Abstract: People are paying greater attention to health. To maintain a good health status and obtain food fast, customers may go to healthy fast-food chain restaurants such as Subway more often than before in China and Taiwan. Healthy fast-food chain restaurants come with a healthy spin, seeking to differentiate themselves from other fast-food restaurants. This paper combined the refined Kano model and the quality function deployment (QFD) method. The refined Kano model was used to understand how customers perceive service attributes developed based on DINESERV measurements. QFD was employed to describe the relationships among the critical service attributes and corresponding improvements as well as to identify the priority for these improvements. The analysis results revealed that providing limited offers (due to periods, seasons, and regions) should be at the top of their improvement list, followed by staff suggestions for ingredients, and a temperature display to enhance the image of fresh ingredients. Other improvement actions include providing regular launches of new flavors/products, designing new and attractive slogans, and providing restaurant apps.

Abstract: Purpose In today’s intense global competition, agility is advocated as a fundamental characteristic for business survival and competitiveness. The purpose of this paper is to propose a practical methodology to achieve and enhance organizational agility based on strategic objectives. Design/methodology/approach In the first step, a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) of the organization being studied are recognized and classified under the perspectives of balanced scorecard (BSC). Critical success factors are then identified by ranking the KPIs according to their importance in achieving organizational strategic objectives using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). In the second step, three houses of quality (HOQs) are constructed sequentially to identify and rank the main agile attributes, agile enablers, and improvement paths. In addition, in order to translate linguistics judgments of practitioners into numerical values in building HOQs, fuzzy logic is employed. Findings The capability of the proposed methodology is demonstrated by applying it to a case of a multi-national food company in Iran. Through the application, the company could find the most suitable improvement paths to improve its organizational agility. Research limitations/implications A limited number of KPIs were chosen due to computational and visual constraints related to HOQs. Another limitation, similar to other agility studies, which facilitate decision making among agility metrics, was that the metrics were more industry-specific and less inclusive. Practical implications A strong practical advantage for the application of the methodology over directly choosing agility metrics without linking them is that through the methodology, the right metrics were selected that match organization’s core values and marketing objectives. While metrics may ostensibly seem unrelated or inappropriate, they actually contributed to the right areas where there were gaps between the current and desired level of agility. It would otherwise be impossible to choose the right metrics without a structured methodology. Originality/value This paper proposes a novel methodology for achieving organizational agility. By utilizing and linking several tools such as BSC, fuzzy TOPSIS, and quality function deployment (QFD), the proposed approach enables organizations to identify the most appropriate agile attributes, agile enablers, and subsequently agile improvement paths.

Abstract: Increased internet usage and fast-paced consumer’s demands have created business opportunities, including online food delivery services. However, competition with similar national-scale businesses allegedly contributed to the decline in the number of XYZ company orders, one of the food-delivery service providers in Yogyakarta. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the need’s attributes of the daring food delivery service consumers, to find out the service-quality satisfaction level, and to determine the technical requirement for improving the delivery service. The combination of Servqual and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) were then used to reach the research goals. The online survey instruments, which were borrowed from the previous studies and adapted for this study, were distributed from June 2016 to February 2017 to more than 700 XYZ’s consumers, with the number of respondents who answered as many as 213 peoples. Cronbach’s Alpha, the most common test for multiple Likert questions in a survey, was then used for analyzing the collected data. The result shows that order conformity; politeness and friendliness of messengers and administrative workers; cleanliness of food box; a good conditionof received ordered food; and affordable delivery costs are the top five attributes of consumer needs. Meanwhile, the top five observed technical requirements are the provision of skills training to messengers and administrative workers; periodic evaluations of service performance; the regular addition of food outlet members; providing map feature on the company website, and provision of ordering applications. The identified requirements can benefit local food delivery service providers in competing with national scale competitors and adapt to disruptive age.

Abstract: Abstract The following paper concentrates on some problems resulting from the use of Quality Function Deployment method in industrial enterprises. It is not an easy task although the method itself has many advantages. The aim of the paper is to analyse basic international literature as well as the main advantages and limitations of the Quality Function Deployment

Abstract: The planning activity relative to physical items, environment, and services that adapts to optimize social, economic, and ecological impact is the target of sustainable design. Quality Function Dep...

