Modelling and Measuring Excellence for Sustainability – Examples from building in Tanzania.

Isaksson, Raine and Kinabo, Leandri (2018) Modelling and Measuring Excellence for Sustainability – Examples from building in Tanzania. Excellence in Services Le 21th International Conference. ISSN ISBN 9788890432781 (Submitted)

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Abstract

Purpose. In a resource-limited world it is logical that business excellence should focus on sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to exemplify areas of synergy between Quality and Sustainability. Methodology. The starting point has been in identified vital few stakeholders and their needs on the global level. These needs have then been exemplified in building processes in Dar es Salaam Tanzania using quality principles, practices and tools. Findings. By transforming the quality principle of customer focus into stakeholder needs focus and by redefining main stakeholders as Planet and People, conditions are created to operationalize sustainable development. Sustainability in the studied system has been defined as affordable building materials with a low carbon footprint. Cement drives both building costs and the carbon footprint. This means that cement productivity compared to price and to the carbon footprint can be used as indicators for sustainability excellence. Cement productivity in concrete is defined as compressive strength divided by cement percentage and expressed as Mega Pascal*tons. Based on a defined benchmark, cement productivity can be expressed relatively. The cement productivity in the studied system is only at 20%. Using well grounded vital few performance indicators in absolute and relative terms enables using principles, practices and tools from quality management to support sustainable development. Practical implications. Focus on needs satisfaction compared to only footprints could in the cement industry reduce the need for Carbon Capture and Storage Originality/value. The results present a radically different view of sustainability based on focus on critical stakeholder needs. Keywords Sustainability; quality; stakeholder; process; model building.

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