Abstract: The current study intends to examine the safety and quality considerations of clients of housing projects and their impact on the adoption of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) by the construction firm. Mixed method research technique has been used to collect and analyze the data wherein a survey was conducted to collect the data from 220 clients of housing projects in Saudi Arabia. Then, the telephonic and Skype interviews were conducted to collect data of 15 professionals working in the top ten real estate companies of Saudi Arabia. Data were analyzed by using partial least square (PLS) and thematic analysis techniques. Findings reveal that today’s customer prioritizes the safety and quality requirements of their houses and as a result, construction firms adopt QFD to address the needs of customers. The findings are of great importance for the clients of housing projects as well as for the construction firms as they could apply QFD in housing projects to address the safety and quality concerns of their clients.
Abstract: Infrastructure assets are essential in urban cities; their purpose is to facilitate the public needs. As a result, their conditions and states shall always be monitored to avoid any sudden malfunction. Sewer systems, one of the assets, are an essential part of the underground infrastructure as they transfer sewer medium to designated areas. However, their conditions are subject to deterioration due to ageing. Therefore, it is of great significance to assess the conditions of pipelines to avoid sudden collapses. Current practices of sewer pipeline assessment rely on industrial protocols that consider distinct defects and grades to conclude the limited average or peak score of the assessed assets. This research aims to enhance the evaluation by integrating the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) methods in assessing the condition of sewer pipelines. The methodology shall study the cause and effect relationship of the systems’ defects to deduce the relative influence weights of each defect. Subsequently, the overall grade is calculated by aggregating the WHAT’s and HOW’s of the House of Quality (HOQ) using the computed relative weights. Thus, this study shall enhance the evaluation of the assets to conclude informative rehabilitation and maintenance plans for decision makers.
Abstract: It is important to clarify the company’s core technology in product development process to strengthen their power in providing technology that meets the customer requirement. QFD method is adopted to clarify the core technology through identifying the high element technologies that are related to the voice of customer, and offer the most delightful features for customer. AHP is used to determine the importance of evaluating factors. A case study was conducted by using this approach in Japan’s Monozukuri Company (so called manufacturing company) to clarify their core technology based on customer requirements.
Abstract: The paper intends to highlight the significance of Digital Manufacturing (DM) strategy in support and achievement of business strategy and goals of any manufacturing organization. Towards this end, DM initiatives have been given a process perspective, while not undermining its technological significance, with a view to link its benefits directly with fulfilment of customer needs and expectations in a responsive and cost-effective manner. A digital process model has been proposed to categorize digitally enabled organizational processes with a view to create synergistic groups, which adopt and use digital tools having similar characteristics and functionalities. This will throw future opportunities for researchers and developers to create a unified technology environment for integration and orchestration of processes. Secondly, an effort has been made to apply “what” and “how” features of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) framework to establish the relationship between customers’ needs – both for external and internal customers, and the features of various digital processes, which support for the achievement of these customer expectations. The paper finally concludes that in the present highly competitive environment, business organizations cannot thrive to sustain unless they understand the significance of digital strategy and integrate it with their business strategy with a clearly defined implementation roadmap. A process-oriented approach to DM strategy will help business executives and leaders to appreciate its value propositions and its direct link to organization’s competitiveness.
Abstract: The successful realization of complex systems is dependent not only on the technology issues and the process for implementing them, but on the management issues as well. Managing the systems development lifecycle requires technical management. Systems engineering management is the technical management. Systems engineering management is accomplished by incorporating many activities. The three major activities are development phasing, systems engineering process and lifecycle integration. Systems engineering management activities are performed across the system development lifecycle. Due to the ever-increasing complexity of systems as well the difficulty of managing and tracking the development activities, new ways to achieve systems engineering management activities are required. This paper presents a systematic approach used as a design management tool applied across systems engineering management roles. In this approach, Transdisciplinary System Development Lifecycle (TSDL) Model has been modified and integrated with Quality Function Deployment. Hereinafter, the name of the systematic approach is the Transdisciplinary Quality System Development Lifecycle (TQSDL) Model. The QFD translates the voice of customers (VOC) into measurable technical characteristics. The modified TSDL model is based on Axiomatic Design developed by Suh which is applicable to all designs: products, processes, systems and organizations. The TQSDL model aims to provide a robust structure and systematic thinking to support the implementation of systems engineering management roles. This approach ensures that the customer requirements are fulfilled as well as satisfies all the systems engineering manager roles and activities.
