Description
This thesis is part of a research project that was conducted by Research Team 308 (RT308) titled “Achieving Zero Rework Through Effective Supplier Quality Practices” funded by the Construction Industry Institute (CII). The primary focus of this thesis is to investigate how supplier ratings/supplier evaluation affect the final quality of products fabricated in a supplier’s facility, and to investigate how the inspection effort defined by Engineering-Procure-Construct (EPC) companies affect the end quality of products delivered to the construction site. The main objectives of the study are to: 1) explain how supplier evaluation ratings impact the definition of the inspection effort assigned to suppliers and the quality of products /materials supplied to the construction site; and 2) develop a tool to help companies collect and analyze data related to supplier evaluations and performance to support the supplier section process during procurement. The data obtained for the study focuses on the shop fabricated material pipe spools. A statistical analysis of how supplier evaluation ratings impact the definition of the inspection effort assigned to suppliers and how it impacts the quality of products/materials supplied to the construction site is presented to address objective 1. Results suggest that more inspection hours are budgeted when the supplier’s rating is low; more inspection hours are budgeted when suppliers sub-contract a portion of the work; more NCs are found when the supplier’s rating is low; and more budgeted inspection hours are used when the supplier is not evaluated prior to being awarded a purchase order (PO). The objective was achieved with the development of a tool to help companies collect and analyze data related to supplier evaluations and performance to support the supplier selection process during procurement. The Supply Chain Risk Profiler (SCRP) was developed and tested using mostly data collected from the PO instrument with the CII community, and the input of SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) within RT308. The tool used indicators and reports commonly used in the industry to develop the calculations, as well as nine criteria developed by RT308 and used to evaluate suppliers to estimate values for fabrication capability (Pfab) and inspection capability (Pinsp) for a particular supplier. The tool represents the start of a conversation within the CII community and beyond about the need to collect, keep, and use meaningful supplier evaluations and inspection data.
