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Many 6‐sigma innovation companies are obtaining ISO9000 series or ISO/TS16949 certifications. However, not many of them have considered the integrated management of ISO/ TS16949 at the time of 6‐sigma introduction. ISO/TS16949 focuses on the process of an overall company. In particular, APQP (Advanced Product Quality Planning) requires that from the beginning all the planning should have a clear quality planning business process. Each company can decide the best course of action to suit its individual needs. Lean DFSS in 6‐sigma offers the concrete development steps of the product development process. And if analyses of Input, Output, Target, Process, KSF, KPI, and FMEA is done in each process and clearly defined in APQP, mutual organic and effective systems can be initially achieved.

Quality managers today require a holistic, overreaching view on the organization and its goals in order to plan the quality management organization (QMO) effectively. The purpose of this paper is to present the concept of a web application that aims to support quality managers in organizational planning tasks. The basis for the implementation is a previously developed planning method that builds on Product and Technology Roadmapping as well as Quality Function Deployment. It supports the QMO’s strategic development in line with the organization’s overall strategy.

Based on previous research that systematically identified the requirements toward a suitable planning method and a consecutively designed framework, a web application was developed. This process followed agile software development approaches, including test-driven iteration cycles and validation through a case-based user trial.

Standardized quality criteria for software development together with identified requirements for a suitable planning method provided a specified guideline to develop a web application. This application enables quality managers to effectively deploy the previously developed planning method. It proved successful in an initial field trial and creates a basis for integrated, computer-aided QMO planning.

With an integrated planning method that was implemented through a web application, quality managers could be effectively supported in developing the QMO in line with the overall strategy. As organizational planning tasks are reoccurring but not day-to-day business, moderated workshops that use the web application as a guiding tool and enable quality managers to focus on delivering information inputs appear to be a highly promising approach.

To identify QFD best practices and understand factors that contribute to successful QFD application.

A field research study is presented that summarises the use of QFD in a number of companies operating in Brazil. The paper reports multiple case studies conducted in organizations that have already achieved maturity in QFD implementation.

The study identified areas of QFD best practice such as the development of matrices and voice of customers, interaction with other organizational practices (e.g. TQC system and other methods and techniques), and less traditional QFD applications (concept definition, strategic planning, and developing a global product). The study also identifies QFD implementation success factors related to organizational characteristics (e.g. management support for QFD and cross‐functional involvement in QFD project), data sources (e.g. existing data sources and QFD‐driven data sources), and QFD tools and techniques such as use of advanced phases of quality deployment (e.g. development of different matrices, comprehensive QFD, integration of analytical techniques and QFD).

A useful source to be used by organizations that have been implementing QFD for product development or for those that plan to employ the method.

The paper offers practical and applied information on QFD implementation while identifying areas of best practice within a variety of situations. It will be useful for both academics and practitioners.

To provide a sound discussion on the Six Sigma methodology and see how it fits in with other quality initiatives.

A conceptual paper that takes at in‐depth look at the origins, pros and cons of Six Sigma and how it relates to some of the other quality initiatives in industry.

The immediate goal of Six Sigma is defect reduction. Reduced defects lead to yield improvement; higher yields improve customer satisfaction. Six Sigma defect reduction is intended to lead to cost reduction. It has a process focus and aims to highlight process improvement opportunities through systematic measurement. Six Sigma implementation can have negative consequences if applied in the wrong project. Six Sigma is a toolset, not a management system and is best used in conjunction with other more comprehensive quality standards such as the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence or the European Quality Award.

This is a conceptual study and hence there are no hypotheses tested as in an empirical study. It does provide a good foundation for future research.

A very useful source of information and impartial advice for practitioners and researchers planning to practice the Six Sigma methodology and/or understand its pros and cons.

This paper fulfils an identified information/resources need for Six Sigma methodology. It is based on utilizing an extensive set of statistical and advanced mathematical tools, and a well‐defined methodology that produces significant results quickly. The success of this methodology within an organization has significant momentum that can only lead to fundamental organizational cultural transformation.

Quality certification to international standards is an obligatory requirement for automotive and truck industry suppliers of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The unique aspect of companies that had their foundation in research and development (R&D) and evolve to operations is that they require a different approach to implement and certify their quality management system. This paper aims to investigate this issue.

The strategy was to plan an effective implementation of a quality system through the continual application of internal audits and supplier readiness reviews. The evaluation processes for departments and stakeholders had been in place since the first “Gap” audit when assessing the level of compliance against the international standard and the customer requirements.

Seven aspects were part of the readiness reviews (Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality Assurance, Material Control, Supplier Control, and APQP). Each aspect was assessed independently up to its complete implementation. The level of engagement of the implementation team and the commitment of the top management were increased with each audit result.

Creation and improvement of policies, procedures and forms were part of the strategy to ensure that the internal audit process remains objective de rigueur to assess the effective implementation of the system. Check‐lists and recurrent internal audits were performed on the brand‐new operations activities of the company.

The introduction of the known maturity level of processes is a method of factorizing and setting priorities for the implementation.

