M.Ing. / This dissertation provides a study of ISO 9001:2000 based quality management in the consulting engineering environment. The motivation for carrying out this study was to assess why an ISO 9001:2000 based quality management system was not operating effectively in a particular consulting engineering company. A brief literature study of the topic of Quality Management is given, as well as an overview of the ISO 9001:2000 standard. A case study is made of the particular consulting engineering company (called ABC Projects as a pseudonym for the sake of confidentiality). The case study presents the results of two questionnaires, one circulated among the employees of the consulting engineering company, and the other circulated among the directors of the Group that owns the company. The case study also contains an assessment of the company’s quality management system at the hand of the ISO 9001:2000 standard. The assessment highlights various aspects of the company’s quality management system that needed to be improved. The case study concludes with a 6-point plan aimed at improving the operational procedures of the company, as well the quality management system used by the company.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Technology: Quality, Durban University of Technology, 2014. / Creativity and innovation drive organisational progress and is being heralded as the next competitive frontier for organisations. This study was initiated by current research which showed that the soft (infrastructure) quality management practices which focuses on people and culture had a greater effect on the pursuit of quality and innovation than the hard (core) quality management practices which focuses on techniques and methodology. Adopting a culture of innovation and creativity in quality instead of mere compliance, should drive the corporate quality strategy. This study made use of qualitative and quantitative research techniques by reviewing national and international related literature and used a questionnaire to investigate 54 ISO 9001 accredited South African organisations, respectively. It also investigated the degree to which creativity and innovation are practiced in these organisations, thereby exploring the gap between the importance of a factor to an organisation and the practice of the same factor. Results from Chapter 4 show that implementing innovation, the role of management and the role of government in encouraging innovation are very important but insufficiently practiced. The questionnaire revealed that hard/core factors are sufficiently practiced in quality but that the soft/infrastructure factors, which are important to innovation, are not. The respondents indicated that pursuing both quality and innovation simultaneously is an important goal and that the external and internal environment impact on innovation as much as the characteristics of the individual does. A model which attempts to consider all the factors that impact on innovation and quality is proposed. The model, called the Qic Model, consolidates previous research on innovation and quality through the Composite Model of Innovation and Quality and then proposes a tool called the Qic Assessment Matrix which can be used to strategically position an organisation or assess effort in innovation and quality. / Durban University of Technology

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration, Business Studies Unit, Faculty of Commerce, Durban University of Techology, 2007. / Quality improvement is a fundamental and important attribute of a company’s business strategy and competitive positioning. The Durban-based paint factory of Dulux (Pty)Ltd, is the primary manufacturing and distribution site in South Africa. This site has to ensure that the consumers and customers in the target market, are satisfied with the quality of product and service received from the factory. This research focuses on the determination of employee perceptions of quality during 2006 at the paint factory site. In particular, how could these perceptions be effectively used by management as a basis for improving the quality ethic on the site. An improved quality ethic ensures a value- added product and service offer to the target market. The research investigates employee perceptions for various site departments and job grades within the context of several quality themes. Employee perceptions were determined by means of a quantitative survey conducted on the site population using a survey questionnaire. The study shows a primarily positive perception of quality by the employees. The subsequent descriptive and inferential statistical analysis quantifies these perceptions as statistically significant in relation to the research questions that were used in the research. There were some perceptions of quality that highlited potential areas for improvement within the site quality management system and the scope of application. These areas need to be considered by management in order to restore positive perception and support for the quality management system. It is recommended that an annual survey of employee perceptions be conducted by the Quality Assurance department and feedback discussed at the annual quality management review forum. An effective quality improvement and communications strategy can then be determined for implementation. It is also proposed that future research consider conducting a similar study at the service oriented Dulux Alberton site and another survey for the management team at the Durban factory.

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

M. Tech. Business Administration / The city of Tshwane Emergency Services is the first in South Africa to be certified ISO 9001:2008 in 2013. This saw the department leading the course of quality management both in the city and throughout the country. As a service rendering undertaking their efficiency and effectiveness requires evaluation from a quality management perspective. The city seeks to roll-out certification throughout all city departments so as to enable a quality driven municipal entity. This study was conducted to identify the factors that affect adherence to ISO 9001:2008 within the city. The results of this study can be used by managers throughout the Emergency Services and related services around the world to evaluate the importance of the implementation of the management system. The study is descriptive and cross-sectional. A quantitative method was used to collect data and analyse it. A stratified random sampling techniques was used with sample size of n=121 on employees within the Emergency Services of the city of Tshwane. Frequency tables, pie-chart, histograms and tables were used to present and analyse the data collected. The study identified qualification, effective communication and proper record keeping (documentation) as key factors affecting adherence to ISO 9001:2008.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Government and Public Administration

