Integrating AHP (Analytic hierarchy process) with QFD (Quality function deployment) for robot selection under requirement perspective

Selection of a robot is an important task, as improper selection may adversely affect a firm's production by reducing the quality of the product, thereby reducing productivity as well as profitability. To effectively select a robot for a specified job, several factors have to be considered. The objective of this paper is to explain how, using a combined AHP/QFD model, the authors are able to determine if the deployment of robots in industry helped in performance enhancement from requirement perspective. Incorporating a simple and novel cost factor measure in the proposed integrated AHP/QFD model aids justification of the implementation of a robotic system in a manufacturing firm from an economic point of view also. The proposed integrated approach also identifies technical requirements followed by customer requirements. In this paper, an integrated model combining AHP and QFD has been delineated for the industrial robot selection problem. Seven technical requirement factors have been considered for the case study.