MAHALANOBIS-TAGUCHI: SYSTEM

The Mahalanobis-Taguchi System (MTS) is a philosophy that is revolutionizing many Japanese industries. It takes an obscure statistical process - the Mahalanobis Distance - and translates it into useful application tools for a variety of industries. It provides a process for recognizing patterns that consist of a multitude of data, in the same way a computer can. This work presents 15 case studies demonstrating the use of this system in a range of situations, including: medical diagnosis; manufacturing; fire detection; weather forecasting; and automotive collision prevention systems.

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknoledgements Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Lives Versus Machines 1.2 What Is MTS? 1.3 Where MTS Can Be Applied 1.4 An Important Issue Chapter 2: A Detailed Example of MTS 2.1 Clutch Disc Defects 2.2 Visual Inspection Method 2.3 Differential and Integral Characteristics 2.4 Raw Data Collection 2.5 Normalization 2.6 Matrix Construction 2.7 Mahalanobis Distance 2.8 Results of Recognition 2.9 Selection of Threshold Value 2.10 Selection of Characteristics 2.11 Confirmation Chapter 3: Business-Process Forecasting 3.1 A Problem in Business Systems 3.2 Preparation of the Database 3.3 Calculation of the Database 3.4 Mahalanobis Distance 3.5 Estimation of the Unpaid Amount and its Estimating Error by Using the SN Ratio 3.6 Rationalization of Item Selection 3.7 Design of a Business System Section One -- Health Care Chapter 4: Diagnosis of a Special Health Checking 4.1 Diagnosis of Liver Function 4.2 Selection of Characteristics 4.3 The Loss Function of Health Checkups (Determination of Threshold) Chapter 5: Application for Medical Treatment 5.1 Problems in Clinical Research 5.2 Mahalanobis Distance and Treatment Effect 5.3 The Study Using One Patient 5.4 Comparison Treatment Methods Section Two -- Mechanical Industry Chapter 6: Wafer Yield Prediction 6.1 Objective 6.2 Base Space 6.3 Relatinship Between Mahalanobis Distance and Yield 6.4 Selection of Characteristics Chapter 7: Inkject Quality Inspection 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Camera Inspection System 7.3 Mahalanobis Distance Results 7.4 Measurement System Cost Reduction 7.5 Conclusions Chapter 8: Prevention of Driving Accidents 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Measuring System 8.3 Base Space 8.4 Base Data Collection 8.5 Base Space Construction and Mahalanobis Distance Distribution 8.6 Mahalanaobis Distance Under Dangerous Situations 8.7 Evaluation of Functionality 8.8 Conclusion Section Three -- Electrical Industry Chapter 9: Solder Joint Appearance Inspection 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Data Collection and Mahalanobis Distance Calculation 9.3 Mahalanobis Distance Using Inspection-Logic Characteristics 9.4 Mahalanobis Distance Using Reflection Characteristics Chapter 10: Fire Alarm System Optimization 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Data Collection 10.3 Calculation of Mahalanobis Space 10.4 Calculation of Mahalanobis Distance 10.5 Selection of Sensors Section Four -- Chemical Industry Chapter 11: Diagnosis of Photographic Processing Solution 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Processing of Photo-Sensitive Materials 11.3 Selection of the Base Space 11.4 Mahalanobis Distance of Rejected Solutions and Their Photographic Quality 11.5 Factorial Effects 11.6 Discussions Chapter 12: Pattern Recognition for Infrared Absorption Spectrum Analysis 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Experiment 12.3 Selection of Characteristics 12.4 Results Section Five -- Space Industry Chapter 13: Fault Analysis 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Outline of the Fault Diagnosis Program (FDP) 13.3 Observer and Residual 13.4 Process of Fault Diagnosis by Using Residuals 13.5 Collection of Normal Data 13.6 The Standard Space of a Normal Group 13.7 Fault Detection by Mahalanobis Distance 13.8 Fault Identification by Mahalanobis Distance 13.9 Fault Identification by Estimation Errors Section Six -- Software Industry Chapter 14: Valuation of a Programmer's Capability 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Data Collection 14.3 The MTS Method 14.4 Analysis 14.5 Factor Reductin 14.6 Effective Factors 14.7 Results Chapter 15: Handwriting Recognition 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Extraction of Character Elements 15.3 Procedures of Character Recognition 15.4 Calculation of Mahalanobis Distance 15.5 Hand-Written Character Recognition Section Seven -- Government Chapter 16: U.S. Dollar Bill Inspection 16.1 Patterns of U.S. Dollar Bills 16.2 Characteristics of One-Dollar Bills 16.3 Differentiation of One-Dollar Bills Index

About the Author :
GENICHI TAGUCHI, D.Sc., is Executive Director of the American Supplier Institute, an international organization that trains and consults on quality management and engineering. Winner of the Deming Prize of Japan and the Shewhart Medal of the American Society for Quality, Dr. Taguchi developed the statistical and logical systems for rapid improvements in product quality and product development that have revolutionized automobile and other industries in America and in his home country of Japan. He is also co-author of McGraw-Hill’s Robust Engineering. SUBIR CHOWDHURY is Executive Vice President of the American Supplier Institute. A recipient of the Society of Automotive Engineers’ prestigious Henry Ford II Award for Excellence, he is the lead author of the international best-selling business book - Management 21C and co-author of Robust Engineering (McGraw-Hill, 1999). YUIN WU is Executive Director of the American Supplier Institute and conducted the first Taguchi Methodsâ experiments in the U.S. while working in private industry in California. He also provides consultation and training on Robust Engineering and MTS. He is co-author of Taguchi Methodsâ for Robust Designâ.