"I have been trained in a number of quality programs, starting with Phil Crosby's 'Quality Is Free,' accompanied by his mantra, 'Do It Right the First Time.' It's never been my experience that quality was actually free, but we all got the point: the money you spend to get quality may be cheaper than paying for the warranty returns for a poorly designed or made product. In the years since, I have taken several Taguchi Robust Engineering classes. I found these valuable for the statistical tools they provide. When I need to do structured experiments, I get out my Taguchi experimental layout tables to use as a guide. I've heard of Six Sigma, but I have more familiarity with Shainin's Red X and Green Y programs. In fact, I have earned apprentice status in Red X and journeyman in Green Y. Red X is directed more at problem-solving, providing a structured method of defining the problem and then, as they put it, 'splitting the dictionary' - using the clues in front of you to help you go down the right branch of a decision tree to find the root cause of the problem. Green Y is my favorite, because it is a proactive method. With Green Y, you are not just trying to fix a problem that already occurred, you are using a process that helps you to design it well in the first place. It makes you think through the functions of the part or system and helps you to use statistical tools to optimize the functional performance. I am comfortable with these tools and ready to learn new ones that your company may use."
