Title: Determining optimal targets for multi-characteristic product using fuzzy logic and Taguchi type loss function

Authors: Syed N. Mujahid, Salih O. Duffuaa

Addresses: Department of Systems Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ' Department of Systems Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract: This paper considers the targeting problem for products with multiple quality characteristics. Typically, these quality characteristics cannot be measured exactly, or related directly to the process input and/or process parameters. However, they can be estimated through an indirect relationship with the multiple observed process parameters. In practice, these relations can not be explicitly written in mathematical form. Therefore, in this paper a fuzzy relation between the observed parameters and required quality characteristics is proposed. In addition to that, a fuzzy-based process targeting model is developed, and the cost function is defined using unsymmetrical interval-based Taguchi (UIT) loss function. Also, an evolutionary algorithm is designed to solve the model and to obtain the optimal process targets. The utility of the proposed model and algorithm is illustrated by a realistic example form the literature.

Keywords: process targeting; fuzzy logic; genetic algorithms; Taguchi methods; loss function; optimal targets; multi-characteristic products; product quality; modelling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOR.2011.037262

International Journal of Operational Research, 2011 Vol.10 No.1, pp.41 - 59

Published online: 14 Feb 2015 *

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