Automotive QFD Papers

To find an article about a particular industry application or method in this page, use Ctrl+F for keyword search.

To view a complete list of published QFD papers, go to All Proceedings.

To order, please used the Order Form.

1989: 1st Symposium on QFD (ISBN1-889477-01-X)

Read ALL abstracts in 1989    |   Order Form

Vehicle Wiring QFD, D. Carter, K. Hasenstab and S. Schafer, Electro-Wire; R. Uroda, Ford B&AGO.  The QFD core team consisting of design engineering, advanced systems engineering, product engineering, and QA from Electro-Wire and Ford reports their pilot QFD efforts. The project involved application of QFD in  the design, manufacturing, and assembly of the wiring harness for an entire vehicle. The objectives were to learn QFD methodology, establish foundation for future vehicles and impact current vehicle. The paper reports the steps taken and the resulting benefits.

Pre-Planning a Total Product:. The Key to Success in Complex Product Development Situations, C. W. Kurowski, Chrysler Motors.  Utilization of QFD sometimes resulted in a very long customer requirements list. This adds complexity to product planning and development of large and complex products. Using QFD as a tool to help systemize the total process plan, a macro "Pre-Planning QFD" has been developed to organize data to determine the two or three important product characteristics that will enhance the product for increased customer satisfaction. This paper explains this new concept and matrix.

QFD: A Systems Approach to Brake Design, T. J. Bodell and R. A. Russell, Kelsey-Hayes Company.  Kelsey-Hayes began using the concepts of the QFD process in 1986 and had done a couple of studies on developed components. A new vehicle program at one of the Big Threes directed them into the next study, which turned out to be a complete systems QFD study encompassing new products as well as all of the KH products. The paper reports their progress to date in the on-going initiatives.

Front End Accessory Drive Design - A QFD Approach, R. Ahoor, Ford/Engine Product and Manufacturing Engineering. The front end accessory drive belt drive system was chosen for a QFD study, because of the extremely challenging performance and warranty objectives. This paper reports the benefits of the QFD experience specifically as it applied to the modular engine program, including the relationship of QFD to the use of engineering tools such as simulation program, design of experiments and cross-functional team approach for system design.

SMC Truck Hood, M. Gavoor and G. Marcel, Rockwell International; Greg MacIver, Ashland Chemical. This paper provides an insight to Rockwell International Automotive Operation's philosophy and approach to QFD highlighting the SMC Truck Hood project. This project illustrates the organizational commitment necessary to successfully implement QFD. How QFD and existing product development procedures were integrated is explained.

QFD: A Road Map for Survival in the 1990's, D. Makie, Masland Industries. Why can the Japanese introduce a new vehicle in half the time and with superior quality than the U.S. auto companies? A large part of the answer seemed to be QFD. For this reason, Masland employed QFD as a strategy for survival in the 1990's. This case study, the company's second QFD efforts, involved the development of a full floor carpet system. This reports explains how QFD principles were put to work in a step-by-step fashion and what they have learned through the process.

Top

1990: 2nd Symposium on QFD (ISBN1-889477-02-8)

Read ALL abstracts in 1990    |   Order Form

Overview of Quality Function Deployment, R. J. Dika, Chrysler Corporation.  Within the community of quality and reliability professionals, there has been an explosion of interest in QFD, study and discussion on the subject. This paper presents in a global way, a statement of what QFD is and a brief description of its universal elements, essential principles, and mechanics and definitions, with intent to set a common starting place for all Symposium participants.

Steering Column Concept Selection for Low Cost and Weight, R. L. Begley, Chrysler Corporation. Most engineers approach the "Design" sequence in fashions which they have learned while on the job. Very little formal training exists at the university level which translates directly into how an engineer might choose the appropriate design for the task at hand. Additionally, very few corporations offer courses instructing the engineering community on what techniques should be used to select an appropriate design and then to improve it. Through an example of  the selection process for a steering column assembly experience at Chrysler, this paper demonstrates the application of QFD, Competitive Benchmarking and Value Engineering as very powerful tools for the engineer to use in the design process.

