Title: Development of an integrated quality methodology for the food packaging industry

Authors: Gary P. Moynihan, Shunta Garrett

Addresses: Department of Industrial Engineering, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0288, USA. ' Department of Industrial Engineering, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0288, USA

Abstract: Packaging is an important, but sometimes overlooked, component in supply chain management. Quality function deployment (QFD) is a useful tool for managing cross-functional design teams, and determining the needs of customers. Design of experiments (DOE) can be utilised to determine improved process requirements to better meet the needs of the customers. Both techniques have potential relevance for packaging. In the research, an integrated methodology combining QFD and DOE was created to aid in the design and redesign of packages. Within the proposed methodology, QFD is used to determine the customer needs, and DOE is applied to determine the process requirements required to meet those needs. The application of the research was demonstrated on a representative packaging problem.

Keywords: quality function deployment; QFD; design of experiments; DOE; food packaging; packaging design; packaging redesign.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPQM.2010.033882

International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 2010 Vol.6 No.1, pp.1 - 22

Published online: 03 Jul 2010 *

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