A 5-day Robust Design Course

Course Description  

High manufacturing costs, rework, early failures in the field and high warranty costs are often symptomatic of a sensitive design. Discovering a sensitive design in manufacture or in the hands of the customer is not good for business as options of tightening specifications, redesign or even “living with it” are all extremely expensive. Robust Design provides a complete methodology that can be used in the design of systems to ensure that they perform consistently in the hands of the customer. It comprises a process and tool kit that allows the designer to assess the impact of variation that the system is likely to experience in use, and if necessary modify the  design the system if it is found to be sensitive.  

This 5-day Robust Design course is a natural follow-on from the Systems Engineering Short Course. It aims to both educate and train participants in the concepts, principles and practice of Robust Design.  The Course will cover the theoretical basis of Robust Design established by Dr Genichi Taguchi through the concept of the loss function and his parameter and tolerance design approach. It will also present a pragmatic proven process for undertaking Robust Design together will the tools necessary to complete the steps.  

Course Numbers and Who Should Attend?  

The 5-day Robust Design Course can be delivered to up to 20 participants. The course is suitable for all personnel involved in the detailed design and optimisation of any complex system.  

Benefits to the Individual and Business  

During an intensive five days of teaching and practical ‘hands on’ exercises, participants will be challenged to develop the skills and mind-set that can be applied to ensure a conceptual design is robust against likely sources of variation.  

At the end of the course participants will:  

• have an understanding the principles of Robust Design and how it applies to the creation of a new system through the appropriate blend of people, process and tools
• understand the importance of Taguchi’s “loss function” and recognise where it can be applied practically
• be able to identify and prioritise system parameters that contribute to system sensitivity
• be able to perform qualitative and quantitative sensitivity assessments
• be able to undertake parameter and tolerance design
• be able to use Design of Experiments to search a system design solution space
• be able to specify statistical tolerances
• know how Robust Design contributes to verification and validation evidence
• be able to consider the impact on future business of adopting Robust Design.  

Learning Approach  

The learning approach is based on the Kolb learning cycle with a significant proportion of the course set aside for exercises to reinforce the learning. Indeed, many of the small group exercises involve a case study that provides a practical focus for the course and enables the delegates to practise the methodology and tools presented.

Course Agenda

Course Delivery and Costs  

The 5-day Robust Design Course is very intensive and is delivered by two tutor/consultants.   The cost of delivering the 5-day course, excluding delivery tutor accommodation and expenses, but including all courseware, is £14,500. VAT will apply at the prevailing rate.   The course can be tailored to suit individual customer’s engineering lifecycle and review processes.  

More Information and Contact Details  

For more information about the 5-day Robust Design Course or any of our other Systems Engineering courses please contact Dr Stuart Burge on +44 (0) 7803 131614 or sburge@burgehugheswalsh.co.uk.

A printable version of this information can be downloaded here.