The new digital era brings several opportunities and challenges that accelerate the need to implement digital solutions in organisations. This speed of change creates many questions, but unfortunately, references cases to answer them or general guidelines to succeed are still rare. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present four cases that illustrate the procedure followed by companies to introduce digital elements in their operations (automotive industry supplier, toy industry, catering company and circuit trainings company). Each case offers inspiration and knowledge about the procedure to introduce digital elements and facilitates the proposal of a general procedure that aims to become guidance for practitioners.

The research implements comparative analysis in a multi-case design. It sensitises the concept of “digitalisation path” as a research instrument. Projects documentation and informal conversational interviews allow the researchers to describe each organisation and their digitalisation path. The interviewees review, enhance and approve the cases. Furthermore, the research compares the paths and summarises the findings into a digitalisation path model that explains the digitalisation of these organisations and it serves as a guide for other organisations.

The digitalisation paths evidence the necessity of business process management to develop digitalisation. Technology is not the goal, but the instrument and process excellence is the driver to introduce new technologies in the operations. Furthermore, the four organisations share a similar pattern and activities within their digitalisation paths.

The multi-case methodology lacks generalisation, but it provides detail over the digitalisation paths.

The paper presents a guideline for practitioners to introduce digital elements in the organisation.

The paper presents a practical perspective to introduce digitalisation in organisations, which is currently rare in literature.

The Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system has found varieties of deployments in various domains of product-based industries. Current study aims to provide a framework for the adoption of PLM systems in manufacturing organizations to meet the actual requirements of industries.

First, a systematic review of extant literature was performed, and further, the case study approach is opted to study the process of New Product Development (NPD) in a manufacturing organization. Triangulation methodology was adopted wherein the interview results, actual observations, and authorized documentations were used to validate the result and provide conclusions.

A conceptual framework and implementation architecture for PLM is derived. The complete ecosystem for digital footprint is mapped for New Product Development (NPD) activities.

The study could be helpful for Techno-Functional Managers. For individuals with only functional/technical knowledge, additional training might be required to adopt the framework in actual practices.

The paper contributes to the existing literature by providing a framework and demonstrating the feasibility of implementation through the case study.

To ensure product quality within a manufacturing process, inspection processes are indispensable. One task of inspection planning is the selection of inspection characteristics. For optimization of costs and benefits, key characteristics can be defined by which the product quality can be checked with sufficient accuracy. The manual selection of key characteristics requires substantial planning effort and becomes uneconomic if many product variants prevail. This paper, therefore, aims to show a method for the efficient determination of key characteristics.

The authors present a novel Algorithm for the Selection of Key Characteristics (ASKC) based on an auto-encoder and a risk analysis. Given historical measurement data and tolerances, the algorithm clusters characteristics with redundant information and selects key characteristics based on a risk assessment. The authors compare ASKC with the algorithm Principal Feature Analysis (PFA) using artificial and historical measurement data.

The authors find that ASKC delivers superior results than PFA. Findings show that the algorithms enable the cost-efficient selection of key characteristics while maintaining the informative value of the inspection concerning the quality.

This paper fills an identified gap for simplified inspection planning with the method for the efficient selection of key features via ASKC.

Investigating the beginning of project management (app. 30 BC) with a focus on business models similar to the “PDCA” cycle, the purpose of this paper is to find an approach which could be used as a new standard procedure for the eradication of projects in Lean project management.

Based on literature research of models similar to Walter A. Shehwart’s three-step and Edward W. Deming’s four-step (PDC(A)) wheel, the investigated models are interconnected to form a new concept which represents an innovative cycle logic proposed to be applied in Lean project management. This new cycle logic is rolled out on three different levels, which are transferred from the Lean management hoshin kanri model to Lean project management. In addition to literature research, semi-structured interviews were performed to get an indication as to the integration of Lean management (with a focus on PDCA) in project management today.

It was found that the “Check Plan Do” cycle is a Lean variant of the “Plan Do Check Act” model that is already used in consulting projects in practice, partially appears in project management standards, in governance models of ambulance, fire services, human aid and military forces and in quality management models of Six Sigma, design for Six Sigma and an excellence model of the European Foundation for Quality Management. To ensure continuous improvement it was found that the new CPD cycle can be used on different “planning” levels in analogy to the hoshin kanri logic.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, a discussion as to how the PDCA cycle can be adapted to Lean project management, considering the implication of business models similar to the PDCA wheel, has not yet been conducted within the field of project management.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and define the certification lifecycle of laser powder bed fusion for aerospace applications from equipment acquisition and installation to production, part acceptance and continuous improvement activities.

A top–down systems engineering approach is performed consisting of concept development, requirements engineering and systems architecting. This approach is taken from the perspective of a production organization.

A certification roadmap is proposed that references industry requirements at the relevant phases of the roadmap. Each phase of the roadmap acts as a decision gate for progression to the next.

Qualification and certification of metal laser powder bed fusion is currently a challenge within the aerospace industry. From an aerospace point of view, the qualification and certification of this relatively new manufacturing process should not have to be any different from traditional manufacturing processes, although with extensive quality control and regulatory oversight. This paper proposes a means for fulfilling these requirements chronologically and provides guidance on ensuring such quality control throughout the manufacturing system lifecycle. This roadmap provides insight into the qualification and certification of laser powder bed fusion for aerospace applications and provides value for future industrial feasibility studies.