A Quality Control Analysis of Cements in Dangote Cement Plc (a Case Study of Ibese Cement Plant Lagos)
CHAPTER ONE
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
- To ascertain the quality of cement produced in dangote cement plc.
- To know if the recent collapse of buildings is as a result of the quality of cement and other building materials used or as a result of the incompetency of contractors.
- To know if recent improvement can be made on the already existing cement quality.
- To know if the cement plant is in good working condition or not.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
This chapter gives an insight into various studies conducted by outstanding researchers, as well as explained terminologies with regards to the quality control analysis in manufacturing firms.
The chapter also gives a resume of the history and present status of the problem delineated by a concise review of previous studies into closely related problems.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF QUALITY ANALYSIS
Due to the relatively recent development of QUALITY ANALYSIS as a managerial technique, there has not been any standard accepted definition for it. While some authors see it as a philosophy of management, others take it as an objective way of carrying out a task.
Total Quality Management earned its recognition and popularity from those who benefited from its application in their various organizations. But due to its complexity, its meaning differs according to the different experiences acquired by managers of the organizations where it is being implemented.
The problem of finding a meaning for the term QUALITY ANALYSIS may not be unconnected with the rapid changes in the concept of QUALITY ANALYSIS. Also, various organizations may require different applications of QUALITY ANALYSIS according to their knowledge and need for it.
Total Quality Management is continually satisfying the requirement of customers at the lowest cist by harnessing everyone’s commitment. (AIMS Consultants, 1995).
According to MacDonald (1993), QUALITY ANALYSIS is a management process, which involves people, systems and supporting tools and techniques.
Phillips Consulting (1996) defined QUALITY ANALYSIS as “the combination of systems, working harmoniously for the ultimate benefit of the customers”. That is the combination of all factors for the production of goods and services.
Wahl (1994) says this about QUALITY ANALYSIS; “performance is superior in delighting customers. The means used are people committed to employing organizational resources to provide value to customers by doing the right things right, the first time, every time”.
Lucey (1992) says QUALITY ANALYSIS is where there is adequate culture of quality awareness and quality improvement in every process, in every department, at every level in the organization. Organizations practicing QUALITY ANALYSIS have a long-term commitment to quality and consider quality to be a core value of the organization. They take an external view of quality as compared to the traditional Western internal view.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
This chapter describes the various methods and techniques used to collect and analyze the data gathered for the study to gain a deeper understanding of the topic under study.
The data collection stage is important since the result of the analysis is dependent on the quality of the data obtained. Therefore, the method selected for data collection must be the most appropriate to assist in achieving the objectives of the study:
In this case, it is to be used to determine the real status of employee involvement, causes of low employee involvement or participation in the decision-making process; determine the consequences of low employee involvement in decision-making on the implementation of management decisions.
It is also to be used to identify ways to arrest this problem in order to improve organizational performance and explore how employees can be involved and the result of involving employees in decision-making as well as make recommendations on how to improve the involvement of employees in decision-making.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
This chapter is devoted to the presentation, analysis and interpretation of the data gathered in the course of this study. The data used for this study is secondary data from the central bank of Nigeria 2012 statistical bulletin. The data are been analyzed using regression.
CHAPTER FIVE
FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
FINDINGS
The objectives of the study were to:
- To ascertain the quality of cement produced in dangote cement plc.
- To know if the recent collapse of buildings is as a result of the quality of cement and other building materials used or as a result of the incompetency of contractors.
- To know if recent improvement can be made on the already existing cement quality.
- To know if the cement plant is in good working condition or not.
Findings made from the study revealed the following:
- The quality of cement produced in dangote cement plc is of satisfactory quality.
- The cement plant is still in good working condition since there was just one point where the quality of cement produced was out of control.
CONCLUSION
Based on the research carried out, the quality of cement produced are of satisfactory standard and may not be the reason for the recent collapse of buildings in Nigeria though it may actually be a possibility. Buildings fail through mainly ignorance, negligence and greed. Ignorance has to do with when incompetent personnel are in charge of design, construction or inspection. One of the major areas of negligence is in specification writing where that of a past project is adopted without crosschecking those areas that need improvement, addition or omission. Greed on the part of building contractors e.g. diversion of building materials, cement in particular, meant for the production on the client’s site to his own site, the use of sub-standard materials so as to achieve high profit, etc. In discussing the issue of building collapse, distinction must be made between buildings, which fail during construction or within the service life and to those that fail after the service life, which is usually 25 years .It can be deduced that the collapse that causes the greatest loss is that which occurs when a building has been in use for long a time or shortly after its construction.
The inadequacies in the brief supplied by the clients can bring about defects even at the inception of the project when client fail to give all the necessary information on the functional requirements of the building .He further said that design deficiencies also come under calculation errors, bearing support problems, deformation, secondary stresses, elastic cracking, temperature and shrinkage problems, detailing and drafting problems, errors in assumed loading, changes and alterations in existing buildings, all contributing substantially to building structural failures, disasters and may finally lead to building collapse.
Foundation problems:
Foundation is one of the major structural members of any building and any problem arising from it will surely affect the whole building. Averred that the crushing and collapse of concrete footing or other foundation members are usually due to unequal settlements which may be cause by changing sub-grade condition or by wrong assumptions in the design, inadequate or unequal support for foundations, soil and ground water movements as well as expanding soils. Hence, the most common form of abuse of foundation occurs due to abnormal loading situations especially in structures being converted to new use or having additional floors.
REFERENCES
- Ali, M. S., Khan, I. A. and Hossain, M. I., (2008). Chemical Analysis of Ordinary Portland Cement of Bangladesh. Chemical Engineering Research Bulletin, 12, 7-10.
- Banks S. and Edward M., (2007). Keeping Control.Scantech, Australia. Available at: http://www.Scantech.com. Retrieved on: March 6, 2011.European Standard EN 197-1 2000. Cement – Part 1: Composition, specifications and conformity criteria for common cements prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 51.
- Falah F. B. H., (2011). Chemical Analysis of Ordinary Portland Cement of Jordan. Ass. Univ. Bull. Environ. Res. 14(1), 1-9.
- Faleye F. J., Ogunnubi S. and Olaofe O., (2009).Chemical and Physical Analysis of Selected cement samples in Nigerian market. Bangladesh Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, 44(1), 41-50.
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