Feasibility of ISO 9000 quality management standards to the department of irrigation Sri Lanka

Abstract

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has developed series of standards and guidelines popularly known as ISO 9000 to enable any organization to develop Quality Management System for that particular organization. Application of this system as a management technique enables to reduce the undisciplined use of resources of human and machine power, material and time. Quality Management as a managerial tool is being applied in many manufacturing organizations today in Sri Lanka. In the construction industry public as well as the private sector, requirement of application of the ISO 9000 quality management has not been fully identified so far and the Department of Irrigation is not an exception in this regard. To study in detail the present quality practices prevailing in the divisional level of the Irrigation Department, with reference to the most appropriate clauses of ISO 9001 standards, a questionnaire surveywas carried out. The basic requirement of the ISO 9000 quality management system is the development of a set of documents namely Quality Manual, Quality Procedures and Work Instructions and Project Quality Plans for any new project. Implementation of the documented system with necessary modifications when required is simply the application of ISO 9000 series. lt is evident from this survey, the practices in related to quality within the Department of Irrigation far behind the ISO 9000 system Awarding contracts to the lower grade contractors of lesser technical knowledge and experience is very common in all the divisions. Obtaining quality works relevant to the ISO 9000 requirements from such groups seems to be very difficult. Selection of contractors especially with quality management capabilities is an urgent need to maintain the quality standards of the construction works related to irrigation system development. This study revealed that the development of a quality system in accordance with ISO 9000 standards and implementation is a need for the Irrigation Department for further improvement of quality all the activities. Development of a Quality Policy and commitment of the entire staff of the Irrigation Department from the senior management to the field level in this respect would facilitateto achieve the objectives. 11