Abstract: A product which can be a physical object or a service should be functional and emotional to satisfy the customer's need, and to offer value, be delivered as the way customer demanded. Also, it has to include other specific elements like providing customer services. New product is the result of a creative and unique idea that is able to make consumers satisfied. In the process of new product development, it should not be thought that the change will only be on product physically but also on every aspect of the product. The difference between ideas increases production of different goods. The different kind of goods can positively affect the customers' opinion about a business. When a new business starts to produce a product which satisfies customer's need, then the demand of competitor's product which was already in the market may be decreased. Establishment of new product development (NPD) departments and their direct influence in the production process is crucial for businesses. They can determine demand and needs of consumers by applying different theories. These theories can be classified as (i) product-service systems, (ii) the Kano model, (iii) conjoint analysis, (iv) the product value matrix and (v) quality function deployment.

Abstract: The risk management of hazardous materials (HazMats) transportation is a systematic process consisting of risk identification, evaluation, and control. A quality function deployment-based framework under fuzzy environment is proposed to effectively regulate the risks and manage the safety of HazMats transportation process. The framework includes three components. A 4D identification system, namely, “H (human) – M (material) – E (environment) – M (management),” for risk factors is constructed in the first stage, and the basic importance rating of each factor is calculated in the second stage. Subsequently, the corresponding risk control measures are proposed, and the correlation between risk factors and control measures are identified. Finally, the improved priority of each risk control measure, which is the benchmark for limited enterprise resource allocation and risk management policy development, is calculated in the third stage. In particular, this study utilizes fuzzy linguistic terms that are then transformed into triangular fuzzy numbers as evaluation tool for facilitating the expression of experts and decreasing information loss by considering the uncertainty and ambiguity of risk evaluation process. In addition, a new comprehensive weighting model is constructed to determine the influence of experts under group decision-making environment. The proposed framework is applied to explain the process of the risk management and loss prevention of a HazMats transportation company in China. Results not only provide certain acceptable recommendations to safety management of HazMat transportation process but also verify the feasibility and validity of the proposed approach.

Abstract: This paper investigates multi-agent service quality problems in the area of airport management and proposes the use of the multilayer quality function deployment (QFD) model to compromise the requi...

Abstract: This paper presents an original integrated procedure to evaluate and select suppliers for purchasing decisions. The procedure exploits the quality function deployment approach to define the supplie...

Abstract: Despite the evolution of regulations in the field of occupational health and safety promoted in EU countries, the number of accidents and victims has not significantly decreased in recent years, especially in constructions and agriculture sectors, as underlined by official reports of the Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority. Main reasons of such a situation are due to the characteristics of working activities in these sectors. The variety of operations, the frequent exchange of tasks among workers within the same company, the continuous change of workplaces, the frequent exchange of workers for the same activity (e.g. seasonal workers), and the workers’ stress caused by seasonal jobs. For these reasons both risk assessment and safety management activities result in being more difficult than in other working sectors. Thus, it is important to provide methodologies and tools that allow companies to carry out these tasks more effectively. In such a context, the study proposed by Esra Bas in 2014 certainly represents an attempt to provide a supporting methodology for engineers engaged in risk assessment activities. This approach consists in the use of the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) method, and it is aimed at evaluating how specific tasks can be in relationship with specific hazards, which in turn are related to specific events, and finally at defining what preventive/protective measures can be introduced against those events. Based on this, we tried to further investigate such an approach, with the goal of providing an easier-to-use tool, which can be used in risk assessment activities of critical contexts as the agriculture one. With this aim in mind, a case study concerning the risk assessment of an agricultural machinery was carried out.

Abstract: Green supplier evaluation and selection plays a crucial role in the green supply chain management of any organization to reduce the purchasing cost of materials and increase the flexibility and quality of products.

