Quality in Supply in Project Configured Networks

The paper argues that in the AEC-industry the material and knowledge supply chains are increasingly intertwined and moreover characterised by configuration by project. In such a setting creating value for the customers and the enterprises becomes dependent of the ability to organise and coordinate in the supply chains.

That the configuration is not always successful can be demonstrated by studying the emergence of failures occurring in the supply chain. The paper presents case study work done in Danish construction where actors and causes of failures were examined upstream and downstream in the supply network. 160 failures were found in 38 working days.

The paper discusses quality improvement strategies on strategic and processual level, proposing initiatives, especially at engineer to order production, to strengthen partnerships in supply chains with focus on quality specifications, integrated collaborative design and quality control in operations.