Use Of Quality Function Deployment Research Articles

Awareness and effectiveness of quality function deployment (QFD) in design and build projects in Nigeria

Purpose – Quality function deployment (QFD) is a method for structured product planning and development that enables a development team to specify clearly the wants and needs of customers. This method has been successfully employed in the construction industry in developed countries. However, the benefits of QFD have not been practically realised in developing countries such as Nigeria. Hence, this research aims to investigate the awareness and effectiveness of QFD as a quality control technique that enhances the satisfaction of clients in terms of quality, cost and project delivery time in design and build projects. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative and quantitative research approach in the form of in-depth telephone interviews and questionnaires was used to obtain the views of construction professionals such as civil engineers, architects, project managers, chief executive officers and trades people involved in design and build projects in the Nigerian construction industry, as well as 50 clients to ascertain the level of satisfaction derived from these design and build projects. Findings – The results of this research are derived from statistical analysis and show that there is currently little awareness of QFD within the Nigerian construction industry or its potential effectiveness in design and build projects. Originality/value – There has been little previous research into the use of QFD in the Nigerian construction industry, hence this paper provides insight but also highlights the need for further research.

Applying QFD to business development environment

This research aims at proposing adaptations in the quality function deployment (QFD) methodology; analyzing its use to assist business development projects (BDP); and evaluating the results of a case study. In order to support the analysis of the use of QFD in the business development environment, a bibliographic review was performed and a case study of a BDP was set-up and executed in a small enterprise in Brazil. Finds indicate that QFD is a valuable tool to assist BDP; the case study results point up the benefits gathered by organization when the proposed procedure was applied; the adaptations suggested in the QFD matrices make possible the usage of the intrinsic QFD deployment process in the business environment and produced a procedure to assess the completeness of the BDP scope, in which the focus of the QFD deployment process is moved from the deployed characteristics to the evaluation criteria of these characteristics. Because only one case was studied, it was not analyzed the implications of the proposed planning procedure in different types of organizations and projects. Similar studies should be conducted to reveal the effect of these differences.

Quality function deployment in healthcare: a literature review and case study

This article aims to provide a literature review on the use of quality function deployment (QFD) in healthcare and a case study in order to provide contextual knowledge as a means of improving applications of QFD in healthcare. The literature search was done via Google Scholar, PubMed/MEDLINE, and Web of Science using the keywords "quality function deployment" and "healthcare"; focusing on journal publications and their related citations. The case study was done within a design for Six Sigma project (DFSS) in a Swedish hospital. Empirical data were collected through face-to-face interviews and project documentation. Four potentials (better understanding of customers' needs and wants, identification of opportunities for process improvement, effective system thinking approach, and better communication and more transparent process) and three antecedents (understanding the customer, understanding the customer's needs, and finding ways to prioritize and translate those needs) of QFD application in healthcare were identified from the literature review. From the case study, the application of QFD leads to an increased awareness of a complex multiple-customer concept, traceability of the improvement strategies in a more structured way, and the formation of a new process organization. A time study at one clinic (cardiology) before and after the project within which the QFD was used showed that the time spent on prescription of medication has decreased by more than 20 percent. This has increased the time that doctors can spend with their patients. This paper highlights the potentials and antecedents of applying QFD in healthcare from previous research. Furthermore, the practical findings obtained from applying QFD in the project can also provide some useful insights for practitioners. The novel contribution is two-fold. First, it is the identification of the potentials and antecedents of using QFD in healthcare context. Second, it is the findings and learning from a practical application of QFD for improving a medication process in the hospital.

Designing a New Model in Order to Convey the Voice of Employees and Customers to Organization's Processes

Purpose of this paper is to create a model for designing a new model in order to convey the voice of employees and customers to organization's processes. Historical study and field study methods are used to collect data and questionnaire is tool of data collection. Descriptive and inferential statistics methods, ranking and matrix analysis method in Quality Function Deployment have been used for data analysis. The outcomes imply that prioritization of European Foundation for Quality Management enablers and employees and customers satisfaction factors are different before and after the use of Quality Function Deployment. Also, other outcomes include reduction of gap between managers and employees and customers; creation of a suitable atmosphere for the development of effective and coordinated relationship between managers and employees and customers; and development of the European Foundation for Quality Management model. Keywords: Quality Function Deployment, European Foundation for Quality Management, Enablers, voice of employees and customers

Aplicação do Quality Function Deployment no desenvolvimento de produtos: um estudo no setor de eletrodomésticos

O artigo aborda a aplicação do Quality Function Deployment (QFD) no processo de desenvolvimento de produtos e analisa a utilização do QFD em organização do setor de eletrodomésticos, localizada no Estado de Santa Catarina, e que aplica há mais de dez anos o QFD no desenvolvimento de novos produtos. Trata-se de estudo empírico, exploratório, qualitativo, na forma de estudo de caso, cuja pesquisa de campo envolveu entrevista em profundidade e análise de documentos internos. Os resultados revelaram que a aplicação do QFD não está completamente consolidada, em função de desafios/dificuldades identificados, mas tem gerado benefícios para a organização.

