Quality Programs

for Manufacturing
Sections:
1. Quality in Design and Manufacturing
2. Traditional and Modern Quality Control
3. Process Variability and Process Capability
4. Statistical Process Control
5. Six Sigma
6. The Six Sigma DMAIC Procedure
7. Taguchi Methods in Quality Engineering
8. ISO 9000

Two Aspects of Quality in

Design and Manufacturing
1. Product features
2. Freedom from Deficiencies
Characteristics that
Product does what it is
result from design
supposed to do
Functional and
Product is absent of defects
aesthetic features that
and out-of-tolerance
appeal to the customer
conditions
Grade

Aspects of Quality:
Product Features

Design configuration, size, weight

Function and performance
Distinguishing features of the model
Aesthetic appeal
Ease of use
Availability of options
Reliability and dependability
Durability and long service life
Serviceability

Aspects of Quality:
Freedom from Deficiencies

Absence of defects
Conformance to specifications
Components within tolerance
No missing parts
No early failures

Quality Responsibilities
Product features are the aspect of quality for
which the design department is responsible
Product features determine to a large degree the
price that a company can charge for its products

Freedom from deficiencies is the quality aspect

for which the manufacturing departments are
responsible
The ability to minimize these deficiencies has an
important influence on the cost of the product

These are generalities

The responsibility for high quality extends well
beyond the design and manufacturing departments

Traditional Quality Control

Widespread use of statistical quality control
(SQC), in which inferences are made about
the quality of the population of
manufactured parts and products based on a
sample
Two principal sampling methods in SQC
Control charts
Graphical technique used to track measured variable
of interest over time

Acceptance sampling
If the sample passes, the batch is accepted

Traditional Quality Control

Typical management principles and practices:
Customers are external to the organization
The sales and marketing department are responsible
for customers

Company is organized by functional

departments
Inspection department is responsible for quality
Inspection follows production
Pearson
2008
Knowledge
of SQC techniques resides only in
Education, Inc., Upper

Robust Design The Taguchi Philosophy

Overview
Taguchi Design of Experiments
Background of the Taguchi Method
The Taguchi Process

The Taguchi Method

The Taguchi Method for quality improvement
is named after Dr. Genichi Taguchi who
first introduced the method at AT&T Bell
Laboratories in 1980.

The Taguchi Method

The Taguchi Definition of Quality
differs from traditional definitions of quality
Taguchi said Ideal Quality is delivered when a
product or service performs its intended function
throughout its projected life under reasonable
operating conditions without harmful side effects.

The Taguchi Method

Robust Design
products should be designed so that they
are free of all defects and are of the highest
quality.

The Basic Idea Behind Robust

Design
ROBUSTNESS QUALITY

Reduce
Variability

Increase
Quality

Reduce
Cost
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INPUTS
(Factors)
X variables

OUTPUTS
(Responses)
Y variables

People

Materials

PROCESS:
Equipment

responses related
to performing a
service

Policies

responses related
to producing a
produce

Procedures

A Blending of
Inputs which
Generates
Corresponding
Outputs

responses related
to completing a task

Methods

Environment

Illustration of a Process

DOE Course

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INPUTS
(Factors)
X v ariables

OUTPUTS
(Responses)
Y v ariables

T ype of
cement

compr essive
str ength

Percent water

PROCESS:
T ype of
Additives

Percent
Additives

Mixi ng T i me

modulus of elasticity

Discov ering
Optimal
Concrete
Mixture

modulus of r upture

Poisson's rati o

Curi ng
Conditions

% Plastici zer

Optimum Concrete Mixture

DOE Course

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INPUTS
(Factors)
X v ariables

OUTPUTS
(Responses)
Y v ariables

T ype of Raw
Material

Mold
T emperature

Holdi ng
Pressure

PROCESS:

% shrinkage from
mold size

Holdi ng T ime

Gate Si ze

thickness of molded
part

Manufacturing
Inj ection
Molded Parts

number of defective
parts

Screw Speed

Moisture
Content

Manufacturing Inj ection Molded

Parts

DOE Course

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INP UTS
(Factors)
X v ariables

OUTPUTS
(Responses)
Y v ariables

Im perm eable layer

(m m)

Ini ti al storage
(m m)

PROCESS:

Coeffici ent of
Infil trati on

Coeffici ent of
Recession

Rainfall-Runoff
Model
Calibration

R- square:
Predicted vs
Obser ved Fits

S oil Moisture
Capacity
(m m)

Ini ti al S oi l Moisture
(m m)

Model Calibration

DOE Course

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INPUTS
(Factors)
X v ariables

OUTPUTS
(Responses)
Y v ariables

Brand:
Cheap vs Costly

PROCESS:

