Abstract
Choosing appropriate strategies for managing quality improvement work is crucial for obtaining sustainable improvement effects. This paper presents development highlights and examples, based on many years of national and international research and applied consultancy. One special source is the Total Quality Management the Nordic Way (TQMNW), a co-operative group of 12 contractors. In the 1980's the quality assurance issue was launched in the Nordic and some other European countries' construction industry. Measurement of improvements was focused on the identification and reduction of nonconformances in deliveries, customer's complaints and guarantee costs.