Quality function deployment in Uganda's beverage manufacturing industry.

Abstract

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a systematic process for incorporating customer needs into all aspects of product and service design and delivery. Understanding the wants or needs of a customer from a product or service is critical to the effective design and development of new products and services. QFD is a system that meets client missions by describing what the customer wants in a service or product. This research investigates the level of implementation of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) in Uganda's beverage manufacturing industry. The study focuses on three objectives: determining the level of awareness, the extent of implementation, and the constraints to implementation of QFD in the industry. Data was collected from 65 respondents comprising top management and quality personnel from different beverage factories using questionnaires. The results show that the level of awareness was moderate, with 62.2% ranging between 50 and 74%. The level of implementation was also moderate, with 68.9% falling between 50 and 74%. respectively. The study revealed the most significant constraints to the implementation of QFD in Uganda's beverage manufacturing industry as poor understanding of customer needs and bureaucracy of the QFD process at 5% level of significance. These constraints hinder the successful implementation of QFD, which requires significant investment in terms of time, money, and personnel. The study recommends that companies in the industry address these constraints by prioritizing understanding their customers' needs and they should streamline their processes and procedures to avoid impeding QFD implementation. By overcoming these constraints and implementing QFD effectively, beverage companies in Uganda can improve their product quality, customer satisfaction, and competitiveness in the market. To aid in the implementation of QFD, a step-by-step House of Quality (HOQ) model was developed to prioritize customer needs and design parameters. The model emphasizes the need to first determine customer needs, setting targets and then incorporating the needs into measurable design requirements. Based on the findings, recommendations were made to improve the level of awareness and implementation of QFD in the industry, including providing training and education on QFD, incorporating customer feedback into the design process, improving communication among stakeholders, and utilizing the HOQ model for product development.