Critical Review on Quality Management for Attaining Higher Environmental Efficiency in the Construction Industry Through COQ Lens

The construction industry is a major consumer of energy, materials, and water and contributes significantly to pollution. Considering these repercussions, environmental organizations are becoming more aware that implementing proper policies and measures is crucial to enhance the sustainability of construction activities. During the quality management (QM) phase of a construction project, architects, designers, and engineers have a vital role in incorporating sustainability goals to minimize the project's ecological footprint by reducing rework. The inevitable contradiction between economic and environmental interests has led to substantial expenses and rework for all stakeholders involved, including the environment itself. To tackle these difficulties, a range of strategies have been used to evaluate and reduce the costs involved, offering useful knowledge for the implementation of sustainable construction practices. The implementation of the Cost of Quality (COQ) tool in QM has developed into a generally acknowledged management strategy for reducing waste and rework. While extensive research has explored COQ in manufacturing, its application in the construction industry remains underexplored. This review paper aims to identify key issues of rework in QM that influence the construction industry's costs and resource utilization through COQ. Drawing on 60 peer-reviewed articles from EBSCO Host, Scopus, and Web of Science (WOS), this review identifies that project sustainability significantly impacts quality indicators, with reworked designs during construction potentially compromising sustainable attributes. The findings contribute to understanding the crucial interplay between quality performance and sustainability in construction, providing valuable insights for researchers and practitioners seeking to advance this discourse through further research.