Quality Function Deployment (QFD) originated in Japan in the late 1960's. As an
international leader in the production of low-cost steel, Japan desired further expansion into the
shipping industry. Faced with the challenge of building supertankers in its Kobe shipyard, one
contractor, Mitsubishi, turned to the government for help developing the complex logistics
required for building cargo ships. The Japanese government contracted several university
professors to create a system, which would ensure each step of the construction process was
linked to fulfilling a customer requirement. The developed process is known today as QFD
(Guinta, 1993). QFD was first introduced in 1972 by Professor Yoji Akao at the Tamagawa
University in Tokyo and has since been introduced into numerous other industrial and service
applications throughout the world. (Fowler, 1991).