As International Quality Week starts, I can’t help but reflect on the long history behind Quality Management (QM). From inception in 1919, until the present day, it's continually evolving to meet the changing needs of companies and society, so they function and operate safely and sustainably for employees, customers, and communities.

During my past 30 years in construction, I’ve seen first-hand the transformation from quality control, aimed at finding faulty goods or poor customer experiences, into a whole lifecycle, approach that adds quantifiable value.

I’ve witnessed quality approaches change from clipboards and checklists into highly efficient, integrated systems, embedded into the design, planning, implementation and operation of increasing complex and challenging construction projects, such as Hinkley Point C and Rothera Wharf in Antarctica.

When I started my career, I was making concrete cubes to test their quality at Glasgow Airport, whereas, two years ago, at London City Airport, we used embedded sensors in setting concrete, to read real time strength reporting data.

In my own experiences of QM, over three decades, I’ve seen these changes reflected in the selection criteria clients use to choose their engineering and construction partners. Our clients today look for collaborative, efficient, effective, sustained partnerships. They understand the need to make long-term commitments to, and investment in, achieving mutual goals. They understand the need for continual improvement, and the benefits that brings for everyone.

I’m a firm believer, and driver, of this collaborative approach. Together, we do more, as we design and build infrastructure. In parallel, we’re addressing challenges technological revolution brings and being part of a net-zero future for our planet.

Sustainability and technology must be embedded into our QM approaches. They need to be our ‘business as usual’, not ‘a nice to have’. At BAM we use digital models to ‘build it digitally, before we build it physically’, designing and planning for predictable technical performance. We analyse data for material choices and solution options, to understand the carbon impact of every decision made before we mobilise resources on site.

We’re already developing 5G capabilities in Kilsyth and on some of our remotest projects in Shetland, to unlock use of artificial intelligence, real-time data analytics, cognitive analysis in our operations. When I think of the possibilities the next digital evolution of quality management brings, I’m excited about how this helps the quality profession become predictive forward looking and prevention driven. I’m proud to be part of a company that invests in the future and is helping to shape the next generation of quality management in engineering and construction.

Evolution of our QM systems, processes, approaches, and quality culture, relies on us using our experience of the past to avoid making the same mistakes; our understanding of the present, and our ability to look forward and prepare ourselves, and our businesses, for sustainable futures.

Today we are moving from post-event checklists to continual assurance; checking to prevention; analogue to digital; documents, even paperless electronic ones, to data and information. It’s no longer about what we did, it’s about what we need to do.

Quality Management will continue to evolve. The exciting future of our discipline is what keeps me so passionate about quality – the extent of knowledge there is to share, and learn, to keep our expertise relevant, and be a major contributor to the future. An integrator that acts as the glue bringing together knowledge to drive the efficiency of future processes.

Quality 4.0 will see us all using the power of artificial intelligence, data analytics, cognitive analysis, and technology to drive quality into the predictive forward-looking, prevention driven profession that it needs to transform into.

The future of quality, in every industry, lies beyond compliance. It's about a full lifecycle approach, driving a circular economy that’s continually improving. It's about putting in place processes which holistically drive value for all stakeholders. We need to deliver balanced, agile, and inclusive solutions that are the right ones for people, our planet, and our economies.

This week, above all this year, is the time to ask ourselves, what part we play, and how we collaborate to continue evolve and integrate our QM approaches, systems, and processes?

Avoiding duplication; eliminating errors and valueless activities, before they happen; adding variation and using the power of new technology, to do things differently. Together, our partnerships will move us from survivors to thrivers of the future.