TQM is a process that requires universal involvement to be
successful. This includes customer involvement. As more
and more companies become involved in the TQM process
and demands for improved quality increase, this concept
becomes increasingly important.
Customers may be either internal or external. Satisfying
the needs of these customers is an essential part of the
process of supplying the final external customer with a
quality product. Juran 5 claims that the parties in a process
(supplier, processor, and customer) have a "triple role".
Figure 2 shows Juran's "triple role" concept applied to
construction. 28 The designer is the customer of the owner
because the designer has to receive the project requirements
from the owner in order to provide a feasible design.
The designer supplies plans and specifications to the constructor;
in this case the constructor is the designer's
customer because the constructor uses the designer's plans
and specifications, then conducts the construction process,
and finally supplies the completed building to the
owner. The owner is now the constructor's customer.
Quality in each phase is affected by the quality in the preceding
phases. Therefore customer service in each phase
is important for the overall quality performance of the
process.