Ford - GE Blower Motor Project, H. Wadke and A. Palumbo, Ford Motor Corporation; M. Cicala, American Supplier Institute.  Presentation slides on an application of QFD in the Ford-GE blower motor project.

Quality Improvement - Start at the Beginning with QFD, W. H. Selecman, Ernst & Young.  Most companies in the Automotive Industry are having great difficulty implementing SPC. They are typically satisfying Big 3 requirements but harvesting few benefits. This article discusses the rationale and impact of changing the approach for attaining quality improvement to employ QFD to focus more heavily on refining activities that must be done precisely. A series of lessons learned in instructing and applying QFD to automotive products are included. The linkage between QFD and other elements of the quality tool kit are explored.

Top

1991: 3rd Symposium on QFD ISBN1-889477-03-6

Read ALL abstracts in 1991    |   Order Form

Overview of Quality Function Deployment, R. J. Dika, Chrysler Corporation.  Within the community of quality and reliability professionals, there has been an explosion of interest in QFD, study and discussion on the subject. This paper presents in a global way, a statement of what QFD is and a brief description of its universal elements, essential principles, and mechanics and definitions, with intent to set a common starting place for all Symposium participants.

Concept Development Through Teamwork - Working for Quality, Cost, Weight and Investment, Robert J. Dika and Ray L. Begley, Chrysler Corporation.  This paper resents a method for developing a product design and manufacturing process concept, before project final approval, which integrates several other methodologies and uses cross-functional teams. It is a method for completing a "paper" study which quickly considers many of the downstream stems of product development, which will be conducted in greater detail later. It results in a selection of the best design and process for the overall product application and supports this selection with sound numerical targets for quality, cost, weight, investment and process capability.

Application of a QFD and Other Quality Tools to a Trunk System, Bill Biondo, General Motors.  A QFD application case study presented by General Motors. The project goal was to produce a quality trunk system which meets or exceeds the customers expectations by understanding the customer's requirements, and the resulting product, process and production floor requirements. The process began with the VOC, translation of the voice into product characteristics, and assessment of strength of the characteristic relationships. Competitive benchmarking was done to determine the priority of each characteristics and the level of complexity. The processes continued from system to component to process to production floor. At each level, the critical elements were focused on and studied.

Top

1992: 4th Symposium on QFD (ISBN1-889477-04-4)

Read ALL abstracts in 1992    |   Order Form

The Utilization of QFD in the LH Powertrain Program, Glenn W. Czupinski, Don H. Kerska, Chrysler Corporation.  The LH was the first major program at Chrysler Corporation to use QFD beginning at the total vehicle level and then prioritizing critical system areas for more detailed study. The LH powertrain project was one of five strategically identified areas requiring further analysis. As a result of the QFD study, four critical subsystems of the LH powertrain were identified needing extra design attention in order to ensure customer satisfaction. The paper discusses the challenge to the engineers and the major benefits of implementing QFD in this project.

Reducing Time to Market for New Products: QFD in Action, Kevin O'Brien, Ph.D., Raychem Corporation.  This project illustrates how QFD can be used to significantly reduce the time to market required for the development of new products. Focusing on the automotive industry, the paper explains how this can be achieved using the matrix approach  to analyze critical processes to determine critical process parameters and coupling the information with designed experiments and SPC to assist in improving the final product delivered to the customer.

Top

1993: 5th Symposium on QFD (ISBN1-889477-05-2)

Read ALL abstracts in 1993    |   Order Form

QFD Implementation at Chrysler - The First Seven Years, Robert J. Dika, Chrysler Corporation.  QFD appears to be a simple and rational method to translate customer requirements into appropriate company technical requirements. It is also the nature of QFD to challenge some of the basic assumptions and traditions of the new product development systems in mature organizations. Since it demands a change in the ways that we think and act as a company, it will meet resistance. This paper presents the story of successes and struggles that Chrysler has experienced in the integration of QFD into its development process. It reports the steady growth in both the number and significance of QFD projects over a seven year period, and shows that QFD can be a strategy in the movement toward a TQM culture.

