The Role of Statistics in Business and Industry provides insight into business and industrial statistics. Prepare for a career or broaden your perspective by studying the descriptions of key problems that can be addressed by statistics. Find an introduction to statistics and its applications in business and industry, an explanation of how statistics helps one design, build, ensure reliability and improve products from aircraft engines to washing machines, and the role of statistics in finance, pharmaceuticals, business services and in specialized areas such as the food and beverage, semiconductor and communications industries.

GERALD J. HAHN, PhD, was manager of applied statistics in the Corporate Research and Development Center at General Electric (GE) for twenty-eight years, where he was named a GE Coolidge Fellow, the organization's highest honor. Dr. Hahn is the coauthor of Statistical Models in Engineering and Statistical Intervals: A Guide for Practitioners, both published by Wiley.

NECIP DOGANAKSOY, PhD, is a Statistician and Principal Technologist at General Electric's Global Research Center and is also Adjunct Professor in the School of Management at Union Graduate College. A Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Dr. Doganaksoy has written over fifty papers and journal articles on statistical applications in quality, reliability, and productivity improvement.

Major Applications	p. xi
Preface	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xvii
Setting the Stage
Statistics: An Overview	p. 3
About This Chapter	p. 3
What Is Statistics?	p. 3
Areas of Application	p. 4
Statistical Literacy	p. 7
Better Decisions Require Better Data	p. 12
Statistical Thinking	p. 12
Related Disciplines	p. 13
Major Takeaways	p. 15
Discussion Questions	p. 16
Statistics in Business and Industry	p. 18
About This Chapter	p. 18
Evolution of Statistics for Manufactured Product Applications	p. 18
Applications Beyond Manufactured Products	p. 24
Forces Impacting the Use of Statistics Today	p. 24
Major Takeaways	p. 30
Discussion Questions	p. 31
Manufactured Product Applications
Product Design: Concepts	p. 35
About This Chapter	p. 35
The Product Design Process	p. 35
Setting the Design Goals	p. 38
Ensuring Measurement Capability	p. 45
Design and Development	p. 49
Design Validation	p. 64
Transition to Manufacturing	p. 65
Major Takeaways	p. 67
Discussion Questions	p. 68
Product Design: Example	p. 70
About This Chapter	p. 70
Thermoplastic Resin for Child Car Seat: Introduction	p. 70
Some Basic Elements of Plastic Part Design and Manufacture	p. 70
Setting the Design Goals	p. 71
Ensuring Measurement Capability	p. 75
Design and Development	p. 75
Design Validation	p. 83
Transition to Manufacturing	p. 83
Major Takeaways	p. 86
Discussion Questions	p. 86
Product Reliability Assurance	p. 88
About This Chapter	p. 88
The Key Role of Reliability	p. 88
Design for Reliability: The Need	p. 90
The Process and the Participants	p. 90
Setting Reliability Goals	p. 91
Reliability Evaluation of a Conceptual Design	p. 94
Product Reliability Development	p. 98
Reliability Validation	p. 112
Product Safety	p. 116
Reliability Growth Analysis	p. 118
Product Burn-In	p. 120
Software Reliability	p. 120
Further Reading	p. 121
Major Takeaways	p. 121
Product Life Distributions and Concepts	p. 122
Discussion Questions	p. 126
Manufacturing Quality Improvement: Concepts	p. 129
About This Chapter	p. 129
The Need for Manufacturing Quality Improvement	p. 129
Different Industries	p. 130
Considerations in Manufacturing Quality Improvement	p. 131
Disciplined Approaches to Manufacturing Quality Improvement	p. 134
Quality Assessment and Improvement	p. 135
Statistical Monitoring	p. 141
Major Takeaways	p. 146
Discussion Questions	p. 147
Manufacturing Quality Improvement: Example	p. 149
About This Chapter	p. 149
Generator Stator Bar Example	p. 149
Manufacturing Capability and Stability Assessment	p. 151
Addressing Measurement Error	p. 153
Reducing Deviations from Target and Variability	p. 155
Statistical Monitoring	p. 160
Discussion Questions	p. 160
Product Manufacturing: Further Applications	p. 162
About This Chapter	p. 162
Integrating Engineering Process Control and Statistical Process Control	p. 162
Polymer Resin Example	p. 165
Materials and Parts Quality Assurance	p. 168
Final Product Assessment	p. 169
Productivity Improvement	p. 171
Major Takeaways	p. 174
Discussion Questions	p. 175
Product Field Support	p. 176
About This Chapter	p. 176
Reliability Data Tracking	p. 176
Reliability Data Tracking for Nonrepairable Products	p. 177
Reliability Data Tracking for Repairable Products	p. 186
Planning the Failure Reporting System	p. 188
A Note on Product Safety	p. 190
Tracking Customer Satisfaction	p. 191
Competitive Evaluations and Advertising Claims	p. 192
Proactive Product Servicing	p. 194
Major Takeaways	p. 198
Discussion Questions	p. 199
Other Applications
Pharmaceutical Products	p. 203
About This Chapter	p. 203
Drug Development: Process Overview	p. 204
The Role of a Pharmaceutical Statistician: An Overview	p. 205
Preclinical Studies	p. 208
Clinical Studies	p. 214
Case Study: Phase 2 Clinical Trial	p. 217
Regulatory Review	p. 228
Some Other Applications	p. 229
Some Statistical Tools Used in Pharmaceutical Applications	p. 231
Sources of Further Information	p. 231
Major Takeaways	p. 232
Discussion Questions	p. 232
Financial Services	p. 235
About This Chapter	p. 235
Financial Services and Its Uncertainties	p. 236
Credit Scoring for Consumer Loan Approval	p. 238
Credit Scoring Example	p. 239
Model Development and Implementation: Some Important Nitty-Gritties	p. 243
Modeling in Credit Management: A Broader Look	p. 251
Specific Application Areas	p. 253
Statisticians in Financial Services	p. 261
Further Reading	p. 262
Major Takeaways	p. 262
Discussion Questions	p. 263
Business Processes	p. 265
About This Chapter	p. 265
Business Processes	p. 265
Example: Improving the Loan Decision Process for a Business Equipment Financing Company	p. 271
Steps for Process Improvement	p. 281
Another Example: Improving the Skip Tracing Process	p. 286
Some Further Concepts and Methods	p. 288
Operations Research and Management Science	p. 289
Major Takeaways	p. 294
Discussion Questions	p. 295
Further Applications	p. 297
About This Chapter	p. 297
Food, Beverage, and Related Industries	p. 297
Semiconductor Industry	p. 302
Communications Industry	p. 305
Statistical Image Analysis for Medical, Security, and Other Applications	p. 307
Other Application Areas	p. 312
Emerging Areas: A Glance into the Future	p. 316
Major Takeaways	p. 318
Discussion Questions	p. 319
References	p. 321
Index	p. 335
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