THE QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT METHOD

By Dr Danijela Paunovic

Industrial way of production needs a thorough preparation of manufacturing because, simultaneously, it is necessary to combine several factors: people, time, machines and place of production, organization and material in a coordinated and rational system. Technological system of garment production must provide the quality of the product that is expected, necessary scope of production, delivery of ready-made garments in the expected time, maximal use of capacities with minimal expenses. Deviations and faults occur in different places and in various frequencies, because of a variety of designs of clothing articles and because of a great number of procedures in the production process.

QFD is a powerful tool that enables significant improvements in the product/process characteristics. However, it is not a short-term solution to the product development problems. QFD provides systematic approach to creation of the team outlook, on what needs to be done, the best ways to do it, the best order in which the proposed tasks have to be accomplished and on the staffing and resources   that are required to enhance customer's satisfaction. It is also a good format for capturing and recording/documenting the decision making. Applied through the Kaizen philosophy under Total Quality Management (TQM), QFD is a highly developed form of integrated product and process development in existence. Companies that were using QFD for the product development, have experienced, in average:

·         -50% reduction in costs,

·         -33% reduction in the product development time,

·         -200% of increase in productivity.

Producers of clothing products should, therefore, choose business strategy that will enable them to adapt to changes in the surrounding, they also, must study and implement TQM  approach for strategic management, as well as to adopt QFD method for efficiently reaching of goals of clothing products improvement.

In clothing industry which must realize high quality flexible product, the place and role of QFD method in the framework of the QMS quality loop has for a goal achievement of precisely defined level of quality that suites users' demands. 

In order to answer the question of what is happening with the product during its origination,  exploitation and finally, what are the needs that it has to satisfy  - it will be necessary to discuss its features already assuming that it is necessary to focus the research on the product. After initial classification of features, scope of research can be expanded on other essential questions: about the life span of the product, influences of time and space variables, chain of values, and other, relevant for the product.

 Finally, discussing usability of research of the product phenomenon in the framework of a separate theory indicates possibility of acquiring new knowledge on entity structure, their mutual ties.

Potential areas of research leaning on the Theory of product 

Placing the product into focus of research makes it possible to understand it as an entity that can satisfy the needs of mankind. Clearly stated position that generating of the product influences a large number of factors and circumstances whose influence should be researched, can be added to this. High level of rationality, observed from the point of view of sustainable development, will be present more and more in the future period.

QFD method is mostly used in quality management processes in Japanese companies, and so their experience is being followed in application and in the way of introduction into use. Japanese society for QC recommends QFD for defining "the voice of the buyer", as a scientific process. The voice of the buyer is also the motivating factor for the QFD method, and as such determines success or failure of the product and service on the market. Barnard and Wallace (1994) have integrated QFD as a compulsory method for development strategy defining.

Consumer's needs are one of the starting foundations of clothes designing; therefore information received from a designer must be realistic, clear, and precise with recommendation for the quality level of clothing articles. It must also be given promptly, so that the new collection can appear on the market at the right time. If the buyer's demands that are important for their satisfaction are not harmonized, critical components of the products and services not established, and then removed in the phase of critical parameters of the production process and not transferred into procedures and instructions for realization and control of clothing articles, the battle for prestigious place on the market and for the buyer of clothing articles will be lost.   

Implementation of the QFD method in clothing industry is represented through 4 principles of work in 4 phases:

·         phase 1 - translates buyer's demands into the product features,

·         phase 2 - translates the product features into features of its parts,

·         phase 3 - translates features of parts into technology of fabrication and

-       phase 4 - translates technology of fabrication into technical instructions.