Research trends in quality management in years 2000-2019

Designing a quality scorecard (QSC) for system integration in the era of Industry 4.0

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the criteria to measure and manage a software project’s quality indicator elements needed to implement system integration in the Industry 4.0 era.

Design/methodology/approach

The standard software process model SPICE: a crucial part of the system integration software development process, is analyzed to explore how the factors of the SPICE model rate qualitatively on the quality scorecard (QSC). QSC is a qualitative performance measurement model based on the cost of quality (COQ) perspective. The SPICE model’s effectiveness is examined in terms of system integration (SI) quality, and factors for improving this quality are determined.

Findings

The authors proposed future directions for improving SI management. The seven SPICE process groups were analyzed comparatively by matching them to the QSC. The SPICE model was found to achieve 63% with the required factors in QSC. Also, the uncommitted items indicated need to be considered for additional management in SI quality.

Practical implications

Since SPICE is revised every five years, it is suggested from this study that diagnosing the assessment items from the COQ perspective using QSC is one strategy to quickly enhance the quality of SI management in this rapidly changing technology revolution.

Originality/value

This research is the first study of its kind, proposing a methodology for adapting quickly to the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s changes and showing how the standards have changed the SPICE model over time.

Deming’s tampering revisited: definition and future research agenda

Purpose

How do organisations know which problems are worthy of their attention? Despite good intentions, many attempts to solve problems fail. One reason for this failure might be because of attempts to solve non-problems or to solve problems with insufficient means, a concept proposed by Deming as tampering. The purpose of this paper is to suggest a definition of tampering, outline what is currently known about possible practical implications of tampering and to suggest how to extend this knowledge by proposing an agenda for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

To fulfil the purpose, a narrative literature review was conducted.

Findings

Through this review, common aspects of what constitutes tampering are identified and the following definition is proposed: Tampering is a response to a perceived problem in the form of an action that is not directed at the fundamental cause of the problem, which leads to a deterioration of the process or the process output. In addition, recommendations are generated regarding how tampering manifests itself in practice and why tampering occurs. These recommendations could be studied in future research.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that suggests a revitalisation of tampering. The results presented in this paper form the basis for continued studies on how tampering in organisations can be understood, managed and prevented.

Motivations for ISO 9001 quality management system implementation and certification – mapping the territory with a novel classification proposal

Purpose

This paper aims to identify and characterize the motivations for ISO 9001 quality management system (QMS) implementation and certification, with a novel, valid and business-oriented scale applied to a large sample. Instead of adopting a normative approach focusing on the internal/external nature of the motivation, this investigation aims to emphasize the ISO 9001 driving forces from an instrumental (productivity, market and competitiveness) perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is framed with a quantitative methodology supported by an email survey encompassing a sample of 526 Portuguese ISO 9001 certified organizations. Descriptive statistics, exploratory factorial analysis (EFA), t-tests and correlation analysis were performed according to the proposed research questions.

Findings

Regarding the motivations, three factors were obtained by applying EFA: market, productivity and competitiveness. The respondent organizations consider the productivity factor (mainly related to internal motivations) to be the most important. Concerning the other factors, competitiveness in the sector is ranked second and the reasons related to the market come in third. Additionally, organizations of medium dimension (between 50 and 249 employees), certified up to 1999 or from the private sector, give greater relevance to motivations related to the market and competitiveness.

Research limitations/implications

This investigation suffers from the limitations inherent to the survey methodology (e.g. potential bias) and a Portuguese sample’s restrictions. Moreover, this research does not cover organizations that have been certified after 2015, namely, with an initial ISO 9001:2015 certification. Nevertheless, most of the respondents’ organizations remain ISO 9001 certified today.

Practical implications

The information provided allows managers to know the driving forces and motivations behind seeking ISO 9001 certification. It can assist certification bodies in fine-tuning their marketing strategies to attract new customers and support ISO 9001 stakeholders in the ISO 9001 revision cycles.

Social implications

Policymakers can also adjust policies to foster ISO 9001 certification accordingly. Furthermore, as Wawak et al. (2020) suggested, with ISO starting a new revision cycle for ISO 9001, an increase in the research topic is expected. This study brings additional knowledge that can assist ISO stakeholders in that process.

