High visibility or quiet operation?: A statistical inference model of the wiper operation quality by the dual-code theory Seong-joon Kim a , Jieun Kim b, * , Suk Joo Bae a , Heewon Kang c , Donghwan Kim c , Hokyoung Ryu b a Department of Industrial Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea b Graduate School of Technology and Innovation Management, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea c Environmental Durability Development Team, Hyundai Motor Company, Hwaseong, Kyonggi-do, Republic of Korea article info Article history: Received 22 July 2013 Received in revised form 4 April 2014 Accepted 6 April 2014 Available online Keywords: Quality Multimodal theory Wiper Perceived quality Jury chart Vehicle Noises abstract The motor industry has assured drivers that it will continually provide quality vehicles without compromising safety and comfort. In this sense, the quality of a product always needs to be determined by what the customer actually perceives, which has not been the case in the domain of wiper operation quality. To maintain a quality prediction model for wiper operation, this article develops a multi-modal inference model considering both the visible quality (VQ) and acoustic and vibration quality (AVQ). Based on the cognitive multimodal information processing theory, the model combines the two kinds of perceived information from various wiper operating conditions, i.e., the level of visibility obtained by wiper operations, and noises or shudders during operation. The regression model with regard to the customer’s perceived quality was validated empirically, and an interesting gender effect was identified in the perception of wiper quality. Also, in place of the conventional quality evaluation method (e.g., checklists or jury charts), we suggest our model of the multimodal information processing theory not only to predict the perceived wiper operation quality (visibility and quietness), but also to apply it to other related fields in product quality measurement. Relevance to industry: This study proposes a multi-modal quality index model -visibility and quietness- in assessing wiper operation. Our model can be used in place of the conventional quality evaluation method (e.g., checklists or jury charts) in both the motor industry and other related fields in product quality measurement. Ó 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Quality can be defined in many ways. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (NIST, 2013) defines that quality is measured by meeting customer expectations. Crosby (1979, 1985) also defined quality as meeting users’ requirements, at which point the cost of quality is justified. Practically, Deming (1986) claimed that quality is a triangle involving the interaction of the product and the customer, the way he or she uses the product, and how to train the customer. Furthermore, addressing a variety of user requirements, Mizuno (1988) distinguishes between exciting and required quality. Required quality is the set of standard char- acteristics that allows one to compete in the market, whereas exciting quality is the set of characteristics that differentiates the product from its competitors and forms a market niche. There are two differing views for the overall quality of a product. First is the view of the manufacturer, which is primarily concerned with the design, engineering, and manufacturing processes involved in fabricating the product from the components. Here product quality is measured by the degree of conformance to pre- determined specifications and standards. Early work on quality thus focused on creating standards that the collection of features and characteristics of a product contribute to its ability to meet the given required quality. Second is the view of the consumer or the actual user of the product, for which there is in need of forming exciting qualities. For most customers, a high-quality product is the one that satisfies their preferences and expectations. This consid- eration can include a number of characteristics of product quality evaluation, some of which contribute little or nothing to the functionality of the product, but are significant in providing * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ82 (0)2 2220 2256; fax: þ82 (0)2 2220 2254. E-mail address: jkim2@hanyang.ac.kr (J. Kim). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ergon http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2014.04.001 0169-8141/Ó 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 44 (2014) 482e492