Taguchi Method of Design of Experiments



Taguchi Method of Design of Experiments

Design of Experiments (DOE)

Sir R.A Fisher introduced the statistical technique known as Design of Experiments (DOE), in the 1920s in England. The main objective of the technique was to find out the rain, optimum water, fertilizer, soil conditions and the sunshine needed in order to yield the best possible crop. Fisher laid out the combinations (also known as trial conditions or treatments) of the factors involved in the study through the use of the DOE technique. All the factors were given test condition of the same number, since a matrix was used for the creation of the conditions. Experiment analysis methods were also developed and as such introduced. In order to make the presence of the factors possible, certain schemes were designed to execute some part of the total possibilities, when possible combinations became very large. The analysis of more than one factor's effect at a given time was made possible by the method devised by Fisher.

Research and development was kick started following the introduction and demonstration of Fisher's technique in experiments of an agricultural nature; although the bulk of the work was purely confined to academics. With the exception of segments of fertilizer and chemical industries, most of the other industries have not put the DOE technique into effect with regards to their processes of production, even though as far as the industrial environment is concerned, there is a growing and widespread need to study the effects which arte of a multivariable nature. Thus, with the advancement of academic learning and knowledge, advancement was seen in a method which could easily be applied to the industry. Nevertheless, the Design of Experiments became less appealing and less attractive to the engineers practicing their profession, with an increase in sophistication of the theory on which the design is based.

Dr. Genechi Taguchi

Dr. Genechi Taguchi has been very active throughout his career as a scientist to explore ways and means through which the quality and performance of manufactured products could be improved. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the telephone system in Japan was damaged and was hit very hard. After his appointment as the head of Electrical Communications Laboratories (ECL) in Japan, Taguchi started exploring ways through which an improvement in quality could be had, and it was there that he put the DOE technique to use. Taguchi practiced his concept, and at the same time perfected it, while he was at Nippon Telephone and Telegraph Company, and it was picked up by companies such as Nippon Denso, Toyota, Fuji Film and various leading Japanese companies.

Taguchi preached his concepts in other parts of the world, by visiting other countries in the 1960s, although it was during the 1980s that the concept of Taguchi reached the United States. As of now, Taguchi constantly offers advice and consultation to a number of companies in the United States.

Taguchi's method or approach of Design of Experiments (DOE)

The concept of engineering ...