Statistical Engineering: An Idea Whose Time Has Come?

• Activity Number: 450
• Type: Invited
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 4, 2010 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
• Sponsor: Section on Quality and Productivity
• Author(s): Roger Hoerl*+ and Ronald Snee*+ and Bill Parr*+ and Geoffrey Vining*+
• Companies: GE Global Research and Snee Associates, LLC and China Europe International Business School and Virginia Tech
• Keywords: quality ; engineering ; science

Abstract

Much has been written recently concerning the future of statistics within the context of quality improvement. Some argue that while the problems our profession faces are well known and have been repeatedly identified in the literature, the underlying root causes of these problems have remained lurking under the surface of the discussion. One such potential root cause that has recently been identified is that our society, especially in the quality arena, may need us to function more as an engineering discipline, rather than solely as a pure science. One can define engineering as the study of how to best utilize scientific and mathematical principles for the benefit of mankind. In other words, engineers do not focus on advancement of the fundamental laws of science, but rather how they might be best utilized for practical benefit. This is not to say that engineers do not perform resea