This article introduces a system called Construction Quality Management Audit (CQMA) Expert that assesses the performance of a quality management system (QMS) implemented in a construction firm. CQMA Expert is programmed by using MATLAB's GUI components and its Fuzzy Logic Toolbox. CQMA Expert's rule base is constructed using information obtained from auditors of QMSs. CQMA Expert imports the quality requirements relative to the many quality management processes specified in ISO 9000, processes audit inputs, and generates consistent decisions relative to conformance to standards. It provides an interactive user interface for recording evidence collected during the audit and clearly states the reasons for the conclusions. vestigated, and (4) it reduces the impact of the variability caused by the use of different auditors assessing different quality management processes. Case studies based on Section 4.11 of the ISO 9000 standard entitled "Control of inspection, measuring and test equipment" are used to illustrate the system and verify its usability and validity.
It contributes to continuous quality improvement because (1) it enhances the maintenance of a QMS by quantifying its performance, (2) it assists with and facilitates the implementation of the duties of auditors in charge of assessing the performance of a QMS, (3) it simplifies the burdensome process involved in keeping track of the audit results of the many quality management processes in
A scheduler can accelerate a construction project by setting up overlapping activities. Activities are said to be overlapping if two activities that are normally executed in sequence are performed in parallel, the successor starting before the end of the predecessor. This article presents a novel method that identifies an optimal overlap rate between critical activities to provide a time‐cost trade‐off analysis, hence reducing completion time and cost without allocating additional resources. This method is then coded into Concurrent Construction Scheduling Simulation System (C2S2) that makes use of schedule data exported from Primavera Project Planner (P6), integrates the activities’ concurrency attributes, calculates the rework probability/amount, and computes the variability in project completion time and cost by adjusting the overlap between activities. This study is of value to practitioners because C2S2 allows establishing a compressed schedule that satisfies a limited budget within a specified contract duration. The study is also of relevance to researchers because it identifies the optimal overlaps between activities expeditiously. Two test cases verify the usability and validity of the computational methods implemented in the system.
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