Integration of Taguchi and Shainin DOE for Six Sigma improvement: an Indian case

摘要

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the application of Six Sigma/design of experiments(DOE) hybrid framework for improving damping force (DF) generation process in a shock absorberassembly unit.Design/methodology/approach - The study adopted a case study research method withsingle case (holistic) design. This research design was found to be appropriate for testing the projectedframework for integrating DOE approaches within Six Sigma define-measure-analyze-improve-control(DMAIC) cycle. In the proposed framework, Shainin's component search technique (CST) wasdeployed at the "analysis" phase of DMAIC for the first stage filtering of process parameters, followedby the use of Taguchi orthogonal arrays (OA) at the "improve" phase for identifying the optimal setting ofthe parameters.Findings - The application of Shanin CST facilitated in ascertaining that assembly component (piston withrebound stopper) was causing the variation and not the assembly process. Further, the use of Taguchi OA atthe improve phase allowed the collection of necessary data to determine the significant piston parameterswith minimum experimentation (eight experimental runs in this case as opposed to the expected 64) andanalysis of variance on the collected data facilitated the selection of parameter settings to optimize the"critical to quality", i.e. rebound DF.Originality/value - This study provided a stimulus for wider application of integrated DOE approaches bythe engineering community in the problem solving and the identification of parameters responsible for poorperformance of the process.