Application of total quality methods to improve efficiency and increase flexibility in automotive technology

These experimental researches are targeted at the transportation-related academic program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) that are dispersed at several locations. Each of these programs has facility and specific space needs and some of their current location are either too constrained to handle an expansion or in need of total replacement.;All the results of the project were determined by using Total Quality Management (TQM), which is a management philosophy that seeks to integrate all organizational functions to focus on meeting customer needs and organizational objectives. The other techniques used include Quality Function Deployment (QFD), which links the needs of the customer with design, development, engineering, manufacturing, and service functions and Group Technology (GT), which is a manufacturing philosophy that identifies and groups similar parts together to take advantage of their similarities in design and production. The work completed in this thesis encompassed the layout design of laboratories and classroom scheduling for an Automotive Technology program. The purpose of this thesis was to propose a new design of the laboratory areas to increase efficiency and flexibility.