Abstract:
The
use of a quality management approach
in the product
design/development
process
is to control and monitor the design
activities to improve the consistency
of
design,
and
further help to produce quality products that meet the customer
needs.
This is
of particular
importance to the small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) due to their natural constraints.
The
aim of this study
has been firstly to examine relationship
between the ISO
9000
approach and the Quality Award Business Excellence Models to see to what
extent they can
be
applied
in the SMEs. Secondly,
several
different techniques
including
metrics of the new view of value engineering using a
design
process
"model"
as
framework
were
developed theoretically and applied
in
practical terms
during the product
design
process to improve the efficiency of quality
management on
design for the SMEs.
The
conclusions are that, in the case of the ISO 9000
approach and the
Models, it
is
appropriate
for the SMEs to use
in
order to maintain competitiveness provided
they are considered as process management
disciplines. The
concept of
the new
view of value engineering can
be
widely and consistently used
to
facilitate the
generation process of
design
efficiency
for the SMEs through a two-level of
validation processes
including
a checklist.
Such
concept can only
be fulfilled in
practice with the positive recognition that achieving
high
worth
instead
of
high
value
for the stages
in the design
process
is
a
key factor.
