A survey of ISO 9001 implementation in engineering consultancies in Hong Kong

Quality assurance has generally been accepted by the construction industry since the introduction of ISO 9000 quality standards in 1987. About 40 consulting engineering firms have successfully achieved ISO 9001 certification in Hong Kong from 1994 but the quality assurance processes described in the standard have not been unanimously agreed by the consulting engineers. The ISO 9001 was initially developed for the manufacturing sector and its application to knowledge‐based services is questionable. A survey has been conducted amongst certified consultants to collect objective and representative evidence of the suitability of applying ISO 9001. This paper reveals their motivation for and experience in implementing and maintaining a quality management system to ISO 9001. The benefits of the ISO 9001 quality system on consulting engineering firms and the inter‐relationship between quality, cost and time are also explored.