Quality 4.0 for Processes and Customers

Abstract

Purpose: Considering the speed of technological development towards the Industry 4.0 era the change is necessary for managerial aspects in industrial companies. In this paper an attempt is made to understand the influence of Industry 4.0 technologies on the Quality 4.0 concept better. Methodology/Approach: Two aspects were analysed in order to achieve the goal – the influence of Industry 4.0 on quality management and the influence of Quality 4.0 on customer satisfaction. The paper is based on a literature review and a pilot study based on questionnaires prepared for research purposes. Findings: It was found out that the emergence of new technologies is beneficial for Quality Management processes and customer satisfaction. Moreover, the influence is greatly described by the amount of data now available for analysis. However, as the concept of Quality 4.0 is in its infancy, the necessary change is still required. Research Limitation/Implication: As the research was conducted in the Czech Republic, the results are limited according to the territory. Also, the study was based on the literature review available from SCOPUS and WoS databases in English, thus further studies of available literature in other languages might be needed. Originality/Value of paper: Although the quality tools that are used in Quality 4.0 are already known and accepted the influence of advanced technologies on quality management is not clear. In this paper an attempt is made to understand the influence.

Developing a Quality 4.0 Maturity Index for Improved Business Operational Efficiency and Performance

“…With the technological advances and the advent of the 4IR, the focus on quality shifted toward Quality 4.0. While "Quality 4.0" is still in its infancy and no standard has been established, some authors have already addressed its implications within an industry and business firm context (Efimova and Briš, 2021). Several studies on Quality 4.0 have associated it with the impact of technology on TQM (Sader, Husti and Daróczi, 2019;Chiarini, 2020;Nenadál, 2020;Carvalho et al, 2021).…”

“…It helps to generate a comprehensive list of customer wants and requirements that are grouped hierarchically and ranked according to their relative relevance and importance, as well as the level of satisfaction. Efimova and Briš (2021) posited that innovative technologies are advantageous to quality management processes and customer satisfaction. This is mainly driven by the amount of customer data that these technologies are capable of providing for decision-making and competitive advantage.…”

“…Quality 4.0 analytical strategies add to the body of knowledge to enhance total quality management already enhanced by technologies associated with the fourth industrial revolution. As Efimova and Briš (2021) highlighted that Quality 4.0 is still in its infancy and no standard has been established, use of such strategies can help to improve the business and industry base surrounding Quality 4.0,. Thus, this study has also contributed to the quality 2030 agenda which focuses on quality management of the future, in particular the "stability in change" which relates to the idea that organisations require not only continuity or stability, but also change, including disruptive change involving technologies (Fundin et al, 2020).…”

“…Quality 4.0 is still in its infancy and necessary improvements to it will demand resources. Nonetheless, the benefits of technologies in quality management could offer industrial businesses a competitive advantage (Efimova and Briš, 2021). It is suggested that a validation study be done using the methodology and principles outlined in the article.…”

Monitoring the Connection Between the Application of EFQM Model Principles and the Results of Organisations

“…Maintaining high performance and ensuring long-term profitability and sustainability is still one of the significant challenges facing managers of organisations. (Efimova and Briš, 2021) Managerial models of business excellence define core strategic competencies that enable businesses to secure sustainable competitive advantage through selfassessment. It is imperative that the models also need to be improved over time, as do standards such as the ISO 9000 series.…”