Process optimisation using Taguchi methods of experimental design Jiju Antony Steve WarwoodKiran Fernandes andHefin Rowlands Introduction Continuing customer satisfaction and economic viability in a competitive business environment can only be achieved through the continuous improvement of both product and process quality and capability at minimal cost. Experimental design (ED) based on Taguchi methdology is a powerful and effective approach to achieving this goal. The advantage of the Taguchi approach to experimental design is that it assists engineers with limited statistical skills to study and understand how several process parameters affect the process output using limited budget and resources (Antony and Kaye, 1999). Research has shown that the application ofTaguchi methods in the UK manufacturing environment is limited and when applied it is often carried out by statisticians or external consultants. This often prohibits the engineering community within an organisation from learning why and how experimental design has been applied to a particular problem. Moreover the communication between engineers, managers and industrial statisticians needs to be improved so that everyone can learn the role and potential benefits of ED. In order to apply Taguchi methods effectively in industry, one may require planning, engineering, communication, statistical and teamwork skills (Antony, 1999). Moreover, the participation of the right people, the commitment of top management, an awareness of Taguchi methods, reasonable statistical skills, etc. are essential ingredients for the successful implementation of Taguchi methods in any organisation. What is the role of Taguchi methods in total quality management? The ethos of total quality management (TQM) is ``continuous improvement'' of the quality ofboth products and processes. Improvement is generally as a result of proper management, which comes from good control of the process/ system. A key component of ``good control'' is the measurement of key characteristics of the process/system. It is difficult to improve the performance of a process unless the characteristics or attributes which are most crucial to customers are first identified and The author s Jiju Antony, Steve Warwood and Kiran Fernandes are all based at the Warwick Manufacturing Group, International Manufacturing Centre, University ofWarwick, Coventry, UK. Hefin Rowlands is based at the Department ofEngin eering , Univer sity of Wales College, Newport, UK. Keywords Taguchi methods, Design of experiments, Process control, Process efficiency Abstract Experimental design (ED) is a powerful technique which involves the process of planning and designing an experiment so that appropriate data can be collected and then analysed by statistical methods, resulting in objective and valid conclusions. It is an alternative to the traditional inefficient and unreliable one-factor-at-a-time approach to experimentation, where an experimenter generally varies one factor or process parameter at a time keeping all other factors at a constant level. This paper presents a step-by-step approach to the optimisation of a production process (of retaining a metal ring in a plastic body by a hot forming method) through the utilisation ofTaguchi methods of experimental design. The experiment enabled the behaviour of the system to be understood by the engineering team in a short period of time and resulted in significantly improved performance (with the opportunity to design further experiments for possible greater improvements). Electronic access The research register for this journal is available at http://www.mcbup.com/research_registers The current issue and full text archive of this journal is availa ble at http://www.emerald-library.com/ft 51 Work Study Volume 50 . Number 2 . 2001 . pp. 51±57 # MCB University Press . ISSN 0043-8022
