QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT

All the modern day Quality initiatives as Six Sigma, Lean, BPR, etc focus on the voice of the Customer as
initiating point for any project on Process Improvement. These concepts eliminate the play of any subjective or judgemental factors and quantify all parameters against measurable outputs. Even intangible parameters/ activities, as from the Service industry, are quantified and attributed a Statistical Solution qualifying them into a practical reality. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is one such Quality tool for taking the Voice of the Customer and using that information to drive the aspects of product development.

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a systematic process for motivating a business to focus on its customers. It is used by cross-functional teams to identify and resolve issues involved in providing products, processes, services and strategies which more than satisfy the customers. The Cross functional teams participate in the process that consists of matrices that analyze data sets according to the objective of the QFD process. This is the process of understanding what the customer wants, how important these benefits are, and how well different providers of products that address these benefits are perceived to perform.

The understanding of the customer needs is then summarized in a product planning matrix or "House of Quality". These matrices are used to translate higher level "Whats" or needs into lower level "Hows" - product requirements or technical characteristics to satisfy these needs.

When completed it resembles a house structure and is often referred to as House of Quality. The House is divided into several rooms. Typically you have customer requirements, design considerations and design alternatives in a 3 dimensional matrix to which you can assign weighted scores based on market research information collected.


PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES

Customer satisfaction is the key determining factor for the profitability, growth and perpetuity of any business organization. Organisations must have a system to capture the Voice of the Customer and build their product and processes to meet customer specifications.

SSA specializes at providing customized training on such 'Quality' tools as Quality Function Deployment (QFD) to businesses that provide a complete insight into :

	Creating awareness about QFD in your organization
	Training and developing the Engineers / Executives to improve the product / service using the Voice of the customers as valid inputs
	Providing hands-on experience on the methodology and empowering them to translate higher level “What” to lower level “How”
	Assisting the team to comply with the TS16949:2002 Standard requirements

The Programme is Beneficial to

	Companies keen on making their business processes robust by taking into consideration the customer requirements
	Companies who have adopted Process quality Improvement Tools in their business
	Companies involved in product Re-engineering & Development
	Companies who are applying for TS16949:2002 Certification or are TS Certified

Note: No prior exposure to the subject is essential.


Programme Contents

	Brief History of QFD
	Introduction to QFD- What is QFD?
	Applicability of QFD- When to use?
	Difference between QFD and other Quality initiatives
	QFD & Design Process
	The House of Quality
	Hands-on Excercises & Case Studies

Benefits of QFD

	Reduced Development Time
	Reduced Startup time & Cost
	Considers Potential requirements
	Documents key decisions in a form that can become a template for future improvement efforts

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