Desdobramento da função qualidade (QFD) no desenvolvimento de projeto de treinamento: estudo exploratório para serviço

O treinamento é relevante na preparação de funcionários. O Desdobramento da Função Qualidade (QFD) tem se mostrado como um método eficaz para traduzir sistematicamente as necessidades dos clientes em especificações de projetos. Esta pesquisa apresenta a utilização do método QFD em uma aplicação de desenvolvimento de projeto de treinamento. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa realizada em no setor de treinamento de uma empresa de serviços de grande porte. Os resultados obtidos mostram que a utilização do QFD é uma alternativa eficaz para os gestores elaborarem ou melhorarem seus projetos de treinamento.

Applying quality function deployment in food safety management

PurposeThis paper aims to report on a case study conducted to help plan a rollout process for hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) type food safety policies at a frozen pie facility in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.Design/methodology/approachExisting company policies were prioritized using a quality function deployment tool, which quantified the qualitative material in the original manual based on a number of developed criteria. Interrelations between the different required tasks were also quantified to facilitate effective implementation.FindingsThe use of quality function deployment was shown to be useful in speeding up the implementation of food safety policies in the facility.Practical implicationsQuality function deployment, originally from new product design, proved useful when applied to HACCP implementation.Originality/valueThis paper discusses the use of product development tools to facilitate the effective introduction of HACCP like procedures. Thus it will be of use to academics and practitioners interested in HACCP implementation.

Academic Planning Process to Integrate the Voice of the Customers Using Quality Function Deployment

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is one of the Total Quality Management (TQM) techniques which can be applied for process and design improvement. This paper explores the possible application of quality Junction deployment (QFD) to the design and improvement of an undergraduate Engineering program. To accomplish this, the institute must first identify its customers, understand their expectations, and then serve them in meaningful ways. It must ensure that the voice of the customer is incorporated into the design and the delivery of a product or service. The institute translates this voice into academic specifications that everybody in the school call understand and uses it to align its processes to meet the needs of its customers first time and every time. The use of QFD helps the institute to focus on priorities, provide better documentation and facilitate communication among everybody in the institute.

A proposed framework for combining ISO 9001 quality system and quality function deployment

PurposeISO 9001 certification assures that a company employs a quality system, which provides trust for the customers but this system does not assure the quality of the products. It is then necessary to apply other methods and tools to achieve the demanded quality. This paper aims to propose a framework for combining ISO 9001 requirements with quality function deployment (QFD).Design/methodology/approachA theoretical framework is developed followed by an empirical application. The framework consists of three components: quality assurance items, critical operational functions, and requirements of the ISO 9001: 2000 quality management system. The framework is then applied in a company that produces surge arresters.FindingsMain results indicate that the proposed framework may assist in developing products and prioritising quality assurance items, critical operational functions, and ISO 9001: 2000 requirements. The empirical application provided an effective case of QFD full usage. In addition, the application was useful to the company not only for achieving a better organizational quality structure, but also for recording company knowledge through QFD.Research limitations/implicationsFor more extensive empirical validation further replications among other samples are needed for external validation of the findings.Originality/valueAlthough QFD is extensively explored in the literature, this paper is one of the few published studies that report and discuss the use of QFD with ISO 9001. In addition, the proposed framework may be useful for practitioners and academics, who deal with the subject of quality.

The Application of Quality Function Deployment to User Interface Design

This article focuses on the use of quality function deployment (QFD) to define the unspoken customer requirements in user interface design. The relationships between customer requirements such as learnability, speed of use, and so on, and the realization mechanisms or performance measures such as consistency, error management, and others, are shown in the house of quality. The use of QFD has resulted in a better focus on the key issues in user interface design and translating these into actions and designs, reducing user interface design errors and increasing customer satisfaction.

A fuzzy QFD program modelling approach using the method of imprecision

The use of quality function deployment (QFD) to aid decision making in product planning has gained extensive international attention, but current QFD approaches are unable to cope with complex product planning (CPP) characterized by involving multiple engineering characteristics (ECs) associated with significant uncertainty. To tackle this difficulty, in this paper, fuzzy set theory is embedded into a QFD framework and a novel fuzzy QFD program modelling approach to CPP is proposed to optimize the values of ECs by taking the design uncertainty and financial considerations into account. In the proposed methodology, fuzzy set theory is used to account for design uncertainty, and the method of imprecision (MoI) is employed to perform multiple-attribute synthesis to generate a family of synthesis strategies by varying the value of s, which indicates the different compensation levels among ECs. The proposed methodology will allow QFD practitioners to control the distribution of their development budget by presetting the value of s to determine the compensation levels among ECs. An illustrative example of the quality improvement of the design of a motor car is provided to demonstrate the application and performance of the modelling approach.

