Maturity Assessment for the Introduction of Predictive Quality Approaches in Production Environments

By integrating data-driven analysis methods into existing procedures, quality and failure management performance can be increased systematically. Linking product and process data with existing failure and quality knowledge offers significant potential for enhancing the continuous improvement of processes and products. Nevertheless, the potential of data-driven analysis still needs to be fully exploited. Despite the apparent advantages of analysis-oriented approaches, many companies are hesitant to implement such transformation projects because quantifying possible benefits is challenging. Thus, there is an economic risk due to the limited availability of resources, which must be utilized purposefully. An approach that allows the systematic identification and prioritization of promising use cases and reduces the risk of introducing data-based approaches is missing. This paper conceptualizes a model to evaluate the potential for introducing data-based analysis in production processes. A maturity assessment, consisting of four dimensions and seventeen sub-dimensions, is presented, which enables the identification of promising use cases for implementing data-based approaches. The conceptualized model is validated using an expert survey.