Signal-to-noise ratio: a fundamental and broad process performance measure

The signal-to-noise (S/N) ratios proposed by Taguchi have attracted severe criticism from a large number of researchers. However, this article takes a different view. It is shown that these S/N ratios, when evaluated judiciously, can act as very useful process performance measures. The famous Wheatstone bridge example is reanalysed in detail and various thermodynamic models are constructed to establish the fundamental and broader nature of these S/N ratios.