Genichi Taguchi
Genichi Taguchi was a Japanese engineer and statistician who developed robust design, now known as Taguchi methods, and the quality loss function, which treats any deviation from target as a cost.
What they did and why it matters
Taguchi's idea that products and processes should be designed to perform well despite variation applies directly to packaging and fulfillment design. His quality loss function holds that cost rises as a result moves away from its target, even within specification limits. Robust design tests which settings make a process least sensitive to uncontrollable noise. In fulfillment, packaging that protects items across rough carrier handling, temperature swings, and different box fills is robust design, and it lowers damage and returns more reliably than tighter inspection.
Related people
Sources
- Taguchi methods (Wikipedia) en.wikipedia.org
- Strengths and limitations of Taguchi's contributions to quality (Auburn University) eng.auburn.edu