Utilization of QFD Principles In Chrysler's 1995 Small Car Program, Monte G. Myers, Chrysler Corporation.  Is it possible for an American automobile manufacturer to design and build an affordable, fun to drive small car, in North America and at the same time make a profit? Chrysler's Small Car Platform Team not only believes that this is possible, but is on the verge of proving it to the world. This team has continually challenged itself to "Dare To Be Different" in all aspects of the automobile design and development process in an effort to challenge this paradigm. This paper presents a case study of a large scale, total vehicle program. It discusses the QFD process as used by Chrysler's Small Car Platform Team during the design and development phases of the new small car slated for an early 1995 model year introduction.

Application of QFD to Launch of G.M. D-Car Air Bag, Leonard Pavia, Mexican Industries in Michigan, Inc.   As a tier two supplier for air bags, Mexican Industries does not interact with the end item customer to be involved in the first phase of QFD in determining the customers demands or wants and translating them into design requirements. However, the company does become actively involved in Phase Two "Part Deployment," Phase Three "Process Planning" and Phase Four "Production Planning." This paper explores the application of these three phases of QFD to a vary unique air bag designed to meet the customer demand of protecting not only the regular passenger but also the third person sitting in the front seat.

Volvo's E.C.C. (Environmental Concept Car) - QFD applied to a Future Concept Car, S. Voegele, Volvo Monitoring and Concept Center.  While the majority of the world's automakers are involved in intense R&D of battery-powered electric cars that will meet the CAFE requirements, Volvo has taken a different view: Meet California's zero emission vehicle standard set for 1998 but also take the desires of Volvo customers into consideration. The voice of the Volvo customer guided the entire concept development process. Using QFD as a concept development tool provided product requirements that were surprisingly different from initial expectations.

Strategic Management of (Standard) QFD, Keith B. Termaat, Ford Motor.   After five years of QFD, things right and things wrong with QFD were evaluated to specify a Ford standard process to achieve faster cycle time, reduced engineering workload and better direct marketing research and software institutional support. This paper describes a Ford proprietary QuickQFDTM process which relies on templates for wants, hows, and interactions to rapidly focus on no more than a couple of dozen each.

Aligning The Product Development Process Using Momentum(R) QFD: A Case Study In Letting The Voice Of The Customer Drive The Conceptualization Of a New Leak Detector, R. Norman, Leemak Training Systems, Inc.  Using a case study, this paper examines the phases a company went through to implement a process for concurrent product development. The first phase included Voice of the Customer alignment and tools, the second phase embodied the tools and techniques of QFD, and the third phase involved implementing the plan.

Back to Top

1994: 6th Symposium on QFD (ISBN1-889477-06-0)
Read ALL abstracts in 1994    |   Order Form

Making The Neon Fun To Drive, J.E. Fernandez, J.L. Chamberlin, E.G. Kramer, J.H. Broomall, H.A. Rori, and R.L. Begley, Chrysler Corporation.  The paper recounts the QFD and PDCA efforts utilized by Chrysler's Small Car Platform teams in the development of the "Fun to Drive" steering and suspension characteristics of the 1995 Neon. Starting with customer requirements, the teams established the relationship of the requirements to engineering measurements at the vehicle level and identified which of the important vehicle characteristics were associated with what vehicle components. The project  resulted a profitable small car program in North America. The QFD process brought all parties to become of a single mind and work in concert toward a specific goal - Fun to Drive, QFD.

Utilization Of QFD Principles For Defining The Functional Objectives Of Future Jeep And Dodge Truck Vehicles, TS. Zaydel, Chrysler Corporation.  This paper reports the application of QFD at Chrysler for deigning the functional objectives of future jeeps and trucks. It discusses an overview of the methodology in use at Jeep and Truck Engineering to provide the customer with a truck that is competitive as to application and price and still has the qualities that will influence the customer to purchase a Jeep or Dodge Truck over the competition. QFD principles served as the backbone for the process utilized to achieve this goal.

