the condition of the country’s main roads and bridges, evaluate the travel reliability and achieve the targets of highway performance for different key measures. In this paper we will look forward for comfortable life to the people of Myanmar by providing them good roads and highways which helps in saving the time of the people. The step forward should be taken to develop a sustainable and highly efficient transport system. The concept of total quality management plan is utilized for developing and improving the road transport system.

• What are the pros and cons of the public bus transport system?
• Why there is a need of high quality highway projects in the Yangon city?
• What are the challenges comes forward in developing good quality transport system?
• What is the advantage of using total quality management in developing road transport system?
• How the total quality management is efficient in developing highway projects?
• What are the challenges faced in implementing the concept of TQM in the construction of highway?
• What are the functional and non-functional requirements for the implementation of TQM?
• At what level TQM can be implemented to construct the highway?

The objective of this paper is to utilize the concept of total quality management in improving the construction of highway in Myanmar. The purpose is to provide a safer and cheaper means of transportation. The problem of road accidents can be solved by developing a highway for the Yangon city. The increasing growth of the population should be taken under consideration for creating the design of highway. The key objective of using TQM in designing the construction of highway is to enhance the design for proving good quality service of transport to the people of Yangon city.  In this paper we will focus on the evaluation of TQM implementation in the construction of Myanmar. The key components of total quality management should be identified for constructing the highway.

The total quality management involves all the stakeholders for improving the design, quality, product, and services of constructing a highway project. “The best solution can be provided by using the technique of TQM for overcoming the problems associated with the construction industry” (Ismail, 2015). The performance of developing highway and the satisfaction of the customers can be improved. The quality program can be developed by using the tools of TQM. The well-defined diagrams and statistical graphs can be developed for analyzing the construction program of the highway. The SIX SIGMA procedure is followed for identifying the need and requirement of the people of the city. It helps in measuring the defects of the current road structure which is responsible for the occurrence of accidents and others. The graphs help in analyzing the deviation of the design from perfection. The variability in the process can be reduced by using the concept of Sig Sigma in TQM implementation. The methodology of the TQM is based on the following five principles:

• Definition of the project with the clear concise goal of constructing an enhanced for overcoming the problem faced by the people of Myanmar.
• The root cause analysis of the current situation helps in analyzing the defects observed in managing the proposal
• The performance of the road and current transport condition of the Myanmar should be analyzed thoroughly
• The process should be undertaken to overcome and eliminates the defects in the current working structure of the road transport.
• The performance of the Process can be enhanced and control

Benefits of Using TQM in Highway Construction

The implementation of TQM in constructing highway gives three types of quality assurance which are categorized as prevention control, progress control, and production control. The prevention control focuses on step by step implementation of the proposal for preventing the occurrence of errors and defects in the proposed design. The progress control works in the end of the designing phase which focuses on ensuring the level of quality. The matrix is composed of occurrence of the defects and the appropriate action taken to overcome the situation. The quality of the highway constructed should be maintained after the completion of the project also. The use of TQM focuses on the areas such as Commitment from top management, empowerment of employees and their involvement, involvement of vendor and sub-contractor, maintaining the cost and quality of the road, improvement in the process area, focus on managing continuous improvement training and development program, focus of customers and shareholders, principle related to vision and scope of the project, and development of policies related to quality control. The policies for managing quality should be designed according to the requirement of the goal and objective. The smooth functioning of the construction plan can be development by focusing on the external and internal working of the system. The platform of TQM provides a medium of generating and collecting ideas on setting the final output which is required from the construction plan, the implementation of problem solving methods, and contribution of participative management. “The proactive methods help in overcoming the flaws and defects which are occurred in the traditional method of construction” (Ramana, 2016). The root cause analysis helps in determining the malfunctioning of the system. The monitoring programs help in managing the flaws of the traditional system. The integration of different parts and modules of the project helps in developing a good quality proposal of highway for the betterment of Yangon city.

Advantage of using TQM in constructing Highway:

• The performance of the project can be improved by reducing the rework and waste production
• The satisfaction level of the client can be increased
• The share of the market can be increased
• The good relationship can be developed between customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders.
• The morale of the employees can be enhanced
• The internal and external performance can be measured
• Competitive advantage

“The implementation of TQM in developing design of the highway helps in filling the gap in design for overcoming the defects in the current scenario of the road map” (Hogge, 2007). The success of the TQM model depends on the behavior of the individual, leadership quality of the management, human skills, sharing of values, the development of strategic qualities and others. The figure below shows the conceptual model for implementing TQM in constructing highways.

“The success of the proposed project depends on the following phases which are involved in the implementation of TQM in designing the roadmap of highway” (Ibrahim, 2013).

• Phase of exploration and commitment: It helps in bringing awareness for developing new plan and ideas for the proposal, the philosophies of quality control should be involved, the selection of quality control procedures should be undertaken, and the coordinator prepares a plan for arranging a training and development program. The following g diagram shows the complete road map of implementing TQM in developing a design for the highway:

• Phase of planning and preparation:

The Concept of TQM

The phase of planning and preparation focuses on developing a strategic quality for implementing deployment process. The quality improvement tools are utilize for utilize for providing training program for top management. The awareness of maintaining quality can be emphasis by using the quality control tools.

• Implementation phase:

The implementation phase is set for taking action of deploying the process of TQM, after the completion of above two phases. Just in time training should be provided to the top management. The following flowchart shows the roadmap of implementation phase:

• Sustaining phase: “The corrective action should be taken for improving the process and action of the people” (Hansson, 2015). The following diagram shows the sustainability program for improving the quality of the highway.

