Some further studies on improving QFD methodology and analysis

Ph.DNUS-TU/E JOINT PH.D. PROGRAMM

Process Mining for Quality Improvement: Propositions for Practice and Research

OBJECTIVE: Process mining offers ways to discover patient flow, check how actual processes conform to a standard, and use data to enhance or improve processes. Process mining has been used in health care for about a decade, however, with limited focus on quality improvement. Hence, the aim of the article is to present how process mining can be used to support quality improvement, thereby bridging the gap between process mining and quality improvement. METHOD: We have analyzed current literature to perform a comparison between process mining and process mapping. RESULT: To better understand how process mining can be used for quality improvement we provide 2 examples. We have noted 4 limitations that must be overcome, which have been formulated as propositions for practice. We have also formulated 3 propositions for future research. CONCLUSION: In summary, although process mapping is still valuable in quality improvement, we suggest increased focus on process mining. Process mining adds to quality improvement by providing a better understanding of processes in terms of uncovering (un)wanted variations as to obtain better system results

A life cycle approach to robust design methodology

This paper proposes a new practice of robust design methodology (RDM); to adopt a life cycle approach to noise factor identification. Such practice expands the boundary of traditional use of robust design where noise factors are generally known, observable and experimentally controllable. By exploiting information from claim data of a medium-sized Swedish manufacturing company, several other noise factors were identified and classified into product life cycle stages; factors that are often uncontrollable,unobservable, or unknown. Exploratory data analysis, interviews, and internal documents are used in this study. The results show that by analysing the claims data, the product’s failure modes can be identified and classified into various product life cycle stages. This enables identification of noise factors in each product life cycle stage. The use of a life cycle approach has two major implications. One is to expand the focus of RDM to encompass all product life cycle stages instead of being limited to a product development process. The other implication is that the practice proposed facilitates consideration of more stakeholders, in addition to one single customer by looking at consequences for society at large once the product is in use. Hence, the proposed RDM practice can be supportive of sustainable product development

Exploring the mediating role of affective and cognitive satisfaction on the effect of service quality on loyalty

This research aims to test the mediating role of both affective and cognitive satisfaction on the effect of service quality on loyalty. Affective satisfaction is represented by Kansei Engineering-based measures and cognitive satisfaction is represented by overall customer satisfaction. The study is based on a survey through personal interviewing and face-to-face questionnaire. There were 102 respondents from 24 hotels ranging from three-star to five-star hotels in Surabaya, Indonesia. There are four latent variables, namely, service quality, overall customer satisfaction, Kansei and loyalty. We found that both overall customer satisfaction and Kansei partially mediate the relationship between service quality and loyalty (approximately 52% mediation effects). In particular, the two mediators, namely, Kansei and overall customer satisfaction, account for 24% and 28% of the effect of service quality on loyalty, respectively. This research complements the previous research by taking into account both cognitive and affective satisfaction as mediators at the same time. It is shown that the two-mediator model fits the data better than using one mediator or no mediator. The generalisation of the results from the study is limited because of the relatively small sample size in a single service setting. Keywords: affective satisfaction; cognitive satisfaction; Kansei Engineering; service quality; loyalt

Exploring differences between private and public organizations in business excellence models

This study aims to explore the differences between public and private organizations in the paths of business excellence models and to identify the key drivers for creating business results and customer satisfaction. The partial least squares structural equation modeling technique is used to compare the path coefficients and to identify the key driver constructs for creating business results. The variation in endogenous constructs is found to be more difficult to explain or predict for private organizations than for public organizations, despite the fact that the performance of private organizations is almost always higher than or equal to the performance of public ones in all criteria. The effect of ‘leadership’ on ‘management of processes’ is significantly higher in public organizations than in private ones. However, ‘management of processes’ in public organizations does not seem to translate into ‘results’. The effect of ‘strategic planning’ on creating business ‘results’ is negative for public organizations and remains inconclusive, due to insufficient evidence, for private organizations. The results may not be generally applicable to other countries. However, they do support the move toward more tailor-made models for specific sectors. It is necessary to review the national business excellence model in order to fit specific sectors. This is the first study to investigate the differences between private and public organizations in the Swedish business excellence model

