Improving the Quality of Automotive Components through the Effective Management of Complaints in Industry 4.0
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
See Review report.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
Dear reviewer (all comments and suggestions are processed
in the article with function revision )
We formulated research questions in the introduction:
RQ1: Which automotive parts from the product portfolio are critical for customers?
RQ2: How many complaints were recorded for the critical component?
RQ3: What are the main causes of poor quality of critical components?
RQ4: Which factors significantly influence output?
RQ5: What will make it possible to track complaints and their resolution more effectively?
RQ6: What means can be used to improve the quality of automotive parts?
We are used new sources in the part of literature review and we repaired structure of literature review. Literature review include: complaints management as part of area of marketing...., incorrect management of complaints, CRM system, solution for Indurstry 4.0.
- Aksoy, M., Yilmaz, O. (2021). Consumer complaints and complaint management in tme tourism sector. Contemporary Studies in Economic and Financial Analysis, 108, 95-111. doi: 10.1108/S1569-37592022000108A034.
- Sourdin, T., Carlson, J., Watts, M., Armstrong, C., Carlyle, T., McGeoch, D. (2021) Measuring effective complaint handling by government. 31(3), 210-222. doi> 10.1108/S1569-37592022000108A034.
Conclusion was repaired : include management implications, directions for future.
For effective complaints management, important factors are satisfaction, retention of customers, process improvement, employee attitude, and retention, quality outputs, communication with customers, reducing failures of the products, looking for causes of complaints, and others. Problems in the manufacturing of automotive components have always been barriers to suppliers, and customers but also the management of the company. They lead to low productivity, poor quality, high costs, and ultimately loss of customers. Complaints management is a priority area of the Industry 4.0 concept within the pillars - digitization, quality, and optimization. The main goal of the article was to point out the importance of complaint management in the automotive industry because automotive components create a very important part of production and influence the quality of products. The subject of the research was a selected company in Slovakia, which focuses on the production of automotive components such as locks, handles, and latches. As part of the algorithm of steps, we proceeded as follows: description of the problem using the QRQC method and analysis of the number of defective components, determination of corrective measures to solve the problem of the component - lock, analysis of production failures on the X123 line, creation of an Ishikawa diagram and solution of the problem with the components.
This article presents the results of complaints about components - locks in vehicles. In the research, we found the main cause of the problem - a bent pin after riveting in the production process. In this research, corrective measures were proposed to eliminate the existing causes in production: 1M - changing the dimensions of the rivet nest, 2M - checking the riveting height after 5 products, 3M - introducing a training center, 4M - determining the position of the spring rivet based on the project documentation, 5M - introduced preventive maintenance of the rivet nest. A training center has been established to minimize human factor errors in the production of automotive components. The total cost of complaints this year was €13,575. These costs would gradually decrease until the end of the year. The new information system for complaints is beneficial for solving problems in the automotive industry and at the same time allows monitoring the time interval for handling customer complaints. The first step for the strategic vision for the companies is important to use and implement a CRM - customer relationships system. CRM is a technology for managing all company’s relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers. CRM system helps companies stay connected to customers, streamline processes, and improve profitability.
Thank you for your comments, it is very good form of education how to prepare the excellence article.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
Teplicka et al. conducted research on improving the quality of automotive components through effective management of complaints in Industry 4.0. To be considered for publication, authors should address the following:
What is the research problem? This question is critical as it determines whether the research is worthwhile. The problem should be identified from existing literature and research findings, allowing authors to identify the gap and problem.
For a research article, authors need to rely on established scientific methods. They should describe similar research that employed comparable methods and explain why the chosen method is appropriate. Are there any other options?
Systematic analysis is based on the scientific methods applied. What kind of data analysis tools are used? What are the results?
The current state of the manuscript is difficult to understand due to complex language and sentence structure. Extensive proofreading and editing are required to enhance clarity, ensure logical flow, and rectify inconsistencies in terminology.
Author Response
Dear reviewer,
we accepted all your comments and all changes are provided in text.
