developing a model for integrating safety, quality and productivity in ...

organizational programs aiming at maximizing satisfaction level of customer throughthe full commitment to continuous quality improvement (Dessler, 2002).Whiletraditional quality management is concerned in end product, total quality managementfocuses on managing the processes that produce the results (Cited by Adams inKaliher, 2003). Love et al (2000) said that the TQM philosophy stresses a systematic,integrated, consistent, organization-wide perspective involving all employees where it– TQM – focuses primarily on total satisfaction for both internal and externalcustomers, within a management environment that seeks continuous improvement ofall systems and processes. It should, however, be noted that the tools associated withTQM can be as readily applied in a stable environment as in the manufacturing sectorbut in construction, where customers’ requirements are increasingly complex andexpectations uncertain, the application of such tools can become difficult (Pheng andKe-Wei, 1996).TQM was adopted to meet requirements of the various industries. Thus, features ofTQM will face little differences while keeping the main concept stable. In theirresearch, there are six key features of TQM as follows (Shammas-Toma et al, 1998):i. Customer/supplier relationships.ii.Prevention rather than detection of defects.iii. Leadership.iv.Change in organizational culture.v. Emphasis on team work.vi.The use of statistical tools.Relatively, other scholars have found or seen similar features of TQM. The mostcommon elements agreed upon by scholars in the field are top managementcommitment, customer focus, quality data and information, employee involvement,training and continuous improvement (Cited by Al-Sulimani and Sharad in Curry andKadasah, 2002).Salaheldin (2003) in his research set guidelines that might be of importance topromote TQM strategy implementation by Egyptian manufacturers. The mainmanagerial implications in his research are:19