Taste:
Scale of 1 to 10

T ime:
4 min vs 6 mi n

Power:
75% or 100%

Making the
Bes t
Microw ave
popcorn

Bullets:
Grams of unpopped
corns

Height:
On bottom or rai sed

Making m icrow ave popcorn

DOE Course

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 Every experiment involves a sequence of

activities:
Conjecture - hypothesis that motivates the
experiment
Experiment - the test performed to investigate
the conjecture
Analysis - the statistical analysis of the data
from the experiment
Conclusion - what has been learned about the
original conjecture from the experiment.
L. M. Lye

DOE Course

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Taguchi Design of Experiments

Many factors/inputs/variables must be taken into consideration
when making a product especially a brand new one
Ex. Baking a new cake without a recipe

The Taguchi method is a structured approach for determining

the best combination of inputs to produce a product or service
Based on a Design of Experiments (DOE) methodology for determining
parameter levels

DOE is an important tool for designing processes and products

A method for quantitatively identifying the right inputs and parameter
levels for making a high quality product or service

Taguchi approaches design from a robust design perspective

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Definition of Terms

Factor - A controllable experimental variable thought to influence

response (example air flow rate, or in the case of the Frisbee thrower:
angle, tire speed, tire pressure)
Response - The outcome or result; what you are measuring (cycle time
to produce one bottle, distance Frisbee goes)
Levels - Specific value of the factor (fast flow vs. slow flow, 15
degrees vs. 30 degrees)
Interaction - Factors may not be independent, therefore combinations
of factors may be important. Note that these interactions can easily be
missed in a straight hold all other variables constant scientific
approach. If you have interaction effects you can NOT find the
global optimum using the OFAT (one factor at a time) approach!
Replicate performance of the basic experiment

How Can DOE Help?

run a relatively small number of tests to isolate the

most important factors (screening test).
determine if any of the factors interact (combined
effects are as important as individual effects) and
the level of interaction.
predict response for any combination of factors
using only empirical results
optimize using only empirical results
determine the design space for simulation models

Robust Design (I)

Products and services should be designed to be inherently
defect free and of high quality
Meet customers expectations also under non-ideal conditions

Disturbances are events that cause the design performance to

deviate from its target values
Taguchi divide disturbances into three categories
External disturbances: variations in the environment where the
product is used
Internal disturbances: ware and tare inside a specific unit
Disturbances in the production process: deviation from target values

A three step method for achieving robust design (Taguchi)

1. Concept design
2. Parameter design
3. Tolerance design

The focus of Taguchi is on Parameter design

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Robust Design (II)

1. Concept Design
The process of examining competing technologies for
producing a product - Includes choices of technology and
process design
A prototype design that can be produced and meets
customers needs under ideal conditions without
disturbances

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Robust Design (III)

2. Parameter Design
The selection of control factors (parameters) and their
optimal levels
The objective is to make the design Robust!

Control factors are those process variables management

can influence.
Ex. the procedures used and the type and amount of training
Often a complex (non-linear) relationship between the control
factors and product/design performance

The optimal parameter levels can be determined

through experimentation
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Robust Design (IV)

3. Tolerance Design
Development of specification limits
Necessary because there will always be some variation in the
production process
Taguchi fiercely advocates aiming for the target value not just
settle for inside the specification limits!

Occurs after the parameter design

Often results in increased production costs
More expensive input material might have to be used to meet
specifications

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Background of the Taguchi Method

Introduced by Dr. Genichi Taguchi (1980)
Comparable in importance to Statistical Process Control (SPC), the
Deming approach and the Japanese concept of TQC

Unique aspects of the Taguchi method

The Taguchi definition of quality
The Taguchi Quality Loss Function (QLF)
The concept of Robust Design

The Taguchi definition of quality

Ideal quality refers to a target value for determining the quality level
Ideal quality is delivered if a product or service tangible performs its
intended function throughout its projected life under reasonable
operating conditions without harmful side effects
Ideal quality is a function of customer perception and satisfaction
Service quality is measured in terms of loss to society

The traditional definition is conformance to specifications

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The Taguchi Quality Loss Function (I)

The traditional model for quality losses
No losses within the specification limits!
Cost

Scrap Cost
LSL

Target

USL

The Taguchi loss function

the quality loss is zero only if we are on target

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Computing The Taguchi QLF

Define
C

= The unit repair cost when the deviation from target equals the
maximum tolerance level

= Tolerance interval (allowable parameter variation from target to SL)

T
= Target value
Y
= The actual metric value for a specific product
V
= Deviation from target = Y-T
L(V) = Economic penalty incurred by the customer as a result of quality
deviation from target (The quality loss)

