The redesign of quality control processes in the implementation of energy supply projects

Abstract

The goals of enterprises are to improve product and service quality, including cost reduction and on time delivery and, in so doing, meeting customer requirements. The research problem is that the implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning system without conventional (standard) Quality Control Processes results in non-delivery of the expected benefits of the system, thus creating an unstable environment for businesses to operate in. The context is within South Africa using Escom (the sole energy supplier in south Africa) as case. The research questions for this study, therefore, are: i) How can Quality Control Processes be used to lower the risk of non-delivery of the promised benefits of an Enterprise Resource Planning system; and ii) Why are Quality Control Processes not being used after the implementation of the Enterprise Resource Planning system? These questions are asked with the aim of understanding and explaining the complexities around Quality Control Processes, after the implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning system within energy supply projects. A case study method was used to conduct this research and data collection was done using in-depth interviews (12). Data was analysed by coding, summarisation, categorisation and then a thematic analsysis was done. The results from the analysed data revealed that strategic management needed to be involved in redesigning Quality Control Processes, after the implementation of the Enterprise Resource Planning system. In addition, there is a need to train staff in order for them to understand the system; this, in turn, can lead to the optimisation of the system, which will then enable the organisation to reap the benefits of the implemented Enterprise Resource Planning system. A framework was proposed, which could be used to ensure the continuous maintenance of Quality Control Processes after the projects go live.