Research problem is in abstract and introduction.
The main problem of component production in the automotive industry is their low quality, high number of failures, and the following number of complaints. The quality of automotive components is a prerequisite for automated production in intelligent factory 4.0 in the time of Industry 4.0. Managing complaints is a critical area in the automotive industry. The main goal of the contribution was to point out the significance of CRM system and the importance of complaints management in automotive manufacturing, which improves the quality of the production process of components and parts and at the same time improves the quality of inputs - the quality of materials, the quality of the human factor, the quality of service services.
Science method are described in part of Material and Methods:
Pareto diagram - the Pareto effect is a regularity that can be observed in various areas of industrial activity. The Pareto principle explains that approximately 20% of the causes (causal events) cause up to 80% of the resulting effects (or defects). By eliminating a small number of systematic causes, most negative phenomena cause product nonconformities or process inefficiencies. The Pareto diagram is the basic part of the Pareto analysis, which consists of the detection of product non-conformities, their frequency, and the construction of the diagram, but does not look for the causes of non-conformities. A Pareto chart is a graphical display for a certain type of product, where the types of non-conformances are shown on the horizontal axis and the cumulative frequency of non-conformances on the vertical axis.
FMEA - the subject of this method is the analysis of errors and their consequences in order to propose corrective measures that eliminate existing or potential errors. The advantage of FMEA is that it can be applied not only to production processes and products but also to services (financial, social, and others). The result of the FMEA is the adoption of effective corrective measures that will reduce the risk that the occurrence of an error brings with it. The determined risk number (RPN) links the meaning of the error, the probability of the error occurrence, and the probability of the error detection. In the selected company, the critical RPN number was determined by customers. The value of occurrence/severity/detection was - 5/5/6 and RPN=150. Therefore, we consider values above RPN=150 as a critical error, the range between RPN=101-149 as a marginal error, and RPN<=80 less than 80 as a negligible error. This makes it possible to compare individual errors and focus on the causes that cause the error to occur.
Results are presented in part results and data are used form financial accounting of the selected firm. (internal documentation) in part of Material and Methods
English was repaired.
The article was repaired completely.
Thank you for your comments, it is very good form of education how to prepare excellence article.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 3 Report
The main goal of the paper was to point out the importance of complaints management in automotive manufacturing, which improves the quality of the production process of components and parts and at the same time improves the quality of inputs - the quality of materials, the quality of the human factor, the quality of service. However, there are a few suggestions that could improve the overall quality of the article.
The abstract lacks a clear and concise problem statement, which should outline the specific challenges or gaps in the adoption of complaints management in automotive manufacturing.
Ensure that the abstract follows a logical structure, with clear transitions between ideas and sections. This will make it easier for readers to follow the flow of information.
The introduction should provide a brief background explaining the importance and potential benefits of the proposed work for manufacturing organizations. This is currently missing from this section.
The article mentioned that the RPN index was below a critical limit of 150 after implementing corrective measures. But, the quantitative results are not presented in the result section.
There are lots of typos are there in the papers for example in the abstract it is written as “quality of service services”.
The literature section does not include any recent references to support the rationale for the study or anchor it within the existing literature. It would be beneficial to provide a few key references that relate to the study.
The article does not discuss the generalizability of the findings beyond the specific automotive component manufacturing industry. It would be beneficial to mention the potential transferability and the relevance of the findings to other manufacturing sectors or contexts.
The article could be improved by using more concise and precise language. Some sentences are lengthy and could be divided into smaller, clearer statements.
Moderate editing of English language required
Author Response
Dear reviewer, we accepted all comments.
The article was repaired completely. All changes are presented in new file of the article by function revision.
Thank you for your comments.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
The authors have updated the manuscript in response to the reviews, and all comments have been duly addressed. I would recommend this paper for publication.
It has been improved
Author Response
Dear reviewer,
English language was repaired.
Introduction and Literature review was repaired.
Thank you.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 3 Report
May be accepted
No Comments
Author Response
Dear reviewer,
english language was repaired.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
