The Importance of Design Process in Housing Quality

In Malaysia, housing construction industry is moving towards quality. Many construction companies have implemented several Quality Management System (QMS) for instance ISO 9001 and TQM in managing projects to ensure the quality of products. However, aspect of quality in newly built housing are remains an issue. Thus, a survey had been conducted among three construction professionals comprising: private clients, consultants and contractors. ReHDe framework is finally formed with a list of 3 major construct factors and 14 possible variables for managing the quality of house are determined. Results show that by having a good project management practices in place, there will be a significant effect in reducing numbers of defects in housing sector. Design process has appeared to be one of the most important factors that contributing in housing quality. 4 sub factors namely constructability, drawing accuracy, variation and knowledge transfer have been identified and discussed in detail in this paper. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Universiti Teknologi MARA Perak and Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (ISM)