The Loss Function

L(V) = C(V/)2
Example: The repair cost for an engine shaft is $100. The shaft diameter is required
to be 101 mm. On average the produced shafts deviates 0.5 mm from target.
Determine the mean quality loss per shaft using the Taguchi QLF.
Solution: L(0.5) = C(V/)2 = 100(0.5/1)2 = 1000.25 = $25 per unit
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Insensitivity to Noise
Noise = Factors which the engineer can not or
chooses not to control
Unit-to-unit
Manufacturing variations
Aging
Corrosion
UV degradation
wear
Environmental
human interface
temperature
humidity

How Noise Affects a System

Noise

Useful Energy
Energy
Signal Factor, M

Ideal Function of
Product or Process

Quality Characteristic, y

Harmful Energy
Caused by Noise

Control
Factors

The Taguchi Process (I)

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The Taguchi Process (II)

1. Problem Identification
Locate the problem source not just the symptom
2. Brainstorming Session
Attended at least by project leader/facilitator and workers involved in the
process. Other participants may include managers and technical staff
The purpose is to identify critical variables for the quality of the product
or service in question (referred to as factors by Taguchi)
Control factors variables under management control
Signal factors uncontrollable variation

Define different factor levels (three or four) and identify possible

interaction between factors
Determine experiment objectives
1. Less-the-better keep the level of defectives as close to zero as possible
2. Nominal-is-best Outcome as close to target as possible
3. More-the-better max number of units per time unit or lot without defects
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The Taguchi Process (III)

3. Experimental Design
Using factor levels and objectives determined via brainstorming
Taguchi advocates off-line-experimentation as a contrast to traditional
on-line or in-process experimentation
Care should be taken to selecting number of trials, trial conditions,
how to measure performance etc.

4. Experimentation
Various rigorous analysis approaches like ANOVA and Multiple
Regression can be used but also simpler customized methods are
available

5. Analysis
The experimentation provides best levels for all factors
If interactions between factors are evident Either ignore or run a
full factorial experiment

6. Conforming Experiments
The results should be validated by running experiments with all factors
set to optimal levels
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The Taguchi Approach to DOE (I)

Traditional Design of Experiments (DOE) focused on how
different design factors affect the average result level
Taguchis perspective (robust design)
variation is more interesting to study than the average
Run experiments where controllable design factors and
disturbing signal factors take on 2 or three levels.
For each combination of the design variables a number of
experiments are run covering all possible combinations of
the signal variables.
Can estimate average effects and the variation different
design factor levels imply
choose factor levels that minimize the sensitivity against
disturbances
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Taguchi's Orthogonal Arrays

Taguchi's orthogonal arrays are highly fractional orthogonal
designs. These designs can be used to estimate main effects
using only a few experimental runs.

Consider the L4 array shown in the next Figure. The L4 array is

denoted as L4(2^3).

L4 means the array requires 4 runs. 2^3 indicates that the design
estimates up to three main effects at 2 levels each. The L4 array
can be used to estimate three main effects using four runs
provided that the two factor and three factor interactions can be
ignored.

Orthogonal Array
Design of Experiments: An information gathering exercise.
DOE is a structured method for determining the relationship
between process inputs and process outputs.
Here, our objective is to intelligently
choose the information we gather so that
4) Orthogonal Array
L
(3
9
we can determine the relationship between
Variables
Exp.
the inputs and outputs with the least
X1 X2 X3 X4
Num
amount of effort
L4(23) Orthogonal Array1
1
1
1
1
Number of
Variable Levels

Number of
Variables

L4(23)
Number of
Experiments

Variables

X3

Exp.
Num

X1

X2

Num of Experiments must be system degrees-of-freedom: DOF = 1

+ (# variables)*(# of levels 1)
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How Taguchis Method Differs from an

Ad-hoc Design Process
Organized Design Space
Search
Clear Critical Parameter
Identification
Focus on Parameter
Variation (Noise)
Clear Stopping Criteria
Robustness centered not
Failure Centered
Reusable Method

Concurrently Addresses
Manufacturing Variation
Concurrent Design-Test
Not Design-Test-Fix
Minimize Development
Time (Stops Fire Fighting)
Corporate Memory
Through Documentation
Encourages Technology
Development Through
System Understanding

How Taguchis Method Differs from

Traditional Design of Experiments
Focused on reducing the
impact of variability rather
than reducing variability
Focused on noise effects
rather than control factor
effects
Clearly focused cost
function - maximizing the
useful energy

Tries to reduce interaction

between control factors
rather than study them
Requires little skill in
statistics
Usually lower cost

THANK YOU

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