436-415 Quality Engineering

620-370 Statistics for Mechanical Engineers or equivalent.

Upon completion of this subject, students should be able to understand what constitutes a quality system (both generally and with respect to international standards); develop strategies for implementing a quality system and its components; identify quality costs and use them for the economic analysis of quality projects; understand and quantify the relationships between process capability and tolerances; design a 'single' attribute or variables sampling scheme to meet stated requirements, analyse and assess all common types of sampling schemes; design, analyse and interpret 'Shewhart-type' process control charts and CUSUMS for process control.

Topics covered include total quality management, productivity and cost relationships; quality systems and their components, including international standards; interaction between quality and design functions; alternate systems approaches, including leading international concepts; quality control: the control function in quality; theory of sampling; the operating characteristic curve; the use of statistical distributions; sampling scheme design and analysis; quality improvement: process variability - measures and interaction with design; process capability and improvement studies; control charting; state of statistical stability; computerisation of process monitoring; cumulative sum techniques for quality studies; experimental design for quality improvement.

• ability to communicate effectively, not only with engineers but also with the community at large

• in-depth technical competence in at least one engineering discipline

• ability to undertake problem identification, formulation and solution

• ability to utilise a systems approach to design and operational performance

• ability to function effectively as an individual and in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams, with the capacity to be a leader or manager as well as an effective team member

• understanding of the social, cultural, global and environmental responsibilities of the professional engineer, and the need for sustainable development

• understanding of professional and ethical responsibilities and commitment to them

• expectation of the need to undertake lifelong learning, capacity to do so

• capacity for independent critical thought, rational inquiry and self-directed learning

• openness to new ideas and unconventional critiques of received wisdom

One 3-hour examination at the end of semester (70%), 3 assignments and 1 lab report not exceeding 2200 words each excluding appendices, computations, diagrams, tables and computer output due throughout the semester (30%).