QFD optimization using linear physical programming

Abstract

A new approach to quality function deployment (QFD) optimization is presented. The approach uses the linear physical programming (LPP) technique to maximize overall customer satisfaction in product design. QFD is a customer-focused product design method which translates customer requirements into product engineering characteristics. Because market competition is multidimensional, companies must maximize overall customer satisfaction by optimizing the design of their products. At the same time, all constraints (e.g. product development time, development cost, manufacturing cost, human resource in design and production, etc.) must be taken into consideration. LPP avoids the need to specify an importance weight for each objective in advance. This is an effective way of obtaining optimal results. Following a brief introduction to LPP in QFD, the proposed approach is described. A numerical example is given to illustrate its application and a sensitivity analysis is carried out. Using LPP in QFD optimization provides a new direction for optimizing the product design process.