Robust Design Methodology for Sustainability

A key principle in Quality Management (QM) is customer focus and much research has aimed at techniques supportive of this principle. One example of a research area within QM focused on developing such techniques is Robust Design Methodology (RDM). Taguchi, an early proponent of robust design defined quality in a way that differs from others, i.e. as loss to the society caused by the product, thus not being restricted to an individual customer. Today, this definition seems to be well in line with the sustainability challenges in all disciplines. Thus, it is time to enhance RDM to again focus on preventing losses to the society and thereby contribute to sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to explore how RDM may support Sustainable Product Development (SPD) and thus propose a research agenda for enhancing quality practices towards sustainability. The house of quality is used as a research instrument; identifying linkages between RDM and SPD. Some examples of the findings include the strong relationship between clean manufacturing and all RDM strategies, and the need to broaden the scope of traditional RDM with respect to material use. Finally, a future research agenda towards RDM for sustainability is proposed

In search of member needs in coworking spaces

Coworking spaces represent a new trend for future workplaces. As more building owners are interested in running coworking space businesses, it becomes important to understand both why a potential member chooses one space over another and how to keep existing members at a coworking site. A sound understanding of member needs can make a difference. Unfortunately, very few studies have been conducted as to understanding a member’s basic needs in coworking spaces. In this paper, we aim to identify member’s needs in three coworking spaces in Sweden. Participant observations, immersion, and interviews were used for data collection. The member needs are categorized and structured through the lens of self-determination theory. In total, we uncovered, formulated, and categorized 21 member needs. We found that the fulfillment of one need may lead to the inhibition of another, thus creating tensions between and within coworking members. This research contributes to the literature by addressing the importance and definition of member needs for coworking as well as the created tensions related to these needs, which have been lacking in coworking studies

Meeting the cultural and service needs of Arabic international students by using QFD

Quality has become an important factor in global competition for many reasons. Intensive global competition and the demand for better quality by customers has led organizations to realize the benefits of providing quality products and services in order to successfully compete and survive. Higher education institutions are one example of these organisations. Higher education institutions work in an intensive competitive environment worldwide driven by increasing demands for learning by local and international students. As a result, the managers of these sectors have realized that improving the quality of services is important for achieving customer satisfaction which can help survival in an internationally competitive market. To do this, it is necessary for organizations to know their customers and identify their requirements. To this end, many higher education institutions have adopted principles of total quality management (TQM) to improve their education quality which leads to better performance through involvement of every department to achieve excellence in business. This chapter considers the importance of measuring quality in order to assist universities to proactively manage the design and improvement of the social and academic experiences of postgraduate international students, and plan management decision-making processes to deliver high-quality services in a globalized business of provision of higher education. Higher education institutions must operate effectively and efficiently and be able to deliver quality programs, by seeking to better understand the needs of their customers to be competitive in this market space

Studi tentang desain ekonomis peta kendali x dengan variable sampling rate

Pada makalah ini akan dibahas sebuah model ekonomis yang dibangun untuk desain peta kendali ShewhartXdengan Variable Sampling Rate (VSR). Model ekonomis ini tersusun atas parameter desain, parameter proses dan parameter biaya, yang akhirnya mencerminkan biaya jangka panjang tiap satuan waktu. Model ini digunakan untuk menghitung reduksi biaya yang dapat dihasilkan dari peta VSR jika dibandingkan dengan penggunaan peta tradisional dengan FSR (Fixed Sampling Rate). Prosentase reduksi yang diperoleh tergantung dengan nilai dari parameter proses dan biaya. Dengan mengetahui informasi besarnya reduksi biaya, maka akan dapat dipilih peta mana yang akan digunakan dengan mempertimbangkan nilai ekonomisnya Model dapat juga digunakan untuk mengetahui lebih jauh cara terbaik untuk merancang peta VSR maupun FSR yang optimal secara ekonomis untuk aplikasi tertentu. Hasil simulasi menunjukkan bahwa batas ukuran yang sama untuk ukuran cuplikan dan selang pencuplikan (cs=c,) lebih disukai dengan alasan nilai praktisnya walaupun dengan sedikit kenaikan pada biaya. Disimpulkan juga bahwa tingkat false alarm yang rendah dalam merancang peta VSR pada aplikasi secara umum membawa dampak yang lebih baik. Suatu studi kasus di perusahaan loudspeaker yang dibahas akan lebih memperjelas aplikasi dari desain ekonomis ini