Strojarstvo 53 (2) 137-145 (2011) A. SRDOČ et. al., A Quality Management Model Based... 137 A Quality Management Model Based... 137 137 CODEN STJSAO ISSN 0562-1887 ZX470/1505 UDK 658.51:006.83:004.89 (043.3) Subject review In the paper the results of the doctoral research in which a new knowledge- focused approach to quality management called Deep Quality Concept (DQC) is conceptualised, are presented in short. The main features of the new quality management model developed on that approach also are presented. Particular attention is paid to expert knowledge – especially tacit and deep domain knowledge, i.e. on knowledge that is not only decisive for quality, but also for the competitive advantage of an organisation. Given that such knowledge is hard or even impossible to be formalised by traditional methods, computer concepts – including articial intelligence (AI) concepts, also are included in the model. The DQC model contains both, i.e. (1) the part concerning development of quality standard i.e. quality award criteria based on the developed approach; and (2) the part concerning implementation of the so obtained standard i.e. award criteria. The main points and potential of the model and approach are validated in the case study by example of delivery time estimate in ship-repair, aimed to get a more transparent assessment and decision structure through the use of machine learning – one of the AI’s best known and efcient knowledge acquisition and representing techniques. The application results showed that the proposed approach can contribute signicantly to the more reliable quality, particularly in complex and highly dynamic and stochastic domains. That conrmed that computer and AI concepts need to be considered as an integral part of quality management systems, as it is anticipated in the DQC model. Model upravljanja kvalitetom temeljen na bazama podataka i znanju Pregledni članak U ovom su radu ukratko predstavljeni rezultati znanstvenog istraživanja u okviru izrade doktorske disertacije u okviru kojeg je osmišljen novi, na znanje usmjereni pristup upravljanju kvalitetom, nazvan Deep Quality Concept (DQC). Glavne značajke novog na temelju tog pristupa razvijenog modela upravljanja kvalitetom, također su predstavljene. Posebna pozornost pridana je pritom ekspertnom znanju – posebno tihom i dubokom znanju o domeni, tj. znanju koje nije samo odlučujuće za kvalitetu već i za komparativne prednosti neke organizacije. Budući je takvo znanje teško ili čak nemoguće formalizirati tradicionalnim metodama, računalni koncepti – uključujući koncepte umjetne inteligencije (UI), također su uključeni u model. Model sadrži oboje, tj. (1) dio koji se odnosi na razvoj standarda kvalitete, tj. kriterija nagrada kvalitete; te (2) dio koji se odnosi na implementaciju tako dobivenog standarda, odnosno kriterija nagrada. Glavne točke i potencijal modela potvrđeni su u studiji slučaja na primjeru procjene vremena isporuke u brodoremontu, kojeg je cilj bio dobiti treansparentniju strukturu ocjene i odlučivanja uporabom strojnog učenja – jedne od najpoznatijih i najučinkovitijih tehnika UI za stjecanje i prikaz znanja. Rezultati te primjene pokazali su da predloženi pristup može značajno doprinijeti pouzdanijoj kvaliteti, posebno u složenim i izrazito dinamičkim i stohastičkim domenama. Time je potvrđeno da računalni koncepti, kao i koncepti UI, trebaju biti smatrani sastavnim dijelom sustava upravljanja kvalitetom, kao što je to predviđeno u DQC modelu. Alira SRDOČ 1) , Ivan BRATKO 2) and Alojzij SLUGA 3) 1) Brodogradilište 3. MAJ (3. MAY Shipyard), Liburnijska 3, HR-51000 Rijeka, Republic of Croatia 2) Fakulteta za računalništvo in informatiko, Univerza v Ljubljani (Faculty of Computer and Information Science, University of Ljubljana), Tržaška cesta 25, 1000 Ljubljana, Republic of Slovenia Institut Jožef Stefan (Jozef Stefan Institute), Jamova 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Republic of Slovenia 3) Fakulteta za strojništvo, Univerza v Ljubljani (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana), Aškerčeva 6, 1000 Ljubljana, Republic of Slovenia Keywords DQC model Knowledge management Knowledge synthesis Machine learning Quality management Ship-repair Ključne riječi Brodoremont DQC model Sinteza znanja Strojno učenje Upravljanje kvalitetom Upravljanje znanjem Received (primljeno): 2010-07-01 Accepted (prihvaćeno): 2011-01-30 A Quality Management Model Based on Databases and Knowledge alira.srdoc@3maj.hr 1. Foundations of the research For the last quarter of the twentieth century one of the leading topics not only in industry has without doubt been quality. Nowadays, growing world market globalisation and ruthless competition have increased the importance of quality additionally. On the global market only the best can survive, and not only in the sense of the quality of their products and/or services, but in a much broader meaning of the word. That is now well-recognised in the majority of the available quality management models. However, although there are signicant differences