Abstract: In recent years, the problems of global climate change and natural disasters have induced the concerns and attentions of environmental sustainability issues for the public. Aside from the environmental planning efforts done for human environment, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) has been widely used as one of the future solutions for the sustainable city development. In order to be more consistent with the urban sustainable development, the development of the built environment planning based on the concept of Green TOD which combines both TOD and Green Urbanism is adapted here. The connotation of the urban development under the green TOD including the design toward environment protect, the maximum enhancement resources and the efficiency of energy use, use technology to construct green buildings and protected areas, natural ecosystems and communities linked, etc. Green TOD is not only to provide the solution to urban traffic problems, but to direct more sustainable and greener consideration for future urban development planning and design. In this study, we use both the TOD and Green Urbanism concepts to proceed to the study of the built environment planning and design. Fuzzy Delphi Technique (FDT) is utilized to screen suitable criteria of the green TOD. Furthermore, Fuzzy Analytic Network Process (FANP) and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) were then developed to evaluate the criteria and prioritize the alternatives. The study results can be regarded as the future guidelines of the built environment planning and designing under green TOD development in Taiwan.
Abstract: Quality Function Deployment (QFD) was developed in 1960 in Japan and introduced in 1983 in America and Europe. The paper presents a real application of this technique in a way that the method of applying QFD in design and production aero fuel pumps has been considered. While designing a product and in order to apply system engineering process, the first step is identification customer needs then its transition to engineering parameters. Since each change in deign after production process leads to extra human costs and also increase in products quality risk, QFD can make benefits in sale by meeting customer expectations. Since the needs identified as well, the use of QFD tool can lead to increase in communications and less deviation in design and production phases, finally it leads to produce the products with defined technical attributes.
Abstract: Supplier selection is considered as one of the most critical issues encountered by operations and purchasing managers to sharpen the company’s competitive advantage. In this paper, a novel fuzzy multi-criteria group decision making approach integrating quality function deployment (QFD) and decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method is proposed for supplier selection. The proposed methodology enables to consider the impacts of inner dependence among supplier assessment criteria. A house of quality (HOQ) which translates purchased product features into supplier assessment criteria is built using the weights obtained by DEMATEL approach to determine the desired levels of supplier assessment criteria. Supplier alternatives are ranked by a distance-based method.
Abstract: Strategic alliances generally mean the cooperation or
collaboration between firms which pursue for a synergy that each
member hopes the benefits from the alliances would be much more
than those from individual efforts. Past researches provide us
sufficient theories and considerations for alliance forming in liner
shipping market. This research reviews important academic journals
for the past decade regarding to the most important reasons to form the
alliances. We would explain the motive of alliances and details of
shipping cooperation in literature review.
The paper also empirically investigates the key service quality
requirements improved through alliances by using quality function
deployment (QFD). Moreover, the research investigates famous
shipping reports, shipping consultant websites and most recent
shipping publications to find out the executive-s viewpoint of several
leading carriers among top 20 to assess current shipping strategic
alliance on Asia/Europe route. These comments provide meaningful
managerial reasons to consider alliance formations and search if there
is any gap between the theories and industrial practice. Analysis of the
empirical investigation and top management-s perspective on current
market situation will contribute us some meaningful managerial
suggestions to evaluate these theories applied to current strategic
alliances.
Abstract: This paper is a part of research, in which the way the
biomedical engineers follow in their work is analyzed. The goal of
this paper is to present a method for specification of user
requirements in the medical devices maintenance process. Data
Gathering Methods, Research Model Phases and Descriptive
Analysis is presented. These technology and verification rules can be
implemented in Medical devices maintenance management process to
the maintenance process.
Abstract: Due to the fact that in the new century customers tend
to express globally increasing demands, networks of interconnected
businesses have been established in societies and the management of
such networks seems to be a major key through gaining competitive
advantages. Supply chain management encompasses such managerial
activities. Within a supply chain, a critical role is played by quality.
QFD is a widely-utilized tool which serves the purpose of not only
bringing quality to the ultimate provision of products or service
packages required by the end customer or the retailer, but it can also
initiate us into a satisfactory relationship with our initial customer;
that is the wholesaler. However, the wholesalers- cooperation is
considerably based on the capabilities that are heavily dependent on
their locations and existing circumstances. Therefore, it is undeniable
that for all companies each wholesaler possesses a specific
importance ratio which can heavily influence the figures calculated in
the House of Quality in QFD. Moreover, due to the competitiveness
of the marketplace today, it-s been widely recognized that
consumers- expression of demands has been highly volatile in
periods of production. Apparently, such instability and proneness to
change has been very tangibly noticed and taking it into account
during the analysis of HOQ is widely influential and doubtlessly
required. For a more reliable outcome in such matters, this article
demonstrates the application viability of Analytic Network Process
for considering the wholesalers- reputation and simultaneously
introduces a mortality coefficient for the reliability and stability of
the consumers- expressed demands in course of time. Following to
this, the paper provides further elaboration on the relevant
contributory factors and approaches through the calculation of such
coefficients. In the end, the article concludes that an empirical
application is needed to achieve broader validity.
