Developing a Product Quality Standard Framework for local Midi Bus Fabrication Sector a Case of: Ada Bus Assembling and Metal Engineering

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Date

2023-10

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Addis Ababa University

Abstract

Ensuring product quality standards based on national standards is the top priority of the automotive fabrication industry, as it plays a significant role in solving passengers' or users’ needs and requests, which is the ultimate objective of all local midibus public transport fabricators' efforts. This study delves into the aspect of product quality standards related to national standards, considering its four dimensions to study the influence of product quality standards on passenger travel in the local midi bus fabrication sector. In Ethiopia, every year, hundreds of local developers are fabricating or building local midi buses, but the complaints of passengers and users have not been addressed. Local midi bus fabrication process quality standards, safety and comfort quality standards, anthropometry and ergonomics quality standards, and quality standards of engineering input are very serious among passengers and users. The authors did mention in their writings that passengers and users are making complaints about the local Midi bus being built in the area. The basis of the complaint is the lack of safety and comfort for the passengers and users, ergonomic and anthropometric quality standard problems, the poor quality standard of the materials used, and the poor quality standard of the fabrication process. This study attempts to fill the gap by focusing on the development of a model and then the extraction of a framework for product quality standards for local midi bus fabrication. The purpose of this study is to explore the current situation of safety and comfort, ergonomics and anthropometry, materials, and fabrication processes in the product quality standard between the automotive fabrication sectors related to the Ethiopian standard, identify the gap in property, attribute, and national technical committee, and develop a product quality standard framework. The specific objectives were to determine, analyze, and identify the existing practice of standard development, identify the reasons why the existing standard development team framework is not doing well, and develop a product quality standard framework for the local midi bus fabrication sector practice. This study adopted concepts of standard and standardization, passenger compliance, product standard development strategy, and product quality standard practice in the sector. An explanatory research design was used. The target population consisted of whole respondents from the local bus body construction company and the remaining respective members from the national-level institution, the electromechanical standard development group, who responded to conduct a SWOT analysis to identify the current state of the institution. The sample size was taken from all respondents in the company's case. Questionnaires, interviews, and observation were the data collection instruments. Supervisors served as expert judges to establish the validity of the instruments. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive analysis and SWOT analysis, as well as with the aid of IBM SPSS Statistics 27 software. The local bus fabrication, safety and comfort, fabrication process, ergonomics and anthropometry, and engineering materials had a significant positive influence on the product quality standard of a local midi bus. However, the components, materials, and fabrication process used in the fabrication of local midi buses do not guarantee local midi bus product quality standards to meet national standards. The Institute of National Standards should be responsible for providing national standards to the local midi bus fabrication company that has a lower product quality standard. Domestic midi bus factories can develop a national standard using the developed model and the extracted framework. They should regularly send their employees to refresher workshops so that they understand Ethiopian standards and improve their skills. This study will help the local Midi Bus Innovation and Ethiopian Standards Institute develop product quality standards by involving stakeholders. In this way, using national standards, the local midi bus will become competitive in the neighboring country. By using the national standard, it will fulfill the demands of the passengers and users of the local midi bus.

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Keywords

Local Midi Bus, metal Fabrication Process, Standard, Product Standardization, Road Vehicle, Standard Development

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