Abstract: This paper presents a case study using Quality Function Deployment (QFD) method to identify urban public transport users’ needs and requests and to improve service quality in urban public passenger transport in Belgrade. In order to determine users’ satisfaction, a direct interview – survey a sample of 15000 of urban public passenger transport system users, according to the defined questionnaire has been performed. Results of these interviews are used as input in the first stage of QFD method. An overall unit of eight features and a total of 48 sub-features were defined, which describes all aspects of quality of system and services in urban public passenger transport. The results show that for maximizing effects of quality of service improvement and satisfying customers’ requirements, the public transport service providers and managers in Belgrade should focus primarily on the service reliability and vehicle elements. The two most important quality of service sub-features in urban public passenger transport system in Belgrade based on frequency of statements of users was regularity with 4896 (32.64%) and vehicle comfort (not crowded vehicles) with 3446 (22.97%) statements. Based on the service features analysis within the house of quality, it was defined that the biggest influence is generated through system functioning parameters (reliability): frequency with relative importance 22.0%, staff (drivers) with relative importance 14.0% and headway with relative importance 13.0%. Based on absolute importance the greatest importance should be assigned to vehicle frequency – rank 1, staff (drivers) – rank 2 and headway – rank 3.

Abstract: Product planning, as typically the first phase of quality function deployment, involves identifying customer requirements and translating them into technical requirements. Understanding true custom...

Abstract: The virtue of quality is not itself a subject; it depends on a subject. In the software engineering field, quality means good software products that meet customer expectations, constraints, and requirements. Despite the numerous approaches, methods, descriptive models, and tools, that have been developed, a level of consensus has been reached by software practitioners. However, in the model-driven engineering (MDE) field, which has emerged from software engineering paradigms, quality continues to be a great challenge since the subject is not fully defined. The use of models alone is not enough to manage all of the quality issues at the modeling language level. In this work, we present the current state and some relevant considerations regarding quality in MDE, by identifying current categories in quality conception and by highlighting quality issues in real applications of the model-driven initiatives. We identified 16 categories in the definition of quality in MDE. From this identification, by applying an adaptive sampling approach, we discovered the five most influential authors for the works that propose definitions of quality. These include (in order): the OMG standards (e.g., MDA, UML, MOF, OCL, SysML), the ISO standards for software quality models (e.g., 9126 and 25,000), Krogstie, Lindland, and Moody. We also discovered families of works about quality, i.e., works that belong to the same author or topic. Seventy-three works were found with evidence of the mismatch between the academic/research field of quality evaluation of modeling languages and actual MDE practice in industry. We demonstrate that this field does not currently solve quality issues reported in industrial scenarios. The evidence of the mismatch was grouped in eight categories, four for academic/research evidence and four for industrial reports. These categories were detected based on the scope proposed in each one of the academic/research works and from the questions and issues raised by real practitioners. We then proposed a scenario to illustrate quality issues in a real information system project in which multiple modeling languages were used. For the evaluation of the quality of this MDE scenario, we chose one of the most cited and influential quality frameworks; it was detected from the information obtained in the identification of the categories about quality definition for MDE. We demonstrated that the selected framework falls short in addressing the quality issues. Finally, based on the findings, we derive eight challenges for quality evaluation in MDE projects that current quality initiatives do not address sufficiently.

Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to apply the proposed methodology to develop the product as per customer’s requirements (CRs) and increase customer satisfaction (CS). Design/methodology/approach The companies are using different methods to identify CRs and translate these requirements into new products. The Kano model is used to identify CRs. The result of the Kano model is used in quality function deployment (QFD) to decide the priority for improvements of CRs and the technical requirements. Findings The integration of the Kano model and QFD is applied on the mobile phone. The Kano model helps to find out the CRs which affect the CS, such as attractive (A) attribute, one (O)-dimensional attribute and must be (M) attribute. The QFD method helps to translate the CRs into technical requirements so that the designer can decide priority of requirements for improvement or new product development. Research limitations/implications The proposed methodology can be applied to different consumers as well as industrial products. Originality/value The Kano model has been used in manufacturing as well as service sector. This work explores its usefulness and applicability for consumer and industrial products.

