Question
The production manager of ABC Shoe Company has asked you to create a house of quality matrix that will define the customer requirements of the running shoe as they relate to the capabilities of the manufacturing department. The company has determined a few of the requirements for the shoe. The shoe will be made of a rubber and nylon blend, will be a lace-up shoe, and will be available in black and white.
Create a house of quality matrix using quality function deployment, and complete the following:
- Create 3 customer requirements for the running shoe.
- Based on the 3 requirements, determine the capabilities that are required by the manufacturing department to be able to meet customer requirements.
- Explain to the production manager of the ABC Shoe Company your rationale for the customer requirements and how they fit into the business design strategy for this product.
Write a memo of 2–3 pages that does the following:
- Describes your matrix
- Describes why you believe that these customer requirements are related to the capabilities of the manufacturing department and how they fit into the business strategy of design.
Sample paper
HOUSE OF QUALITY CHART/MEMO
House of quality is a technique that aid to convert client’s needs into manufacturing features for a product or service. According to Bovea, M. et al. (2012), the method set a development target for each product and services. The process of integrates the quality assurance and control with the disposition of purpose that is used in value engineering (Golder, P. N. et al. 2012). To ensure that the product is of high quality, the developers focus on features of a novel or existing product or services from the viewpoints of technology, company, market segment, and other needs. Thus, this technique produces matrices and charts.
A Basic House of Quality Matrix
Source: Researcher, 2016
The list of objectives tops the basic house of quality function deployment. It explains the expectations of a specific product such as the running shoes. Commonly, the list of customers’ requirements is unclear in nature. The definition is accomplished the definition of new and more detailed list of secondary consumers that funds the primary customer desires. According to (Chu, Y. et al. 2016), the list is further grouped into a hierarchy ranging from primary, secondary, and tertiary clients requirements. For instance, the primary customer necessity can be dependability while the secondary requirement includes maintainability, longevity, and reliability.
Operational management entails designing a procedure that permeates the permanence of the business so that they can meet the set objectives and goals. The ABC Company have requested for a quality matrix based on the requirements of the clients ((Bovea, M. et al. 2012)). Thus, their core concern is to resolve their offer resolutions in this paper. The clients yearn for quality products that are based on three major factors namely price, durability and style options/quality character.
The price of the product should be affordable. The ABC Company should use raw materials that are of high quality. Also, they should check on the cost of production so that the prices are within the range of other prominent manufacturers such as Nike. According to (Chu, Y. et al. 2016), they should explore options such as economy of scale to reduce the cost of the products.
The quality of the shoe should be high for its durability. Therefore, the company should have durable materials for making up the shoes. It should withstand the training sessions and running sessions. The outsole should also repel wearing out over time (Bovea, M. et al. 2012). The customer needs a product that has a lasting period so that they can save on cost and optimize on benefits and satisfaction. By so doing, the ABC Company can have a competitive advantage over its competitors.
The shoe should have quality character and the runner it should be reliable. A running shoe should allow permeability. It includes the capability of the shoe to agree to or allow the channel of air or humidity to and from the shoe (Golder, P. N. et al. 2012). Secondly, the shoe should return energy engrossed during the foot strike. Thirdly, the running shoe should have stability. The ABC Company should ensure that it is stable while running on patchy surface. Fourthly, the shoe should have flexibility from the heel to the toe. Fifthly, its torsional flexibility should vary so that it does not twist much as people run. Sixthly, the shoe should grip the normal running surface and should have the cushioning consistency. Thus, the shoes should have the ability to provide consistency during a typical run. Lastly, the shoe weight should be comfortable to the runner so that it does not inconvenience them whilst running.
The manufacturing department should be equipped with training. They should have enhanced techniques in terms of technology so that they can produce quality produce. The product manager should ensure that there is teamwork in creation and manufacture of products. This ensures that there is consistency in the type of products created. According to Bovea, M. et al. (2012), the company should have a mechanism of routine measure and analysis of the shoes to ensure there quality is maintained. Further, the manufacturing department should have a continuous improvement philosophy of the products that they manufacture.
The key purpose of any business is to serve its customers with satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is achieved through offering quality products and enhancing customer’s relation (Golder, P. N. et al. 2012). The production manager should be aware that the satisfaction of customers yields loyalty, recognize unhappy clients, reduces whips and churns, and surge the revenue of the company (Chu, Y. et al. 2016). It will also aid the ABC Company to attract new clients in the competitive shoe manufacturing business.
There are other reasons why the project manager should manufacture a product that satisfies the customers. Client satisfaction is a metric to measure the success of the initiative. This is achieved by the client coming back to buy the product or giving referrals to other runners. Thus, a satisfied client improves his value to the business over a period of time or on lifetime. Statistics shoes that most of the clients cease from using particular merchandise due to the poor quality of goods and services more than price considerations.
References
Bovea, M., & Pérez-Belis, V. (2012). A taxonomy of ecodesign tools for integrating environmental requirements into the product design process. Journal of Cleaner Production, 20(1), 61-71.
Chu, Y., & Ren, H. (2016). Product Requirement Analysis Based on the Improved House of Quality. Journal of Grey System, 28(1).
Golder, P. N., Mitra, D., & Moorman, C. (2012). What is quality? An integrative framework of processes and states. Journal of Marketing, 76(4), 1-23.
