QFD at Motor Coach Industries

MCI knew that lead time to market was vital. It had to be reduced from five years to three. This could only be achieved with substantial concurrent engineering. This meant working in parallel, not sequentially. It also meant the involvement of a very wide cross-section of the business, throughout the project. Salesmen, service people and factory staff all lived in the design studio and participated, and contributed in the original concept and detailed design phases.

The team used QFD (Quality Function Deployment) for product requirement definition. This helped the team to translate a large ‘wish list’ into tangible and measurable design parameters. In one example, QFD was used to create definitions for passenger comfort. A particularly important definition was the time for old people to enter and exit the coach. The time it took to safely unload sixty, 65 year olds needed to some down. This had major implications for step heights and other key design parameters. These requirements led to a spiral staircase that has been patented in seven countries. Classic QFD proved its worth as a powerful communication tool throughout the project.

The company has launched its latest revolutionary vehicle to public acclaim. A successful conclusion brought about with the help of CSC and TeamSET.

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