Improving the environmental performance of the fishing fleet by use of Quality Function Deployment (QFD)

This article introduces Quality Function Deployment (QFD) as a method for improving the environmental performance of the Norwegian fishing fleet. Systems engineering has been introduced as a feasible process for handling sustainability issues in the fisheries, because it contains methods for general system design, operation, and support in a life-cycle perspective. QFD is related to systems engineering as a method for translating stakeholder needs into detailed system requirements at each life-cycle stage. Eco-QFD extends the scope of QFD, and combines QFD, Life-Cycle Cost (LCC), and Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA) to evaluate environmental effects and costs in the system development process. The article assesses the usefulness of Eco-QFD in fisheries management decision-making regarding sustainability in the fishing fleet, and for shipyards in their design of fishing vessels. It is concluded that Eco-QFD may be difficult to use for fisheries management in its present form, due to the complexity of sustainability, and the time and efforts demanded to carry out the analyses. Nevertheless, the structuring of the stakeholder needs and requirements may contribute to improved understanding of the decision-situation.

Strategy maps as improvement paths of enterprises

To locate and prioritize the improvement needs of an enterprise, a strategy map merging managerial principles of the BSC with quality principles stemming from the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award and the European Foundation for Quality Management is proposed. It comprises four hierarchical levels: business objectives, competitive priorities, core processes and components of the organizational profile. The implementation methodology for supporting its application in an individual enterprise makes use of quality function deployment (QFD), a quality design tool. A strategy map here represents a bottom up cause and effect potential improvement path of an investigated enterprise, starting from an improvement of its organizational profile towards an improved realization of its business objectives, thus providing a global perspective on the important linkages between its weakest components at different hierarchical levels. Analysis of two test cases for implementing strategy maps revealed strategy maps that differed from one company to another and discontinuities in some of the maps. We found processes, considered as core processes by interviewees that did not support any competitive priority and a competitive priority, strongly recommended by interviewees, that was not supported by any core process. Such findings call attention to the complex cause-and-effect relationships influencing the enterprise system behaviour, to the lack of management understanding of this behaviour and eventually they add motivation and support to the continuation of our work here.

Innovative new product development: a study of selected QFD case studies

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the use of quality function deployment (QFD) may contribute to developing innovative products. Its point of departure is the author's earlier research that investigated the application of QFD to product development in companies operating in Brazil.Design/methodology/approachA case study approach with companies from different industries is employed in this paper. A questionnaire was used to gather data from four companies by checking some aspects of QFD projects with regard to innovation. Typical QFD projects with respect to product typology (platform or derivative) and their level of complexity are also analysed.FindingsThe main results indicated that QFD may assist in developing innovative products, but is limited to additions to existing lines, product repositioning, and product improvement.Research limitations/implicationsOne constraint was the limited number of companies and projects analysed so that replications among other samples are needed to validate current findings.Originality/valueAlthough QFD is extensively explored in the literature, this paper is one of the few published studies that report and discuss the relationship between QFD and innovation.

A quality-engineering-based approach for conceptual product design

Although many conceptual design methods have been proposed, there is still ample room for improvement. First, most conceptual design methods do not relate concepts generation by a combination of basic features to the feasibility of the concepts. Second, those methods may have ignored customer preferences in modeling concept selection. To overcome these shortcomings, a quality-engineering-based conceptual design approach is proposed in this paper by integrating the use of quality function deployment (QFD), morphological matrix analysis (MMA), multi-attribute decision-making techniques (MADM), and possibilistic optimization models (POMs). A possibility distribution function (PDF) is applied to account for the uncertainties of technology development cost in the early design stages, and a mathematical framework is established by incorporating the customer-perceived relative importance into a possibilistic optimization model for design concept selection, which plays a central role in the proposed methodology. Contrary to deterministic optimization models (DOMs), the proposed possibilistic optimization can produce results that are more informative and more reliable to the designers.

Total quality management (TQM) in self‐financed technical institutions

PurposeTo explore the potential for adoption of TQM in self‐financed technical institutions in the light of new demands and challenges posed by customers/students and society.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents use of quality function deployment (QFD) which prioritizes technical requirements and correlates them with various customers'/students' requirements for the present Indian context. As an extension to the basic model of QFD – house of quality (HOQ), the scope for futuristic improvements is explored through a four‐phased QFD process. Challenges involved in the implementation of TQM are investigated using an approach of force field analysis.FindingsIdentifies technical and students' requirements for the modern educational set‐up. Provides information about the severity of various technical requirements of competitive education. Recognizes the need for continuous improvement, cultural change and effective use of financial resources to improve the value addition at each level. Develops an understanding of the issues to be addressed at each phase of TQM implementation.Practical implicationsIt is expected that insights gained will help sensitize the emerging self‐financed institutions towards the demands of new age students. Conclusions derived will also provide some opportunities for reflection by students, faculty members and leaders/top management of institutions for continuous development at an individual as well as institutional level.Originality/valueA novelty of work lies in the use of a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches, which not only evaluates the present system but develops an understanding of future challenges to continuous improvement.

