The increased levels of competition experienced in recent times in the construction sector due to globalisation and the economic downturn highlighted the need for South African construction companies to be more competitive. This paper investigates the reasons for poor quality in the South African construction industry and whether the implementation of a Total Quality Management system in this industry will improve the situation.

It recently became compulsory for all members of the South African Association of Consulting Engineers to introduce a quality management system in their organisations. The purpose of this paper was to determine whether it would be possible for quantity surveying firms to adopt similar quality management systems in their offices and what would be expected from them in order to do so. The conclusion is that it is possible for quantity surveying firms to comply with the requirements of the ISO 9001: 2000 quality principles. JEL M11, M14