ASSESSMENT OF THE POSSIBILITIES OF USING THE QFD METHOD AND SELECTED LEAN MANUFACTURING TOOLS IN THE DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF THE PRODUCTION OF CONCRETE RAISED GARDEN BEDS

Abstract

The aim of the work was to assess the possibilities of using the QFD method and selected Lean Manufacturing tools in the process of designing and optimizing the production of concrete raised garden beds. The theoretical part discussed the basics of the QFD methodology and selected Lean tools. The research was conducted in a small enterprise producing concrete products for construction. In the first part of the analysis, the QFD method was used as a tool to identify customer needs regarding concrete raised garden beds. The information collected as a "house of quality" served as a starting point for further research using selected Lean Manufacturing tools such as 5S Practices, the SMED method, the Kaizen philosophy and FMEA method. The results indicated that combining the QFD method with Lean Manufacturing tools can increase the quality of the offered product, better suited to the needs of end users and improve its production process in terms of quality, efficiency and costs.