An application of DMADV methodology for increasing the yield rate of surveillance cameras

Article history: Received 19 June 2009 Received in revised form 6 October 2009 Available online 1 November 2009 0026-2714/$ see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ltd. A doi:10.1016/j.microrel.2009.10.003 * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (C.-T. (K.S. Chen), [email protected] (T.-C. Chang). Taiwan has officially been an ‘‘Aging society” since 1993, and a growing number of elderly people there cannot receive proper care from family members. Therefore, Taiwan’s ‘‘long-distance home care services” have been classified as an emerging service industry. This industry rests mainly on information and telecommunications technology to overcome the barriers of distance and, thereby, to deliver health services. Surveillance cameras constitute important transmission equipment whose function is to provide realtime monitoring services; therefore, the quality and the efficiency of the camera adopted in the long-distance home care industry are important. Some of Taiwan’s domestic products occupy dominant positions in their respective global markets, and there are also many foreign competitors that have exhibited a formidable challenge to the prominent position of these Taiwan manufacturers. The production strategy for mature manufacturers under steep competition is to increase their quality and yield rate, steps that can prevent unnecessary waste. Some research has adopted Six Sigma to improve products’ yield rates, and the results have been remarkable. In this research, the DMADV methodology will be implemented for improving the quality of surveillance cameras and for diminishing related excess costs. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.