Statistical process control and the Taguchi method: A comparative evaluation

Most manufacturing processes do not produce completely identical characteristics for successive units of the same product. There are many different sources of manufacturing variability. Product design has a significant impact on manufacturing variability. The design flows of a particular product cannot be predicted, making it difficult to apply effectively traditional statistical process control (SPC) methods. In this article, a comparison of traditional SPC methods and Taguchi methods (TM) of quality management is presented. The paper shows how the Taguchi method complements many of the features of SPC. Finally, it argues for adoption of TM for implementation into a total quality program.