Quality Function Deployment Framework for Selecting Optimal Greenhouse Microclimate Control System

Abstract

As greenhouse production is considered the most water-conservative solution in the agricultural sector, greenhouse technology has become an integral approach for modern crop production methods. Different types of greenhouse structures are used to produce crops, and each type has advantages for a particular application, having been designed to meet multiple and specific requirements. This paper introduces a quality function deployment (QFD) framework to select two optimal greenhouse types (single-span and multi-span). This study aims to demonstrate greenhouse management and practices and review the development efforts during the last two decades. A market survey, focus group discussion, and personal interviews revealed nine key performance indicators (KPIs) (cost, wind loads, crop loads, roof slope, light transmission, flexibility, maintainability, rapid spread/ease of control, and heating and ventilation). Then, the participating decision-makers identified nine functional requirements, which, if fulfilled, would boost client satisfaction. The framework designed in this paper was developed to select and analytically investigate the optimal system for greenhouse microclimate control based on the retrieved KPIs and functional requirements for client satisfaction. This QFD framework can assist decision-makers, in the preliminary phase, in selecting optimal systems for greenhouse microclimate control based on their individualized situations.