The prevailing condition for the continuity of sustaining phase are integration of infrastructure features, elements and processes of organization, and the normal management of the business process. It focuses on improving the long term quality of the planning process. The satisfaction of the citizen can be raised by improving the condition of the work processes. The attitude, behavior, and internal working of designing the construction plan of research proposal can be enhanced.

The implementation of the TQM in constructing the highway is the complex activity because the cultural changes can be observed in the completion of the process. There are four process involved in implementing the TQM while designing the highway which are named as identifying the current situation, proper management of committing the TQM, Improving TQM scheme, and critical analysis of TQM. The cycle of critical analysis is named as Plan-Do-Check-Act. The details of the stages are described below:

• Plan: The first step is to assemble the required information for developing the well-designed construction plan for developing a highway for the people of Yangon city. The performance of the road transport can be improved by using the concept of TQM.
• Do: The management should understand the concept and objective of implementing the TQM in preparing the design of highway.
• Check: “The management and control process focuses on organizing the program of training and communication, identification of issues related with quality of the project, and the activities which are associated with improving the design of highway” (Modi, 2011).
• Act: The initiative should be taken for matching the new targets for maintaining the quality chain between government and citizen of the Yangon city. “The success of the project depends on the information gathered for the progress of the project” (Olcay, 2013). The adequate plan should be proposed for managing the total quality program. The output should be evaluated periodically for improving the operational capability of developing the project.

The challenges which come forward in implementing the TQM are described below:

Factors affecting individual level: “The transformation of process helps in developing improved version of construction map for highway” (Hoang, 2014). The level of expertise can be experienced by employees by implementing the activities of TQM. The complexity can be raised with the implementation of TQM tools. The satisfaction of the employees can be improved by using the concept of TQM in designing of highway.

Management Issues: “The innovative strategies should be implemented for the success of the project plan to overcome the problem faced by the people of Myanmar like road accident, traffic jams, ditches, and others” (Brun, 2014). The utilization of resources plays a key role in the success of the project. “The success of the TQM depends on the participation of senior management is designing of roadmap for highway” (Cornelison, 2016).  The issues which are related with the management are categorized as improper management of decision making process, lack of support from top management, no proper definition of project, delay in the delivery of material, no proper synchronization between the equipment, scarcity of material, no time given for generating innovative ideas, no proper organization structure, no proper administration tactics, no proper integration with supply chain management, lack of proper communication, no proper use of substandard components, the period of implementation is long, improper planning, poor planning for adequate resources, and others.

Implementation of TQM in Highway Construction

Financial Issues: “The implementation of TQM in proposing the plan for constructing the highway requires some funds” (Rosas, 2013). The workers can be motivated by providing adequate funding. The funds are also required for arranging resources, tools, equipment, process, and others for developing a successful plan for constructing highway which is capable of resolving problems faced by the citizens. The issues which are associated with the implementation of TQM are categorized as inflation, improper funding, poor wages to the worker, no incentives, and others.

Government Issues: The policies should be formulated for improving the economic condition of the country. “The barriers which are associated with the government policies are bureaucracy of the government, no regularities in policies, no proper consideration given on the social amenities, inaccessibility of material, and fluctuation in commodities prices” (Zuo, 2010).

Technical issues: The total quality management program is highly affected by the technical issues. The principle of total quality management is directly affected in terms of reliability, flexibility, simplicity, and benchmarking. The technical challenges which come forth in the implementation of TQM are categorized as measurement of strategies for overcoming poor performance, no methodology used for implementation, no preference given to prefabrication, no proper management of supply chain, no proper constructing of design, inaccuracy in design, no competence in management, overrunning of time and cost, workmanship of low quality, and others.

Conclusion

From the research, it has been concluded that the highway of Yangon is facing many road accidents. The TQM is the better solution in constructing the road map of highway for overcoming and managing the traffic which in turn helps in minimizing the occurrence of road accidents. To prevent unexpected conditions and accident, the quality of highway is also prominent for safely transportation of vehicles. The transformation of process helps in developing improved version of construction map for highway. The implementation of TQM in developing design of the highway helps in filling the gap in design for overcoming the defects in the current scenario of the road map. The success of the TQM model depends on the behavior of the individual, leadership quality of the management, human skills, sharing of values, the development of strategic qualities and others. The root cause analysis helps in determining the malfunctioning of the system. The monitoring programs help in managing the flaws of the traditional system. The quality of the highway constructed should be maintained after the completion of the project also. The step forward should be taken to develop a sustainable and highly efficient transport system. The concept of total quality management plan is utilized for developing and improving the road transport system. The construction of highway project must be the essential need of transportation and economic development for a country.

From the research, it has been recommended that the educational program should be arranged for implementing the tactics of TQM in constructing the roadmaps of highway. The success of the TQM depends on the participation of senior management is designing of roadmap for highway. The policies should be developed by the government for managing the quality of material in implementing the TQM. The practice of initializing TQM should be promoted by the top management. The innovative strategies should be implemented for the success of the project plan to overcome the problem faced by the people of Myanmar like road accident, traffic jams, ditches, and others. The consideration should be given on overcoming the management and financial issues for the successful implementation of TQM in the construction industry. The focus should be given on the training and development program. The senior management should participate for developing good quality design of highway. The initiative should be taken for matching the new targets for maintaining the quality chain between government and citizen of the Yangon city.

References

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