Quality assurance and stage dynamics in multi-stage manufacturing. Part II

This is the second in a two-part report on control engineering considerations in quality assurance. The first paper (in the previous issue of IJPR) introduced some basic concepts in the measurement of the ‘loss’ due to poor product quality, and approached the issue of parameter optimization of the control system through the modem of manipulating the PID constants, using an experimental approach coupled with simulation as the methodology to achieve the desired objective. This paper approaches the problem of parameter optimization via mathematical programming, and then addresses the issue of setting the standard of system performance through Markov decision processes.