Matrix-based quality tools for concept generation in eco-design

Abstract

While quality management systems are familiar to industries for continuous improvements of products, the associated tools can also make significant contributions to address environmental concerns, aligning eco-design in the product improvement process. In this context, this article focuses on the adaptions of quality tools for supporting the generation of eco-design concepts. Particularly, this article develops a method that integrates quality function deployment and functional analysis via relational matrices. The proposed method has three steps. In step 1, an existing design is analyzed, and the associations between design entities are captured in three types of relational matrices: requirements and metrics, metrics and components, and functions and components. In step 2, the mapping between requirements and functions are determined via matrix multiplications, and then a morphological chart is established to generate possible design concepts. In step 3, the generated concepts are evaluated using Pugh charts via the delegated engineering metrics. A hair dryer has been selected as an application to demonstrate the proposed method for supporting eco-design.

Sustainable supply chain quality management: A systematic review

“…Fundamental quality management concepts including Deming's Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cylic management tool, quality function deployment, continuous improvement, customer focus and stakeholder management were identified to be synergistic with sustainability management (Alemam and Li, 2016;Kuei and Lu, 2012;Rusinko, 2005;Siva et al, 2016;Zink, 2007). PDCA cycle with its iterative improvement framework, was adapted for sustainability (TBL) practice implementation and change management facilitation by Kuei and Lu (2012), Asif et al (2011) and Rusinko (2005).…”

“…developed an integrated quality and environmental sustainability performance management framework for sustainable development of construction projects, consisting of three key elements: "building level (quality and sustainability assessment), process/project level (established QMS and EMS) and product level (conformance through environmental product declaration)" Aquilani et al (2016). integrated TQM and TBL, redefining critical success factors at their interface with a view to foster organizational sustainability through QM processes and value co-creation Alemam and Li (2016). integrated quality function deployment (QFD) tool with functional design analysis through relational matrices for environmental sustainability improvements.…”

Integrating Sustainability in Product Requirements

“…They use expertise to correlate the stakeholder requirements with traditional design parameters such as cost, weight, manufacturability and so forth. Modular Design and FA can also be combined with QFD, as found among the 15 QFD-focused papers, e.g., in Alemam and Li (2016) and Devanathan et al (2010). The common characteristic for these approaches is that they semantically correlate sustainability (or rather environmental) aspects into functional requirements.…”

“…The common characteristic for these approaches is that they semantically correlate sustainability (or rather environmental) aspects into functional requirements. In QFD, for instance, an eco-design strategy such as 'reduce material use' can be translated into the functional requirement of 'low product weight' (Romli et al, 2015;Alemam and Li, 2016;Salari and Bhuiyan, 2016). Similarly, AD and FA allow designers to construct design parameters from functional requirements, which can be oriented towards sustainability and evaluated in matrices (Morrison et al, 2013;Beng and Omar, 2014;Lacasa et al, 2015;Lacasa et al, 2016).…”

“…A similar approach is used in Vinodh et al (2014), and in Salari and Bhuiyan (2016) where the Life Cycle Design Strategies are used to formulate customer requirements in a Green QFD. Romli et al (2015) and Alemam and Li (2016) use eco-design strategies to formulate environmental criteria, to which ad hoc social considerations, such as human health and working conditions, are added. Recently, Popoff and Millet (2017) proposed the EcoCSP-QFD in which environmental performance, i.e., climate change, human health, ecosystem quality and resources, and costs are used to conduct the QFD.…”