Quality and Cost Improvements

The management and control of random process variations is often neglected in Europe. The Japanese emphasise the control and reduction of these variations and some multinationals have realised that this is an area of great potential for quality improvements. There are essentially two approaches. The first is to design the effects out of the product and therefore make it robust against both the random and the non‐random process variations. The second approach is to improve the process capability. It is stressed that if industry is to stay competitive then it must tackle product quality at all levels of design and manufacture. Some useful insights into process variation reduction are given.