ABSTRACT

This chapter considers the problem of evaluating and benchmarking process design and process capability in a multistation assembly process. We will focus on the unique challenges brought by the multistation system, namely:

• The necessity of describing the system response to variation inputs at both the global (system level) and local (station level and single-fixture level) scales

• Process capability propagation for a multivariate, multistage system

The analysis and evaluation will be based on the state space model developed in Part II. Following the background material of Section 13.1, Section 13.2 will present a multilayer sensitivity-based design evaluation approach, and Section 13.3 is devoted to a multivariate process capability analysis. We will illustrate the analysis and evaluation methods in Section 13.4 by using the assembly process for an SUV side panel.