Many process capability indices have been proposed to measure process performance. In this paper, we first review C p , C pk , C pm and C pmk , and their generalizations, C Np , C Npk , C Npm and C Npmk , and then propose a new index S pmk for any underlying distribution, which takes into...

Recent years have seen mounting interest in measuring process performance in the manufacturing industry. Analysis of process capability indices allows a production department to trace and improve a poor process to enhance quality and satisfy customers. Process capability analysis can also serve...

Purpose – This paper aims to offer a succinct description of the Vioxx recall in 2004 and discuss the fundamental reasons why Merck got into this trouble. Design/methodology/approach – A review of literature has been conducted to provide key facts about the Vioxx disaster and to shed light...

Sam Walton opened his first Wal‐Mart discount store in 1962. Today, Wal‐Mart is not only the world’s largest corporation but also the world’s most admired company, according to a 2003 Fortune magazine poll. Wal‐Mart is competitive and successful because it has been doing many things...

Boeing Company has been the world's leading producer of large commercial airplanes for several decades. However, in the late 1990s, Europe‐based Airbus Industrie competed with Boeing aggressively and captured almost fifty percent of the over‐100‐seat airplane market. This paper examines...

Reliability engineers must not only consider the consumption of energy, capital and material resources, but also seek more economic means of completing experiments effectively. This study derives formulae for computing ratios of expected type‐II censoring times and expected complete sampling...

The electronics industry has heavily prioritized enhancing the quality, lifetime and conforming rate (conforming to specifications) of electronic components. Various methods have been developed for assessing quality performance. In practice, process capability indices (PCIs) are used as a means...

Purpose – To propose an accurate product reliability prediction model in order to enhance product quality and reduce product costs. Design/methodology/approach – This study proposes a method for analysing and forecasting field failure data for repairable systems. The novel method constructs...

The Taguchi method is the conventional approach used in off‐line quality control. However, most previous Taguchi method applications have dealt only with a single‐response problem. The multi‐response problem has received only limited attention. Proposes an effective procedure on the basis...

Considers that, occasionally, only part of an experiment can be completed owing to some uncontrollable causes such as the damage to the instrument, power failure during the experiment, and time and cost limitations. States that such incomplete data are generally referred to as censored data....