Optimal process control policies under a time-varying cost structure

Quality experts have recognized two types of quality costs resulting from failure of control; namely, internal and external failure costs of control. Explicitly considering the difference between internal and external failure costs in designing statistical process control procedures is especially important in today's business environment because (1) inventory holding time is strategically kept very short because of the just-in-time philosophy, and (2) product values decrease at a very fast rate over time because of advances in technology and keen competition. In this paper, we develop a process control model under a time-varying cost structure, based on internal and external failure costs. Using the model, we also study the process control policies when the value of the product may decrease over time. We consider two forms of product perishability. The first is an exponential product value drop, and the second is a fixed life product life. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.