Development of quality improvement matrix: An integrated tools for quality improvement

Continuous quality improvement is essential to ensure the competitiveness of manufacturing industries. Design of Experiments, Statistical Process Control and Failure Mode and Effect Analysis are common tools for improving quality. This study proposes a new tool that could encompass quality improvement steps comprehensively, namely Quality Improvement Matrix. This tool integrates several techniques which are House of Quality, Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) and Root Cause Analysis. Quality Improvement Matrix covers identification of defects and its root causes, measuring the magnitude of defects (source of defects), formulating alternatives of solutions for reducing root cause of defects and selecting effective solutions to be implemented. Quality Improvement Matrix is developed by following a similar approach as House of Risk. Thus, it also consists of two matrixes that represent two major stages. The first stage is the identification and prioritizing root causes of defect. Then, the second stage is formulating and selecting solutions for improvements.