Quality management practices of small and medium enterprise contractors in the Gauteng low income residential sector

M.Tech. Construction ManagementThe delivery of low income housing in South African Public Subsidized Schemes is plagued with quality issues, inevitably leading to poor levels of client and more importantly, end-user satisfaction. The characteristics of Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) contractors who operate in this sector, together with external factors in the operating environment, all contribute to poor quality. Quality Management (QM) practices among the contractors are not widely documented hence, this study aimed to explore these practices in the Gauteng low income residential sector. Therefore, the objectives of the study aimed to establish the following: current QM practices; adequacy of such practices; barriers to effective QM practices and the presence of critical success factors for effective QM practices..