Development of an Exportable Modular Building System by Integrating Quality Function Deployment and TRIZ Method

Quality function deployment and TRIZ method are widely used to develop new products in the manufacturing industry. These methods are known to be extremely effective for cost reduction and quality improvement. However, unlike the general manufacturing process, the manufacturing of an exportable modular building system involves many sub-processes that proceed concurrently. Therefore, there is a limitation on the efficiency that can be achieved if either of these methods is directly applied to product development. In order to address this issue, the authors propose a new methodology wherein quality function deployment is integrated into TRIZ. The results of a case study show that application of the new method makes it is possible to reduce the volume of an exportable modular building system compatible with ISO container shipping by 48% and to decrease the weight of structural steel by 30%.