Title: Quality Insights: Learning, forgetting, and relearning quality: a half-life learning curve modelling approach

Authors: Adedeji B. Badiru

Addresses: Air Force Institute of Technology, Dayton, Ohio, USA

Abstract: Learning curves are used extensively in business, science, technology, engineering, and industry to predict system performance over time. Although most of the early developments and applications were in the area of production engineering, general applications can be found in all areas of applications. Quality engineering and technology, in particular, offer a fertile area for the application of learning curves. This paper applies the concept of half-life of learning curves to quality management. This is useful for predictive measures of quality system performance. Half-life is the amount of time it takes for a quantity to diminish to half of its original size through natural processes. The approach of half-life computation provides additional decision tool for researchers and practitioners in quality engineering and technology. Derivation of the half-life equations of learning curves can reveal more about the properties of the various curves, with respect to the unique life-cycle property of product quality.

Keywords: quality technology; quality engineering; learning curves; productivity; half-life computation; quality life-cycle; system performance; quality management; product quality.

DOI: 10.1504/IJQET.2015.069244

International Journal of Quality Engineering and Technology, 2015 Vol.5 No.1, pp.79 - 100

Received: 18 Feb 2015
Accepted: 26 Feb 2015
Published online: 05 May 2015 *

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