Page 344 - Design for Six Sigma a Roadmap for Product Development

314 Chapter Nine

3. Interpret principles. Read each principle and construct analogies between
the concepts of principle and your situation, then create solutions to your
problem. Principle 17 (another dimension) indicates that the wrench
problem may be resolved to “move an object in two- or three-dimensional
space” or “use a different side of the given area.” From principle 27
(cheaper short living) and principle 40 (composition material), we may
“replace an expensive object with a multitude of inexpensive objects” and
“change from uniform material to composite material.”
4. Resolve the problem. The working surface of the wrench can be
redesigned in nonuniform shape by applying principle 17 (see the illus-
tration below). Principle 27 and 40 can be used together. The idea is to
attach soft metal or plastic pads on the wrench working surfaces when
tightening or undoing expensive nuts.

9.6 Functional Improvement Methods/TRIZ
Standard Solutions
A function is the basic element for TRIZ analysis. Many problems in a
technical system can be attributed to imperfect functional perfor-
mances in part of the system. In the TRIZ point of view, at least three
elements are needed to deliver a function. They are a subject, a field,
and a object as illustrated here:

Action
Subject Object
Field

If any of the three elements is missing, then no function will be deliv-
ered. If any of these three elements is not working properly, then the
function will not be delivered satisfactorily.
As we discussed in Sec. 9.2.1, sometimes some components in a sys-
tem can also deliver harmful functions. Harmful functions will always
reduce the ideality of the system and they are highly undesirable.