Engineering Robust Designs with Six Sigma

"Dr. Wang's work is of the highest caliber. He has the ability to take very complex subjects and to present them very clearly. He makes excellent use of examples throughout the book."
--Donald W. Sova, Ph.D., Booz Allen Hamilton

"I have not seen a text that provides such broad coverage of the topic. The foremost feature of this is competitive advantage. This product should provide superior utility at a lower cost to both the consumer and to the producer. Competitive advantage is rapidly becoming a necessity to stay in the game."
--Jeffrey B. Lynch, Northrop Grumman Corporation

"Few, if any, other people have the experience in both quality engineering (Six Sigma) and in product engineering that could match Dr. Wang's. A great deal of the unique value of this book is the integration of ideas from these two disciplines."
--Marvin L. Roush, Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland at College Park

Today's customers demand unprecedented reliability, efficiency, flexibility, and affordability. To deliver products, this robust, quality manufacturing isn't enough; Six Sigma processes must begin in the earliest stages of design. Now, one of the field's leading experts offers the first complete blueprint for implementing Six Sigma product design. John X. Wang has transformed product design at companies ranging from Maytag and Visteon to General Electric. In this book, he illuminates the full spectrum of proven techniques, from Voice-of-Customer (VOC) and Critical-to-Quality (CTQ) to Kano modeling. You'll discover how Six Sigma can bridge critical gaps between research and development, product and process, and how it can help you quickly respond to any change, from new suppliers to emerging customer requirements. Topics covered include

• Starting out: identifying projects, organizing teams, developing VOC models,
• formulating CTQ characteristics
• Creating robust design concepts: principles, practical techniques, and engineering parameters
• Kano modeling: delighting customers and responding to their evolving requirements
• QFD: building a "house of quality" that reflects both spoken and unspoken customer needs
• Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA): preventing failures, mitigating risks
• Minimizing lifecycle cost through effective tolerance design
• Designing in long-term reliability

If you're an engineer, manager, or quality professional who's ready to drive breakthrough improvements in product design and development, Dr. John X. Wang will guide you, every step of the way, to success.