Traditionally, a product was considered acceptable if actual product characteristics fell within Obj. 4 the upper and lower specification limits as determined by design engineers. This method of evaluating product conformance to specifications is known as the "goalpost" approach to quality. In the game of football, whether the ball is centered between the uprights or marginally passes inside either upright, a point after touchdown or field goal is considered good. Taguchi believed this concept is not applicable to product quality and developed the Taguchi loss function to explain the cost of variation from a target specification.

a. Prepare a sketch of the traditional loss function and label each component.

b. Prepare a sketch of the Taguchi loss function and label each component.

c. Explain the reasoning that Taguchi used to support the loss function.

d. List three examples of how the Taguchi loss function may apply to an industrial or service industry setting.