Using QFD To Improve Process Of Automotive Painting, C. Miller, Ford Motor Company.  The pilot application of QFD to improve an automotive painting process is reported. QFD was used to understand the relationships between what customers want in a paint job and process variables, to focus resources on the most important process variables for measurement and control. The report from the on-going project focuses on the process of performing QFD on a manufacturing process.

Automotive Electrical Distribution System Junction Box-Current QFD (CQFD), D.L. Fluharty, AFL Automotive.  AFL conducted a three-phase concurrent QFD (CQFD) to support development of its Junction Box for Ford's 1996 PN-96 light truck program. Engineering and manufacturing CQFD team participants found that the process gave them insight they would not have had without the CQFD. It enabled them to focus attention on customer priorities, make trade-offs apparent, identify several manufacturing opportunities and improve communication with key vendors.

Statistical Consistent Transformation Algorithm For Output Calculations Within The QFD Matrix, R. Vrancken, Siemens Automotive.  The basic concept of the QFD matrix is to translate requirements of any kind (Whats) into controllable characteristics (Hows). QFD cascading systems use the How-importance ranking of a first matrix as What-importance ranking for a next matrix. Using the statistical probability distribution of What-values and the matrix elements to calculate the importance ranking of Hows, an algorithm was developed by a team at the Central Quality Division of the Siemens Company in Munich Germany. The paper describes this algorithm and report an application at Siemens Automotive Division in Ontario Canada.

Top

1995: 7th Symposium on QFD (ISBN1-889477-07-9)

Read ALL abstracts in 1995    |   Order Form

QFD Status in the U.S. Automotive Industry, Harold Ross and Kioumars Paryani, GM Systems Engineering Center, NAO Engineering Center, General Motors Corporation.   As Dr. Akao has stated in many of his lectures, mass production has caused a great separation between the workers and the customer, both in distance and in layers of management. In large organizations that cannot deal on an individual basis with the customer, QFD is being used to translate customers wants and needs into technical requirements. This paper attempts to provide a brief description of the current usage, integration, and understanding of the QFD process within the context of General Motor's product development process.

Fuelguard Lower Tie Plate Product and Process Re-Design Using QFD and Robust Design, D. Adams and G. Waymire, Siemens Power Corp., S. Macfarlane, Black Sheep Engineering Services, and P. Walsh, Ehrhardt Tool and Machine.  A multi-functional team from Siemens and vendors redesigned a fuel assembly component, using QFD and Robust Design. The initial product design met an important customer requirement, while improvements in the manufacturing process were being considered. The team used quality deployment and Pugh Concept Selection to generate a new concept and Robust Design to optimize the product. Process deployment using QFD further enhanced the manufacturing capability. The new design reduced manufacturing costs and time by approximately 40% and improved the quality and strength of the component.

Lessons learned From A QFD On A Decklid System, G. Blumstein and H. Graves, EDS.  A QFD of a Decklid system was conducted over a five month period by a small cross-functional team with an aim to assist in defining the requirements of the system. The study, which incorporated VOC analysis and many different engineering disciplines, showed a direct relationship between downstream engineering decisions and upstream VOC statements. It also determined if the design decisions had a high interaction with the Hows that was carried over from the previous houses. As a result, the final design optimized the Decklid system instead of optimizing the Decklid's subsystems and sub-optimizing the Decklid system.

Top

1998: 10th Symposium on QFD (ISBN1-889477-10-9)

Read ALL abstracts in 1998    |   Order Form

Application of Quality Functional Deployment to Automotive Fuel System Components by Edward J. Vinarcik of Visteon - Powertrain Control Systems Division. With most products, consumers define quality. Complex products, however, contain components which often are never thought about by consumers. At the component level, quality must be defined internally. The purpose of this paper is to apply QFD to an automotive component, specifically a fuel rail. Included is a discussion of needs for internal customers related to design, delivery, and timing. Dynamic Characteristics / QFD by Shin Taguchi of the American Supplier Institute. The integration of Taguchi Design of Experiments and Quality Function Deployment.