Abstract: Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is an expounded, multi-step planning method for delivering commodity, services, and processes to customers, both external and internal to an organization. It is a way to convert between the diverse customer languages expressing demands (Voice of the Customer), and the organization-s languages expressing results that sate those demands. The policy is to establish one or more matrices that inter-relate producer and consumer reciprocal expectations. Due to its visual presence is called the “House of Quality" (HOQ). In this paper, we assumed HOQ in multi attribute decision making (MADM) pattern and through a proposed MADM method, rank technical specifications. Thereafter compute satisfaction degree of customer requirements and for it, we apply vagueness and uncertainty conditions in decision making by fuzzy set theory. This approach would propound supervised neural network (perceptron) for MADM problem solving.
Abstract: This paper argues that a product development exercise
involves in addition to the conventional stages, several decisions
regarding other aspects. These aspects should be addressed
simultaneously in order to develop a product that responds to the
customer needs and that helps realize objectives of the stakeholders
in terms of profitability, market share and the like. We present a
framework that encompasses these different development
dimensions. The framework shows that a product development
methodology such as the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is the
basic tool which allows definition of the target specifications of a
new product. Creativity is the first dimension that enables the
development exercise to live and end successfully. A number of
group processes need to be followed by the development team in
order to ensure enough creativity and innovation. Secondly,
packaging is considered to be an important extension of the product.
Branding strategies, quality and standardization requirements,
identification technologies, design technologies, production
technologies and costing and pricing are also integral parts to the
development exercise. These dimensions constitute the proposed
framework. The paper also presents a mathematical model used to
calculate the design targets based on the target costing principle. The
framework is used to study a case of a new product development in
the telecommunications services sector.
Abstract: This paper presents an application of the improved
QFD method for determining the specifications of kitchen utensils
rack. By using the improved method, the subjective nature in original
QFD was reduced; particularly in defining the relationship between
customer requirement and engineering characteristics. The regression
analysis that was used for obtaining the relationship functions
between customer requirement and engineering characteristics also
accommodated the inaccurateness of the competitive assessment
results. The improved method which is represented in the form of a
mathematical model had become a formal guidance to allocate the
resource for improving the specifications of kitchen utensils rack.
The specifications obtained had led to the achievement of the highest
feasible customer satisfaction.
Abstract: The link between urban planning and design principles and the built environment of an urban renewal area is of interest to the field of urban studies. During the past decade, there has also been increasing interest in urban planning and design; this interest is motivated by the possibility that design policies associated with the built environment can be used to control, manage, and shape individual activity and behavior. However, direct assessments and design techniques of the links between how urban planning design policies influence individuals are still rare in the field. Recent research efforts in urban design have focused on the idea that land use and design policies can be used to increase the quality of design projects for an urban renewal area-s built environment. The development of appropriate design techniques for the built environment is an essential element of this research. Quality function deployment (QFD) is a powerful tool for improving alternative urban design and quality for urban renewal areas, and for procuring a citizen-driven quality system. In this research, we propose an integrated framework based on QFD and an Analytic Network Process (ANP) approach to determine the Alternative Technical Requirements (ATRs) to be considered in designing an urban renewal planning and design alternative. We also identify the research designs and methodologies that can be used to evaluate the performance of urban built environment projects. An application in an urban renewal built environment planning and design project evaluation is presented to illustrate the proposed framework.
Abstract: Nowadays, manufacturers are facing great challenges
with regard to the production of green products due to the emerging issue of hazardous substance management (HSM). In particular,
environmental legislation pressures have yielded to increased risk,
manufacturing complexity and green components demands. The green principles were expanded to many departments within
organization, including supply chain. Green supply chain
management (GSCM) was emerging in the last few years. This idea
covers every stage in manufacturing from the first to the last stage of
life cycle. From product lifecycle concept, the cycle starts at the design of a product. QFD is a customer-driven product development
tool, considered as a structured management approach for efficiently
translating customer needs into design requirements and parts deployment, as well as manufacturing plans and controls in order to
achieve higher customer satisfaction. This paper develops an Eco-
QFD to provide a framework for designing Eco-mobile phone by integrating the life cycle analysis LCA into QFD throughout the entire product development process.