Key enablers for the effective implementation of QFD: a critical analysis

PurposeThis paper presents the concepts and principles of quality function deployment (QFD) as they have been implemented by Ford company. The paper illustrates the essential linkages between external and internal customers to suppliers (i.e. “Voice‐Quality‐Satisfaction” Chains).Design/methodology/approachThe paper considers some of the details of changes that are occurring to support the “Breakthrough in Quality”. One of the key elements of the Ford Motor Company engineering quality improvements program (EQIP) within Europe has been the linking of some seven‐quality tool techniques including QFD as the core link. For the purpose of improving QFD, it is both useful and rational to look at ways in which it can be linked to, or integrated with other quality tools. The Ford EQIP training process argues that QFD, within a customer focused engineering (CFE) process is a key tool in linking all other tools, through the QFD process itself.FindingsThe paper also looks at discussions on QFD linkages with other quality tools and processes. This sequence of QFD linkages to other single, or dual linked quality tools finishing with some engineering processes is particularly discussed. Among these are Pugh Concept Selection, Taguchi methods, experimentation, failure mode effects analysis (FMEA), value management, quality benchmark deployment (QBD) and benchmarking, process management, statistical process control (SPC), team oriented problem solving – eight disciplines (TOPS 8D), and systems engineering.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the manifestation of the Ford customer satisfaction process has been reviewed as the CFE QFD process within Ford of Europe, its adoption and awareness is still limited. As a result of this, it is critical to review the research topic of customer satisfaction with a focus on how Ford Motor Company as a whole approaches this key goal through the use of various marketing, sales and marketing research office (MRO) initiatives.Practical implicationsIt discusses the various arguments and proposals that link together the end user customers voice to the internal customer‐supplier chains that act on the customer input and feedback to improve product quality and ultimately deliver higher end user satisfaction.Originality/valueThe paper concludes with a discussion of the use of QFD with other quality tools and processes, the role of QFD within total quality management (TQM) processes, and team working.

Improving the use of QFD with Axiomatic Design

Concurrent engineering employs a set of functional disciplines to simultaneously perform the tasks that lead to a product satisfying a list of customer needs. Quality function deployment (QFD) is a methodology that has been broadly used to listen to the voice of the customer. This article intends to improve the use of QFD in concurrent engineering by adoption of axiomatic design (AD) principles, namely the independence of functional requirements and the hierarchical decomposition following a zigzag path. The conclusion is that the inclusion of these AD concepts avoids multilevel iterations in the QFD approach, which can significantly reduce the lead time and costs.

Strategic planning using QFD

PurposeThis paper outlines the use of quality function deployment (QFD) for strategic planning. QFD provides a comprehensive process for defining the issues facing an organisation in terms of customer and stakeholder outcomes, natural segments and key strategic opportunities.Design/methodology/approachAn explanation and overview of the two core stages of strategic planning using QFD are followed by three case examples.FindingsStrategic QFD avoids complex matrix analysis and instead moves directly to concept generation and evaluation. One of the main benefits of strategic QFD is the level of commitment and support for the resulting strategy throughout the organisation. This paper also shows how strategic QFD can be used to identify and optimise internal capabilities and to find and address specific customer opportunities.Practical implicationsStrategic planners will find that QFD‐based philosophy and methods are useful tools for the creation of a customer‐driven strategy.Originality/valueThis paper provides insight for practitioners and academics into how strategic QFD systematically translates vision into action, targeting opportunities and creating innovative strategies that are stable even in fast‐changing environments.

Strategic use of quality function deployment (QFD) in the construction industry

In this paper, an attempt has been made to examine the applicability of QFD as a strategic decision-making tool after the construction stage of a housing project to determine the best marketing strategy, to make a comparison between the performances of different competitors and to transfer the experience gained from the current project to the forthcoming projects. For this purpose, a QFD team has been formed to collect and verify the expectations of the customer profile of the sample project, which was a high-rise building project located in Ankara, Turkey. The case study findings demonstrated that QFD could be successfully applied in the housing projects as a strategic tool to facilitate marketing decisions. As a result of extensive literature review and the case study observations; the paper also points out the limitations and breakthroughs of the QFD methodology. Finally, critical success factors are proposed to improve the performance of the QFD methodology in construction projects.