SME construction industry subcontractors performance measurement and improvement

This paper focuses on performance measurement and improvement within SME construction industry subcontractors. It commences with a literature review of tools and techniques such as quality assurance and certification, total quality management, quality awards and business excellence frameworks and benchmarking traditionally used to measure performance and improvement in a wide range of enterprises. Many of these approaches have reached maturity in manufacturing companies and many have been adopted in service companies. However, the construction industry has largely been untouched by these developments. The paper explores the potential of an International Business Profile Benchmarking instrument within the construction industry by applying it to a firm in the construction supply chain. This world-class approach has been widely used in Europe and has enabled significant sectoral supply chain developments.