Originality/value

This study presents a novel, valid and more business-oriented scale to characterize and identify the motivations for ISO 9001 QMS certification and maps the driving forces for ISO 9001 certification in a large sample size of diverse organizations. The instrumental nature of the scale (productivity, market and competitiveness) improves the consistency with recent research on ISO 9001 contributions for organizational performance compared with previous scales that focused on the internal/external nature of the motivation.

Reinforcing the significance of human factor in achieving quality performance in data-driven supply chain management

Purpose

The paper aims to explore the various dimensions of human factor relevant for integrating data-driven supply chain quality management practices (DDSCQMPs) with organizational performance. Keeping the transition phase from “Industry 4.0” to “Industry 5.0” in mind, the paper reinforces the role of the human factor and critically discusses the issues and challenges in the present organizational setup.

Design/methodology/approach

Following the grounded theory approach, the study arranged in-depth interviews and focus group sessions with industry experts from various service-oriented firms in India. Dimensions of human factor identified from there were grouped together through a morphological analysis (MA), and interlinkages between them were explored through a cross-consistency matrix.

Findings

This research work identified 20 critical dimensions of human factor and have grouped them under five important categories, namely, cohesive force, motivating force, regulating force, supporting force and functional force that drive quality performance in the supply chain domain.

Originality/value

In line with the requirements of the present “Industry 4.0” and the forthcoming “Industry 5.0”, where the need to collaborate human factor with smart system gets priority, the paper made a novel attempt in presenting the critical human factors and categorizing them under important driving forces. The research also contributed in linking DDSCQMPs with organizational performance. The proposed framework can guide the future researchers in expanding the theoretical constructs through initiating further cross-cultural studies across industries.

Critical success factors for lean six sigma in quality 4.0

Purpose

Critical success factors (CSF) for lean six sigma (LSS) using quality 4.0 are not researched so far. This study aims to bridge this gap. It also validates CSF already identified for LSS under conventional technologies.

Design methodology approach

Empirical research using the questionnaire method is conducted. Construct of the questionnaire is checked using Cronbach’s alpha and responses received are analysed using t-test and exploratory factor analysis.

Findings

In total, 20 factors are evaluated for LSS success. It includes 7 factors related to quality 4.0 technologies and 13 related to the conventional set-up. All 7 quality 4.0 related factors were found critical; whereas, under traditional set-up, 11 factors out of 13 were found critical.

Practical implications

The study will help enterprises in the fast and effective adoption of quality 4.0 and seamless integration with LSS. The post-Covid-19 business scenario is expected to be information technology focussed. The findings of this study will be useful in these circumstances. Consultants and practitioners can prioritise their efforts based on newly identified CSF. The new revelation about CSF for LSS in quality 4.0 enriches theory as well.

Social implications

Developing skills based on newly identified CSF will help people in remaining employable in the era of automation, robotics and artificial intelligence which is otherwise ill-famed for destroying jobs.

Originality value

CSF for LSS using quality 4.0 is a new contribution. It differentiates CSF established earlier for conventional technologies. Moreover, many CSF are common for LSS and industry 4.0, therefore this study will also help in smoother adoption of industry 4.0/quality 4.0 in organisations.

Understanding the Key Quality Factors in Construction Projects—A Systematic Literature Review

Project management frameworks describe the preferred approaches to project quality management, as well as applicable methods and tools. Despite this, quality problems in the construction project are still widespread. This study aimed to identify crucial quality-related factors in construction project management and find relations between them, to help researchers and project managers better respond to quality issues. A systematic literature review (SLR) was used to identify previous studies on quality-related factors. Literature review and further quantitative analysis revealed that quality-related factors are related to three categories: Quality of project process, quality of organisational processes, and quality of results (products), which together create the quality of the whole construction project. The results highlight quality-related factors (14 related to the quality of processes, 6 to quality of an organisation, and 13 to quality of products) that should be taken into account in further research, as well as planning and executing construction projects. Their inclusion at the planning stage should help project managers, sponsors, and steering committees avoid or minimise quality-related problems. Moreover, this study sheds an interesting light on quality. We found that the quality of processes and quality of an organisation has precedence over the final product quality. Based on the results of the study, structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to create a null model that will be the starting point for further research in the construction enterprises.