Quality Improvement Methodologies in Sustainable Product Development
Summary
Quality improvement in sustainable product development integrates traditional quality management tools with environmental and social performance objectives across a product’s life cycle. Core methodologies encompass failure mode and effects analysis, quality function deployment, the TRIZ inventive problem-solving framework, life cycle assessment and multicriteria decision analysis, often enhanced by fuzzy logic to manage uncertainty. These approaches facilitate systematic identification of defects, translation of customer and ecological requirements into technical specifications, and optimisation of processes to minimise waste, energy use and carbon footprint. Decision support models such as the analytic hierarchy process and qualitative cost–quality analysis enable balanced trade-offs between cost, quality and sustainability, while root-cause techniques like the 5Why method ensure corrective actions address fundamental issues. By embedding these tools in iterative improvement cycles aligned with circular economy and Industry 4.0 principles, organisations achieve greater resource efficiency, regulatory compliance, customer satisfaction and resilience in global supply chains.
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Quality Improvement Methodologies in Sustainable Product Development publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in quality improvement methodologies in sustainable product development across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA): A systematic technique for identifying potential failure points and their consequences to prioritise risk-reduction actions.
Quality Function Deployment (QFD): A method that translates customer requirements into technical specifications through structured matrices.
TRIZ: A problem-solving framework that applies patterns of invention to overcome contradictions in product designs.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): A quantitative evaluation of environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product’s life cycle.
Fuzzy TOPSIS: A multicriteria decision-making tool using fuzzy logic to rank alternatives by closeness to an ideal solution.
Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP): A structured approach for determining weights of criteria and ranking options through pairwise comparisons.
Qualitative Cost–Quality Analysis (AKJ): A decision support method integrating qualitative assessments of cost and quality to select optimal options.
References
- Sustainable Product Development Using FMEA ECQFD TRIZ and Fuzzy TOPSIS. Sustainability (2022).
- Method of Choice: A Fluorescent Penetrant Taking into Account Sustainability Criteria. Sustainability (2020).
- Model Supporting Development Decisions by Considering Qualitative–Environmental Aspects. Sustainability (2021).
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