The application of OWA’s in expertise processes: the development of a model for the quantification of hidden quality costs

Abstract

This paper will introduce a fuzzy model for the quantification of hidden quality costs based on the aggregation of subjective information. The proposed model will be able to properly aggregate and summarize subjective opinions expressed by experts about the costs to be quantified, thereby achieving an adequate level of objectivity. To do so,a Probabilistic Uncertain Ordered Weighted Average operator is used, establishing as weighting factors both the confidence the organization has in each expert and, thanks to an original and specifically designed tool, the company’s position on Crosby’s well-known Quality Management Maturity Grid. Finally, in order to refine the results, the values obtained will undergo Contra-Expertise through Ordered Weighted Average Expertons. Once the theoretical model has been described, it will be applied to a case study: the quantification of the cost of loss of image in one insurance brokerage firm.