QFD Methodology and its Application in an Automotive Industry Supplier by P. A. Cauchick Miguel, N. C. Maestrelli, and L. G. Lopes, Jr. of Methodist University of Pircicaba (UNIMEP) and Meritor do Brasil Ltda., Brazil. This paper presents a work on QFD carried out in an auto parts industry in Brazil. It describes the implementation steps as well as some of the achievements. This work also outlines the relation of QFD with aspects of QS 9000 certification. Finally, it points out the principal benefits of QFD application.

Back to Top

1999: 11th Symposium on QFD (ISBN1-889477-11-7)

 Read ALL abstracts in 1999    |   Order Form

QFD for Manufacturing Technology Assessment by Edward Vinarcik, Engineer, Visteon Powertrain Control Systems. Choosing a manufacturing technology is difficult. Customer needs as well as technology limitations must be understood. This paper presents a case study in which QFD is used as an analysis method for evaluating manufacturing technologies for a specific product, automotive fuel rails. Included is a discussion of customer types and needs related to design, cost, delivery, and timing.

QFD Applications in Brazilian Autoparts Companies by Paulo Cauchick Miguel, P.T.M. deSouza, & C.J. deSouza, Quality Management & Metrology Group - Methodist University of Piracicaba (UNIMEP), Meritor do Brasil Ltda. - LVS Division, & Eaton Ltda. - Divisão de Transmissões. This paper describes QFD implementation initiatives carried out in two auto parts companies in Brazil. One company produces steel wheels and the other mechanical transmissions. The paper describes the framework and timetable to implement QFD, highlights the reasons for deciding to implement it, and it shows the results achieved so far. Difficulties experienced are also presented as well as the principal benefits.

The Product Development Process: Avoiding Pitfalls to a Successful Implementation by Bob Adams, Magna Seating Systems. Organizations that utilize product and program management have consistently found difficulty in delivering on customer expectations while attempting to balance internal resources. Cost overruns and losses associated with un-recovered engineering changes are symptomatic of a process that doesn't work. Magna Seating Systems embarked on a concerted effort to revitalize the entire operation of delivering products from concept through obsolescence. What resulted is a process that has become world class in execution and achievement of both customer and company goals. This was accomplished by taking the architecture and designing into its basic framework safeguards that avoid common pitfalls that have plagued other companies. Changing the way things occurred and happened at Magna began a cultural revolution in program management and its execution that continues to this day.

QFD in Strategic Planning: An Exploratory Study by Paulo Cauchick Miguel & R.M. Vanalle Quality Management & Metrology Group, Methodist University of Piracicaba (UNIMEP) A.G. Alves Filho, University of Saõ Carlos, Brazil. This paper examines an exploratory study in which QFD is used for strategic planning formulation. On the basis of corporate strategies obtained in a previous study, QFD matrices are applied to relate business strategies and functional level strategies. The case study is performed in an automotive industry supplier which produces brake systems. A QFD matrix is used to identify the most appropriate functional strategies, including the relationships and correlations.

Consumer-Based™ Performance Benchmarking by Kioumars Paryani and Terry Zalewski, General Motors Corporation GM Truck Group, Vehicle Integration Engineering. The authors of this paper present a unique approach to benchmarking and target setting. The paper will not get into the discussion of how to capture, prioritize or translate the voice of the customer. The assumptions are that an accurate translation of customer needs and wants is in place. The theme of the paper centers around a new methodology for setting performance targets for the product characteristics, initially and throughout the lifecycle of the product. Additionally, this methodology will identify areas that need to be technologically developed. This way, technology development takes on a market pull strategy rather than the traditional strategy of developing technology for technology sake. Furthermore, the methodology quantifies the level performance needed by the technology to ultimately exceed customer expectations. Tools utilized in this methodology are derived from established quality engineering practices and tools, such as the Taguchi Quality Loss Function, Quality Function Deployment, Focus Group Methodology in consumer research, and the critical path method (CPM).

Top

2000: 12th Symposium on QFD (ISBN1-889477-12-5)

Read ALL abstracts in 2000    |   Order Form

Improving the Nissan "Crew" with Reverse QFD by Noriharu Kaneko, Japan. The necessity to continue improving quality of a newly development product through QFD will be illustrated by Nissan Taxi Cab "Crew" customer satisfaction survey example. Based on market surveys conducted after the release of a new model, this paper suggests future improvements needed in the next model and a job flow to achieve them.

