Multicriteria models for the allocation of design parameter targets

The allocation of process mean locations for design parameters is important in establishing the mean of a performance characteristic within performance limits. This is an especially difficult problem when there is a multivariate set of performance measures that are all functions of a common set of design parameters. We propose multicriteria models for the allocation of design parameters that either (1) attempt to minimize the deviation of performance measures from prespecified nominal values, or (2) attempt to place performance measure means well within tolerance ranges. Empirical comparisons with established procedures, via case studies and examples, are used to illustrate both the effectiveness of the proposed procedures as well as the degree of flexibility that these procedures possess for modeling a wide range of product/process design decision environments.