TheEffectsofISOCertification.PDFVIP

53 The Effects of ISO Certification on Organization Workmanship Performance Joseph Iwaro and abrahams mwasha University of West indies, trinidad and tobago ? 2012, asQ The use of ISO 9001 certification to improve workman- ship on construction projects is a research area that is presently receiving attention due to the competitive demand for quality projects and infrastructure in the market. There is limited information, however, regard- ing the extent of the relationship between ISO 9001 certification and workmanship performance. Also, the impacts of the systemic factors on workmanship need to be considered. As a result, this study is aimed at addressing these issues. This study investigates the effects of ISO 9001 certification on organization work- manship performance using the construction industry as a case study. A questionnaire survey was used to identify factors that contribute to poor workmanship on construction projects. The study also compared workmanship performance between ISO certified organizations and non-ISO-certified organizations. It was found that ISO 9001 certified organizations performed better in workmanship performance com- pared to non-ISO 9001 certified organizations. As a result, a correlation relationship was established among the improvement of workmanship factors, ISO 9001 certifications, and workmanship performance. Key words: construction, management, organization, performance, quality, workmanship INTRODUCTION The most important aspect of a quality project is the workmanship; unfortunately, poor quality work- manship can destroy projects already put in place. Presently, there has been a gradual but noticeable paradigm shift in the quality field. Increasingly, organizations are now beginning to realize that the only way to understand how an organization operates, and thus improve its workmanship perfor- mance, is by implementing a quality management system (QMS) (Nanda 2005). Due to this shift in manag