An Application of QFD to the Shop Floor Daily Routine Management by Leonardo Pereira Santiago, Flávio de Aguiar Araújo, Lin Chih Cheng, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. How QFD was used for assuring the quality of shop floor management in the daily routine of a manufacturing firm. Shows how QFD can help the shop floor solve the negative voice of customer by selecting the main working place of the manufacturing process.

Enlarging QFD Methodology to Include Forecasts of Market Share and Profit by Harry E. Cook, Head, Department of General Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. Taylors expansion in market segment provides a rigorous phenomenological basis for making value versus cost trade-offs for new product development and yields a straightforward marketing research method for assessing the value of proposed product improvements. Using the first stage of QFD, a list of customer needs are identified and converted into product system attributes. Value curves for key system level attributes are used with cost estimates to make trade-off assessments and also to determine Taguchi's "cost of inferior quality." Through a variety of automotive and construction equipment applications, the paper reviews how well they achieved both variable cost and value needed to assure the bottom-line metrics of market share and profit.

2002: 14th Symposium on QFD (ISBN1-889477-14-1)
Read ALL abstracts in 2002    |   Order Form

QFD to Direct Value Engineering in the Design of a Braking System. Jim Dimsey, QFD Green Belt^®, Hayes Brake, USA.   In designing a new braking system, QFD was used to determine the importance of various functions of a braking system and performance levels to users, and subsequently to design both a lower-cost alternative as well as a high performance model. This paper will present the customer evaluation process including a web-based questionnaire, the deployment through the House of Quality to a Function Analysis, multiple cost modeling studies, and the design concepts that were created and proposed to the OEM.         

2003: The 9th International Symposium on QFD (ISQFD'03) and The 15th Symposium on QFD (ISBN1-889477-15-X)

Read ALL abstracts in 2003    |   Order Form

QFD for Preventing Failure.  Masaaki Todoroki, Q-tech Consulting Co., Ltd., Japan. Ever-changing product conditions have made traditional reliability activities less effective because it has become increasingly difficult to verify individual design values and process control values in a short term development. QFD has had a component of reliability deployment but often this is not put into practice. This paper proposes a method that combines FMEA and QFD to address this issue. The proposed method can predict failures and determine the design values and process control values through the use of a quality table, thus determining the conditions for failure prevention. The presentation will include description of the method and a case study of an automotive part development where the failure rate was decreased by one third by this method.

2008: The 20th Symposium on QFD  (ISBN 1-889477-20-6)

Read ALL abstracts in 2008    |   Order Form

Value Based Product Development - Using QFD and AHP to Identify, Prioritize, and Align Key Customer Needs and Business Goals  

Chad Johnson, QFD Green Belt^®, Six Sigma Master Black Belt, TRW Automotive Braking Division World Headquarters, USA; Glenn Mazur, QFD Red Belt^®, QFD Institute/Japan Business Consultants, Ltd.

Keywords: automotive QFD, Modern QFD, customer value, key customer needs, business goals, AHP

In order to distinguish ourselves from the competitive pack, it is becoming increasingly important to seek a deeper understanding of value-driving customer needs during the early stages of product/process development. Although automotive suppliers are often asked to be creative and lean, we still often build strictly to given specifications. We receive data in the old "build to print" paradigm but we are often required to design in a more creative and lean one. To address this dichotomy and break away from the costly design- build-test iterative loop, Quality Function Deployment (QFD) suggests that we seek an understanding of customer's needs beyond the requirements specification and incorporate that understanding into the final product. In this case-study, you will hear how TRW Automotive has utilized QFD and augmented it with the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to develop a working model for project leaders to prioritize and focus their design efforts effectively. This model enables product/process design managers to comprehend, prioritize, and merge the various goals of the business (both corporate and project) with the derived needs of the customer(s). Further, it serves as a central, clarifying centerpiece of project direction and remains fluid - so if priorities are challenged, the model can be used to recalibrate the design focus.

Top