QE practical ability is defined as the ability to link quality engineering, viewed as a technical philosophy, with practical action on a continuing basis. Cultivating and improving this ability in engineers is a way to reduce loss to society at large and consequently to earn profits for business and enterprise. The purpose of this study was to establish techniques for the quantitative evaluation of QE practical ability. Indications that evaluation methods could be developed that would produce objective quantitative evaluations were obtained. An attempt was also made to isolate factors that are effective in improving QE practical ability. The ideas and methods for developing evaluation techniques shown in this study are not limited to the evaluation of QE practical ability; it is thought that they can be used effectively as methods of achieving a quantitative evaluation of what is vaguely referred to as human ability in various fields.

Following a previous study of a method of defining a comprehensive evaluation scale for evaluating images, the. method of defining the unit space was re-examined in an attempt to improve the reliability of the evaluation scale. As a result,it became possible to estimate the level of image quality of color electrophotographic images more accurately. The calculations were simplified by switching from the Mahalanobis-Taguchi adjoint (MTA) method of analysis to the Taguchi (T) method, which has shorter calculation time. Usage of the defined evaluation scale was also re-examined, leading to a proposal for an evaluation method which can not only evaluate the current image quality level but also indicate clear directions for future technological development.

Due to the automation that accompanies technological progress and the development of substitute materials, traditional techniques that have been handed down orally or preserved by the apprentice system are now falling into disuse. In particular, many techniques that depend on craftsmen's skills and experience and many traditional techniques that have been replaced by other techniques due to high cost seem to be on the way out. Quality engineering methods were used to recreate clay plastered TATAKI floors, which have been used in Japan since before the Edo Period but are vanishing because of the development of newer construction materials and simplification of construction methods.

The problem of global warming due to emissions of greenhouse gases has become a major concern in recent years. Having experienced large changes in the prices of petroleum products, consumers are also becoming increasingly concerned with the environmental and economic loads imposed by home heating appliances. The concept of functionality evaluation was used to carry out a comparison of the features and merits of three air conditioners and three oil fan heaters in the author's home. The comparison covered start-up behavior after being switched on and stability in maintaining a set temperature. Carbon dioxide emissions and running cost were also evaluated. None of the tested appliances showed a general tendency to be superior or inferior in start-up or temperature maintenance, although results were obtained indicating that a particular appliance model could be better suited to some rooms or installation conditions than to others. The one clear merit emerged was that air conditioners are low in carbon dioxide emissions, which is significant for the mitigation of global warming.