Driving quality in product development in a Malaysian optoelectronic firm

Purpose - This paper aims to demonstrate how the five phases of design for six sigma approach as defined by define-measure-analyse-design-validate (DMADV) are adopted towards the development of an optoelectronic product to address the unexplored development issues related to micron-scale tolerances of internal diameters in plastic moulded parts. In addition, the structured product development approach is used to address the critical-to-quality (CTQ) characteristics that define the quality of the final product. Design/methodology/approach - In line with DMADV, the presented methodology used various tools at each development stage to address key requirements of critical concern in the project. This included the ideal use of computer-aided design (CAD) simulation tool to identify CTQ parameters, failure mode effect analysis as a predictive tool to identify the major defects, while adopting root-cause-analysis to identify the fundamental causes of the major defects, design of experiment, and statistical analysis using Minitab Software for data-driven decision-making. Findings - The two major defects that hindered the mass production of quality products were eliminated, and the overall development of the product significantly improved. Additionally, a quality control strategy approach was implemented to "lock in" the quality. Originality/value - The case study presented develops and adopts a structured approach from DMADV with the key focus of addressing a micron-scale tolerance conflict between the design and manufacturing tolerance requirements of an optoelectronic product. The uniqueness of the case study is the adoption and application of CAD simulation at the Define phase of the DMADV process to address the CTQ issue of the product developed.