Abstract: Our paper analyzes close collaboration between a manufacturer of domestic appliances and consumer electronics and its customers It reflects on the inclusion of open innovation by users that is presented in the paper on the case of the development of the refrigerator door handle, with an emphasis on design and functionality The main research question we wanted to answer was whether a buyer (customer/consumer) might actively participate in the process of a new product development It was interesting to test it in a highly dynamic industry setup since white goods are becoming an integral part of consumers’ life style and not just a mere home appliances used for routine housekeeping tasks Research sample includes 146 respondents We applied the conjoint analysis and quality function deployment (QFD) in order to test and understand how customers perceive the different attributes of a new product development process

Abstract: Manufacture industries that produce automotive components are conducting studies about things that can improve customer satisfaction. This is due to customer claims regarding quality and product delivery. Another problem is the not yet optimal Just In Time (JIT) system implemented by the Company. To overcome these problems, then in this study conducted customer satisfaction analysis using the method of Quality Function Deployment (QFD). The results of the study will be used as materials for improvement on Machine Capacity, material specification, store and work instructions process. The results found priority issues based on House of Quality that has been made, should be done on the machine capacity, material specification, and storage system and then proceeded with the work instructions process.

Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an enhanced version of quality function deployment (QFD) that captures customers’ present and future preferences, accurately prioritizes product specifications and eventually translates them into desirable quality products. Under rapidly changing environments, customer requirements and preferences are constantly changing and evolving, rendering essential the realization of the dynamic role of the “Voice of the Customer (VoC)” in the design and development of products. Design/methodology/approach The proposed methodological framework incorporates a Multivariate Markov Chain (MMC) model to describe the pattern of changes in customer preferences over time, the Fuzzy AHP method to accommodate the uncertainty and subjectivity of the “VoC” and the LP-GW-AHP to discover the most important product specifications in order to structure a robust QFD method. This enhanced QFD framework (MMC-QFD-LP-GW-Fuzzy AHP) takes into consideration the dynamic nature of the “VoC” captures the actual customers’ preferences (WHATs) and interprets them into design decisions (HOWs). Findings The integration of MMC models into the QFD helps to handle the sequences of customers’ preferences as categorical data sequences and to consider the multiple interdependencies among them. Originality/value In this study, a MMC model is introduced for the first time within QFD, in an effort to extend the concept of listening to further anticipating to customer wants. Gaining a deeper understanding of current and future customers’ preferences could help organizations to design products and plan strategies that more effectively and efficiently satisfy them.

Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop the C-shaped quality function deployment (QFD) 3D Matrix for service applications. Design/methodology/approach The C-shaped QFD 3D Matrix proposed by Vezzetti et al. (2016) has been developed for simultaneous analysis of the relationships among three sets of factors of customer requirements, service design characteristics and service performance indicators. The three sets of factors have been determined and based on their interrelationships, 3D and concurrent houses of quality have been formed. Then, service design characteristics and service performance indicators have been prioritized. The obtained priorities have been also compared with traditional concurrent model of QFD. Findings The findings obtained from the traditional and developed approach seem different, implying that applying the C-shaped QFD 3D Matrix provides a more real perspective of concurrent engineering and the results in different set of priorities of service factors. Research limitations/implications The case study was limited to banking services. If the developed approach is used in other institutes, the prioritization of service design characteristics and service performance indicators might be changed. Originality/value Compared to Vezzetti et al. (2016) who proposed the C-shaped QFD 3D Matrix for analyzing interrelationships among two customers and a provider, or two providers and a customer, in this paper, the C-shaped QFD 3D Matrix has been developed for analyzing interrelationships among three sets of factors of customer requirements, service design characteristics and service performance indicators.

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to analyze perceptions of quality in the chicken meat supply chain.,This survey covered 74 different farms, slaughterhouses, meat processors, and retailers and 500 consumers, using two methods. From the farm to retail, analysis covered “customer – supplier” viewpoints in different stages of the supply chain. From the consumers to the farms, the quality function deployment method was used. Five houses of quality have been developed using the Delphi method to synthesize the opinions of experts.,Farm-slaughter comparison shows that final weight at farm gate and animal welfare are the most important quality attributes. The quality aspect important for slaughterhouses and meat processors is the cold chain. Retailers and meat processors highlight the portfolio of various chicken meat products as their most important quality attribute. At the points of sale, shelf illumination and product placement are prevailing.,The results suggest that there are different views on quality by all actors in the supply chain, from quality of chicken meat, food safety and quality of service in retail to profitability and animal welfare.,The paper enhances simplicity in analyzing quality aspects of different types of meat supply chains. This methodology enables a synergy of value chain promotion with other quality development approaches. It also creates possibilities for policy makers to improve competitiveness strategies.,Application of a similar approach to other parts of the food chain could offer a better insight into the transformation of quality.