Reducing the cost of design management through a total quality program.

This paper was presented at the `Safety Audits and Value Engineering for Highway Design' session. This paper examines the management of design work on the Vancouver Island Highway Project and the impact of the Project's quality management program, the Quality Highway, to reduce design management costs while improving quality. The writer establishes the background by describing the Project, the Design Management Group, and the design management procedures. The primary costs of design management are identified in order to establish the key opportunities for cost reduction and quality improvement. The role of the Quality Highway to implement improvements is detailed. The paper concludes by identifying the short and long term benefits. A discussion outlining the benefits provided by the quality program also occurs. (A)