**1. Introduction**

Let us consider different industry settings such as mining, construction, manufacturing and service. All these industry settings have operations. Operations consist of turning inputs into outputs. Inputs go through a transformation process where inputs are converted to outputs. This is referred to as the operations management input-transformation-output model. While each industry sector differs, the input-transformation-output model is the same. In each of these sectors, inputs are transformed into goods and services the customer pays for. In mining, construction and manufacturing, the products delivered are tangible; for example, in mining, it is the raw materials that are produced, this includes gold, platinum, copper, coal, etc. In construction, the end product is a residential building, a bridge, a dam, etc.

These are large physical infrastructure projects. In manufacturing, the end products include, for example, an automobile, a laptop, a mobile phone, etc. In services, on the other hand, the finished product is intangible; it is a service offering which involves the interaction between the service provider and the customer; let us consider the following example: you have had to enquire at a bank because you want a home loan or a mortgage for a vehicle. You will, first, either go on the bank's website and navigate your way around the website depending on the ease of use; this could be either an easy or difficult experience. The next step will be to complete some personal information online. After that, you will have to interact with another human being. This whole encounter is rather intangible; it depends on the technology you used to access the service platform, as well as the banking platform, and the service you experienced from the banking employee. It will also depend on the information you provide to the banking employee. It becomes each individual's perception. Your objective was to obtain a loan; while this is tangible, the service experience was intangible and either left you feeling served well or a feeling of mediocre or poor service; therefore, it is difficult to put some tangible quality measure to the service experience. As demonstrated by these examples, it is fairly evident that each of the industry sectors, while they appear different at a conceptual level, may be considered a complex system trying to utilize resources to maximize performance [1].

Complexity arises from the interactions within and between firms [2]. In manufacturing and production, different departments of the firm have to interact internally, and departments also have to interact externally with suppliers and other stakeholders to manufacture the final product. The same can be said for the manufacturing and services industries. These interactions bring about complexity. To ensure that firms can utilize resources to maximize performance, these systems must be subjected to planning, assurance and control activities. Performance in a manufacturing industry may refer to the Sandcone model [3, 4], which speaks to the manufacturing mix criteria of quality, dependability, speed, flexibility and cost. In terms of the projects industry, many authors have suggested an insufficient understanding of the relationship between project management success and project success [5, 6]. However, [6] points out that project success is determined by achieving the project's overall goals, and [7] argues that project management success is determined by the iron triangle of time, cost and quality. Hence, in this chapter, we will focus on project management and project success as we see both as important. In terms of the services industry, one may refer to the SERVQUAL instrument for measuring service quality [8], which gives 10 dimensions for measuring service quality. To better understand these activities (Quality planning, assurance and control), we look at the Body of Knowledge in quality management in this chapter.

In terms of quality management Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy is about managing systems through the seven principles of TQM [9]. These seven principles will be discussed in more detail in *Section 2*. Quality management, among other things, focuses on quality planning, assurance and control. Quality management is well understood and embedded in the manufacturing and production environments. Manufacturers easily relate to TQM philosophies, which are well-rooted in the firm's culture. However, the same cannot be said for the projects and services environment. In project management, quality management involves, among others, three processes, namely quality planning, quality assurance and quality control [10]. These processes, while at a conceptual level, are the same; in manufacturing industries, they are well embedded, but in the project environment, they are not so well embedded. In manufacturing and production, there is a process of continuous measurement and control,

### *Quality Planning, Assurance and Control in Manufacturing, Industrial Projects and Services… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.113995*

and it is widely accepted every component is strictly quality controlled, which is governed by a quality assurance system and requires careful planning. However, in the project environment, quality planning, assurance and control are accepted as important but are, however, more difficult to implement and hence, this hampers project management success as well as project success. These processes aim to ensure that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was designed and built [9]. While these processes are well defined, they do not seem to have the desired effect as many projects are out of control and many report huge losses [11–13] moreover, others like [14–16] also reported that many projects are overdue and over budget. In terms of the services industry, there are fundamental differences compared to the manufacturing industry, which is predominantly responsible for the production of goods. In contrast, the services industry is predominately responsible for the delivery of services and is about the service experience [17]. Distinguishes four attributes in terms of goods and services as follows:


Quality management in the services industry is strongly affected by these attributes [18]; this is mainly because, firstly, services are about the service experience, it is about how the customer experiences or the customers' perception of the service encounter, the service experience is about ongoing continuous satisfaction [19]. "Defines the service encounter as the "face-to-face" encounter between a buyer and seller in a service setting." It is about a win-win or benefit-benefit for the customer and service provider. Moreover, because services are about simultaneous production and consumption, services are not manufactured in a plant and delivered and consumed at some later stage; it is about the interaction between the service provider and the customer. Services have high heterogeneity; as a result, uniform quality will be difficult as it is dependent on the interaction between the customer, the platform of engagement and the service provider, more specifically, the service employee delivering the service [20], as well as the information provided by the customer. Perishability, that is, services cannot be stored and retrieved for usage at a later stage and hence, quality cannot be pre-determined; quality occurs at the point of delivery.
