Waste elimination using quality function deployment

This article presents a model that utilises quality function deployment (QFD) for identification, prioritisation and determination of sources of shop floor waste, so as to eliminate them. The model that was developed consists of three houses of quality (HOQ): the Waste HOQ, the causes HOQ and the tools HOQ. The approach used in developing the model identified the importance of recognising signs of waste or the 'whats' in the waste HOQ. The high priority areas of waste are taken as inputs in the causes HOQ. Analysis of the HOQ highlights the wastes with high priorities; referred to as the 'whats' in the tools HOQ. A set of high priority tools is recommended to be used for the waste elimination. The developed QFD‐waste elimination model proved to be a powerful tool for identifying, prioritising and finding the most practical methods for getting rid of major waste in a shop floor environment.