PRODUCT QUALITY IMPROVED USING TRIZ: A CASE STUDY IN INCREASING INNOVATIVE OPTIONS IN MANUFACTURING SECTOR APPLICATION OF TRIZ TO REDUCE OF PARTICULATE MATTER IN CLEANED ENGINE BLOCKS

Abstract

The enormous potential of process innovation and optimization is often undervalued. In order to stay competitive organizations are forced to adapt quality of products and production to permanently growing requirements. Modern manufacturing processes need to fulfill highest demands on quality, efficiency, flexibility and reliability. The increasing complexity and integration of production systems and rate of demand complicate their optimization and somewhere thus quality gets hampered. Hence, the classical approaches of quality problem solving reach their limits. Depending on the development state of the production system, exponential improvement can only be achieved, using a modern potent tool that considers and questions the existing system structure as a whole and enables innovative process design. However, up to now operational practice mostly focuses on the improvement of single process steps (isolation) and improves quality in small increment only within the existing structures. Thus, a large potential for quality breakthrough crusade stays unutilized in the manufacturing area. In a process chain the project team has to face a problem which is usually characterized by many requirements and objectives, some of which are conflicting. The team may have to solve a problem with no known solution. This is called an inventive problem and may contain contradictory requirements. Knowledge and creativity are two essential conditions for a successful solution. TRIZ mainly hovers around this concept [Ref 3], This paper describes a case study involving the application of TRIZ to achieve breakthrough quality result in automotive industry where such contradictory requirement existed. The work described in the paper builds on a recent substantial foundational support for innovation rendered by the Author’s 1 work organization and his project guide 2 . In this paper, the Author’s 1 version and his learning curve for TRIZ has been described and how the authors used TRIZ to solve a chronic quality and safety issue that wasn’t getting solved by traditional approaches of problem solving methodologies. In this paper, an attempt is made by the authors to acquaint readers with the origination of TRIZ, its history, several tools of tools, how TRIZ is advancing with test of time and is still mystical and a young concept for thinking engineers.