Abstract
National regulatory authorities play a critical role in ensuring that products entering the local market comply with prescribed safety and performance requirements. Within South Africa, the approval of new pneumatic tyres is undertaken by the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS), responsible for assessing compliance before market entry. Despite the importance of this process, increasing operational demands, administrative complexity, and evolving stakeholder expectations have highlighted the need to improve efficiency and service delivery within regulatory approval systems. In particular, the limited application of digitally enabled quality management practices may constrain opportunities to enhance operational performance and customer satisfaction among manufacturers and importers interacting with the approval process. This study extends the exploration of the applicability of Quality 4.0 technologies in a technical environment, highlighting the essential characteristics of technological innovations, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data Analytics (BDA) and the Internet of Things (IoT), as applied to operational processes within a regulatory context in pursuit of augmenting customer satisfaction.
A qualitative research approach, guided by an interpretivist paradigm, was adopted. The study population comprised tyre manufacturers, importers, and internal process owners involved in the NRCS tyre approval process. A purposive sampling technique was used to select participants with relevant operational knowledge and experience. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with sixteen participants and analysed using thematic analysis to identify recurring themes aligned with the research objectives.
The findings indicate that while the existing approval process fulfils regulatory compliance objectives, opportunities exist to improve process transparency, decision-making efficiency, and stakeholder experience through the integration of Quality 4.0 technologies, such as AI, BDA, and the IoT. Participants identified both enabling factors and implementation challenges, including organisational readiness, data governance considerations, and skills requirements. The study contributes to the emerging body of Quality 4.0 literature by extending its application beyond manufacturing environments into a public-sector regulatory context. In addition, the research contributed to both practical and theoretical significance by advancing the understanding of the potential of Quality 4.0 implementation within a technical regulatory environment and providing a foundation for digital transformation.