The application of fuzzy quality function deployment with failure mode and effect analysis in a packaging company

In a competitive marketplace where busininesses compate for customers, customer satisfaction seen as a key differentiator. The survival of the companies by differentiating themselves in a competitive market is only possible by tending the issues such as creation, protection, development and improvement of the quality. With this aim many quality improvement methods have been developed. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) come at the beginning of these methods. QFD( Quality function deployment) is a customer driven approach used in new product development and for existing products in order to maksimize customer satisfaction and FMEA( Failure Modes and Effects Analysis can be defined as a risk analysis tecnique that identify the potantial errors of a product of process and consider the possible effects of these errors on customers. FMEA determines the risk priorities of failure modes using the risk priority numbers(RPN), by multiplying the scores of the risk factors like the occurrence (O), severity (S) and detection (D) of each failure code. Both methods have some drawbacks. House of quality process is generated from human beings' perceptions and linguistic assetments that are quiet subjective and vague. And in FMEA, The three risk factors are assumed to have the same importance but this situation is not suitable real life practical applications In this study to solve the uncertainty or imprecion problems in QFD and to eliminate the disadvantages of the analysis, a fuzzy set theory will be applied to QFD and to eliminate the disadvantages of the FMEA about risk factor's weights, fuzzy AHP has applied to FMEA and Chang's method has been used as a Fuzzy AHP method. The main intention of this study to propose a methodology for interactions between the two quality tools: QFD and FMEA. The proposed metodology has apllied to a manufacturing firm performing in plastic package sector. Key Words: Fuzzy Quality Function Deployment, Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, Fuzzy Analitic Hierarchy Process