Critical Analysis of the Application of a Homes’ Quality Certification System in a Developing Country

Abstract

In the domestic market, real estate companies still have many concerns about how to reduce the number of quality defects that occur during construction processes and to increase the level of customer satisfaction with their products. On this context, a critical analysis of the implementation of a homes’ quality certification system developed by the Direction of Scientific and Technology Research of the Catholic University of Chile in 2005 is presented. The study includes the review of the certification system’s application to four real estate projects to determine whether it has generated improvements in the quality of the homes and if clients feel a higher level of satisfaction. In addition, a discussion is presented about benefits that the system has brought to the real estate and construction companies. The methodology consisted in a qualitative analysis that considers the perception of clients, the real estate company executives and the personnel involved in the construction process during the implementation of the certification system. The main conclusion of the study is that the certification system has generated a positive impact for the real estate, construction and subcontracting companies as well as for their final clients.