Surveys of construction management programs indicate
that all such programs include at least one course
that treats the procedural aspects of the construction activity
(Arditi 1984; Ledbetter 1985; Yates 1994). A cursory
look into civil engineering and architecture curricula
also suggests that such courses are typically part of
current curricula. The extent to which quality issues are
treated in these courses is of course not known. In the
absence of such information, it is recommended that
these courses include the procedural aspects involved in
the building project in great detail. These topics could
include negotiations for design services, bidding for construction
work, project specifications, the role of management
leadership in promoting quality issues and management
commitment to continuously improving quality
standards, and, last but not least, continuous training in
quality related matters. Continuing education programs,
on the other hand, should cover quality training and
should emphasize life-cycle cost analysis to make sure
that funds for the operation and maintenance of the completed
facility are considered properly during the initial
feasibility study and are earmarked for use in the operation
phase.