Design of Experiment based on VMEA (Variation Mode and Effect Analysis)

This paper presents a method where the Variation Mode and Effect Analysis is used to convert subjective knowledge about variation and importance of parameters for a certain characteristic among practicing engineers into numerically comparable values. In a case study, with fuel consumption of an articulated hauler as the target function, the method is used to quantify and arrange external parameters in order to design an experiment. A suggestion of a test plan describing a fractional factorial test at two levels intended to investigate the influence of the external parameters is presented. Performance and analysis of the experiment are discussed together with assumptions and uncertainties.