Quality 4.0 - Status quo and prerequisites

In general, Quality 4.0 refers to the aspects of quality assurance in the context of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) (cf. Refflinghaus et al. 2016). For this purpose, large amounts of data are collected by modern measurement and testing technologies and analyzed in real time. This enables an immediate reaction to faults and malfunctions. This data also enables the creation of models and simulations that can prevent errors in advance, so that the proportion of errors in production is minimized and the associated costs are kept low. For example, data can be used for setup time optimization, condition-based maintenance and the adjustment of production processes. (Cf. Glück 2017). In addition, errors can be detected in advance and thus also avoided through the use of simulations and models (Cf. Artischewski 2017). Another reason for the increasing relevance of Quality 4.0 is the growing desire of customers for individually manufactured products.

The aim of the study was to determine the general status quo of Quality 4.0 and also to identify the prerequisites and hurdles from the company's perspective and those of the responsible employees, which are important for successful implementation and establishment. Likewise, the opportunities that arise from the use of Quality 4.0 should be highlighted.

Awareness deficits of Quality 4.0 in the corporate context
From the results it can be concluded that Quality 4.0 has a relatively high level of awareness among the respondents. This is due to the fact that 76 % of the participants in the study already have knowledge of Quality 4.0 in their professional environment. In contrast, 24 % of the companies surveyed stated that they were unaware of Quality 4.0. The survey results further show that 50 % of the respondents are aware of the topic area, although there are no activities or plans to implement Quality 4.0 in their companies. Only 17 % indicated that their company is engaged in implementation planning and another 9 % that Quality 4.0 is already being implemented in their company. This means that only a quarter of the companies surveyed are already dealing with Quality 4.0 today.

Quality 4.0 as an opportunity for continuous improvement and risk minimization
Figure 2 visualizes the opportunities with a corresponding frequency distribution of the individual aspects. It should be noted that the companies surveyed could select a maximum of four possible answers regarding opportunities.

The main opportunities arising from Quality 4.0 include a continuous improvement process and risk minimization. Both answer options received 23 mentions each. The improvement of customer satisfaction follows in third place with 22 responses.

Furthermore, 20 companies surveyed each stated that they hoped to achieve cost savings and transparency through real-time analyses by introducing Quality 4.0. Here, too, the implementing companies see almost the same opportunities as all other respondents. Particularly striking is the low number of mentions relating to internal measurement by means of a continuous quality channel, optimisation of set-up times and reduction of batch sizes, which are the main components of the implementation of Quality 4.0, but which are regarded as relatively unimportant by the companies surveyed.

Lack of employee competence stands in the way of Quality 4.0
When asked about the obstacles to the implementation of Quality Management 4.0, it can be determined which factors, in the opinion of the participants, impede the successful expansion of Quality 4.0 in their company.

The most important point, with 22 mentions, was the lack of competence of the employees or the qualified specialists. The lack of readiness for implementation within the company in third place goes in a similar direction and shows that the topic is apparently not yet present in the mindset of those responsible and employees. The restructuring effort of the processes was also mentioned as an obstacle. A further obstacle is the high level of investment that the conversion to Quality 4.0 would entail.

Advanced measurement technology as a prerequisite for the implementation of Quality 4.0
Furthermore, the present survey was intended to determine whether the implementation of Quality 4.0 can only be realized through the use of advanced measurement technology. For this purpose, it was asked whether different measurement systems are used in the companies of the respondents. It is striking here that with an increase in the complexity of the measurement technology, the proportion of companies that do not use it increases. Sampling is used, for example, in 83 % of the companies surveyed, either across the whole company or in selected sub-areas. On the other hand, if we look at the monitoring of quality by cyber-physical systems, there are only 5 % of the respondents that use this measurement technology and 7 % that do not use it but plan to in the future. When looking at the companies that already implement Quality 4.0, it can be observed that highly developed measurement technology is used, but not all of the listed technologies and not always across companies. However, it can be seen that the companies that are already implementing Quality 4.0 are using several of the selected measurement techniques in full or in part.

Capable and motivated employees as the most important criterion for successful implementation
A question matrix was used to check which sub-disciplines of Quality 4.0 are particularly important for implementation. The result clearly shows that both the know-how of the employees and their motivation are the most important factors according to the participants. Just over 90 % stated that these factors are rather important to very important. This is closely followed by software solutions, process management, use of measurement technology, big data management and change management with 77.5 % to 87.5 % agreement. In general, it emerges that all the factors mentioned for the implementation of Quality 4.0 are considered important by the respondents. Similar thought structures can be found among the companies implementing Quality 4.0. It turns out that software solutions, employee know-how and the use of measurement technology are unanimously rated as very important.