Design for Quality

Year: 1993
Author: Mørup, Mikel
Supervisor: Andreasen Mogens Myrup
Institution: Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Page(s): 250
ISBN: 8790130-00-6

Abstract

The subject of this thesis is the creation of quality, as perceived by the customer and the manufacturing company, during product design and development, in short, Design for Quality.
Through literature and industrial studies, the research shows that, despite considerable efforts in Total Quality Management and advances in technology, many companies still have serious problems in developing, manufacturing and marketing profitable products that live up to customer expectations of quality. The inadequacy of current approaches to the management of quality is discussed, and it is shown that product development holds the key to solving many of the quality related problems and, perhaps more importantly, to exploit the opportunities for achieving better quality in company activities and on the market. A main result derived from this insight is the development of a comprehensive framework for Design for Quality. This covers a wide range of activities from the high-level strategic level of product development to the detailed level of design work, including the important issue of how product developers think in terms of quality. The framework is the primary practical result of the research, as it makes it possible to map existing procedures, tools and techniques in Design for Quality and to identify voids and inconsistencies in a company's total approach to Design for Quality. Design Theory constitutes the central theoretical viewpoint of this research, and by using this, it is demonstrated that the process of synthesis in product development is ultimately where the genesis of product quality takes place. By applying the Theory of Technical Systems in the analysis of the concept of quality, those product characteristics which 'carry' quality are identified. From the unification of the theoretical results, new terminology and descriptive models are developed, which form a new theoretical basis in the field of Design for Quality.
Resumé
Denne afhandling omhandler indbygningen af bruger- og virksomheds oplevet kvalitet under produktudvikling og konstruktion (Kvalitetsrigtig Produktudvikling). Gennem litteraturstudier og studier i industrien vises det, at på trods af store bestrćbelser på at indføre kvalitetsstyring og ny teknologi, har mange virksomheder stadig alvorlige problemer med at udvikle, fremstille og markedsføre produkter, der dels lever op til kundeforventninger, dels opfylder virksomhedernes forventninger om forretningsskabelse. Utilstrćkkeligheden af nuvćrende angrebsmåder til kvalitetsstyring diskuteres. Det vises, at produktudviklingsfunktionen besidder en vigtig nøgle til at løse mange kvalitetsproblemer, og til at forfølge endnu uudnyttede muligheder for at opnå bedre kvalitet på markedet og internt i virksomheden. Et afhovedresultaterne, som er skabt udfra denne indsigt, er et rammevćrk for Kvalitetsrigtig Produktudvikling. Dette omfatter en bred vifte af aktiviteter fra det strategiske niveau af produktudvikling til det detaljerede niveau for konstruktionsarbejde. Rammevćrket udgør forskningsarbejdets primćre praktiske resultat, da dette gør det muligt at kortlćgge eksisterende fremgangsmåder, metoder og teknikker inden for Kvalitetsrigtig Produktudvikling, samt at identificere stćrke og svage sider af en virksomheds måde at udføre Kvalitetsrigtig Produktudvikling. Konstruktionsteorien udgør den teoretiske hovedsynsvinkel for dette arbejde, og ved at anvende denne, vises det, at kvalitet skabes under synteseprocessen i produktudviklingsarbejdet. Teorien for tekniske systemer anvendes til at analysere kvalitetsbegrebet, og derved identificeres de produktkarakteristika, som er 'bćrere' af kvalitet.
Ved at forene de teoretiske resultater er der skabt ny terminologi og deskriptive modeller, som tilsammen udgør en ny teoretisk basis for området Kvalitetsrigtig Produktudvikling.