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration, Business Studies Unit, Faculty of Commerce, Durban University of Techology, 2007. / Quality improvement is a fundamental and important attribute of a company’s business strategy and competitive positioning. The Durban-based paint factory of Dulux (Pty)Ltd, is the primary manufacturing and distribution site in South Africa. This site has to ensure that the consumers and customers in the target market, are satisfied with the quality of product and service received from the factory. This research focuses on the determination of employee perceptions of quality during 2006 at the paint factory site. In particular, how could these perceptions be effectively used by management as a basis for improving the quality ethic on the site. An improved quality ethic ensures a value- added product and service offer to the target market. The research investigates employee perceptions for various site departments and job grades within the context of several quality themes. Employee perceptions were determined by means of a quantitative survey conducted on the site population using a survey questionnaire. The study shows a primarily positive perception of quality by the employees. The subsequent descriptive and inferential statistical analysis quantifies these perceptions as statistically significant in relation to the research questions that were used in the research. There were some perceptions of quality that highlited potential areas for improvement within the site quality management system and the scope of application. These areas need to be considered by management in order to restore positive perception and support for the quality management system. It is recommended that an annual survey of employee perceptions be conducted by the Quality Assurance department and feedback discussed at the annual quality management review forum. An effective quality improvement and communications strategy can then be determined for implementation. It is also proposed that future research consider conducting a similar study at the service oriented Dulux Alberton site and another survey for the management team at the Durban factory.

This thesis is deal with improvement of processes services dining and accomodation for organization Halls of Residence and Dining Services of Brno University of Technology with the focus in the area dining according to ISO 9001 Standard.

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the Masters Degree of Technology: Quality, Durban University of Technology, 2011. / Quality management has not been developed and marketed well in South African based small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME‟s). The focus of SMME‟s has been on product price. In order to improve small business initiatives a culture or the behaviour towards quality needs also to be embraced by SMME‟s. Debenham (2008) finds that focussing on price alone indicates that SMME‟s do not grow and become sustainable. Support from both government and the private sector has focussed primarily on providing financial aid to SMME‟s. Ninety percent of South African small businesses largely remain in the survival stage because of a lack of skills and resources. It has become clear that financial support alone is not enough to grow and sustain SMME‟s. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect that the ISO 9001 quality management system (QMS) has on SMME‟s in the Greater Durban Area with the view to determine the contribution it has made in terms of growth and survival of those SMME‟s. This was a qualitative study investigating SMME‟s in the Greater Durban Metropolitan Area. The sampling frame was made up of two groups of SMME‟s. Unstructured interviews were conducted at 40 SMME‟s, comprising of 20 SMME‟s who have implemented ISO 9001 QMS(have the control/case) and 20 SMME‟s who have not implemented ISO 9001. The raw data was coded into categories and themes. Descriptive statistics, using the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS), was used to analyse the data. The study indicates that the majority of respondents from both groups had a positive perception towards the ISO 9001 QMS contributing to their growth and survival.

Atualmente o Brasil é o país com o maior número de empresas certificadas ISO 9001 na América latina. A Gestão da qualidade e métodos de melhoria contínua como PDCA estão presentes nas empresas e são amplamente aceitos nos sistemas de gestão. As micro, pequenas e médias empresas são de fundamental importância no cenário nacional, uma vez que representam 99% do total de empresas brasileiras. Com o advento da gestão do conhecimento como estratégia de promoção da competitividade assim como os sistema de gestão da qualidade, este trabalho apresentou como ocorre gestão do conhecimento nas atividades de melhoria contínua (PDCA / MASP) em micro e pequenas empresas. Foi objeto do estudo a implantação de um sistema de gestão da qualidade em uma micro empresa, onde identificou-se os pontos críticos de gestão do conhecimento na documentação do sistema de gestão. Também foram avaliadas as contribuições da gestão da qualidade e das ferramentas informatizadas (softwares) para a gestão do conhecimento. / Nowadays Brazil is the country with the most of ISO 9001 certified companies in Latin America. Quality management processes and continuous improvements methods like PDCA are present in these companies and are widely used on management systems. The smallest companies are really important on this background, once they are 99% of the total brazilian companies. With the upcoming knowledge management as a strategy for competition, just like the quality management systems, this work has showed how the knowledge management happens on these small companies inside the continuous improvement activities (PDCA / MASP). The subject of this thesis was the start of a quality management process in a small company, where we’ve seen the knowledge management critical points when creating the management system documentation. Also was evaluated the quality management and the software tools used and its contributions to knowledge management.