ABSTRACT
The design engineer is thinking in terms of wall thicknesses, draft angles and boss sizes on castings, and bend radii on pipes. By contrast, over-the-fence engineering shackles the designers even in well-run companies, and results in excessive cost. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) ensures that the product meets the customers’ requirements when it goes into production just as well as at the concept stage. The process of identifying the customers’ requirements becomes a major operation, and one that merits maximum priority from management. In drawing up the quality planning matrix, customer wants are first rated according to the importance attached to them by customers. The views of the customer, the levels of competition, and the engineering criteria form the basis of the QFD matrix. An engineering specification can be drawn up, and process sheets produced. In drawing up the quality planning matrix, customer wants are first rated according to the importance attached to them by customers.
