Confronting experimental error in industrial DOE: A fresh look

Abstract

In this quandary, we argue that three frequent situations in the design of experiments: blocking, robustness, and hard-to-change factors emerged in intervals over time and were integrated into the “science” of designing experiments as they came along. Following De Bono’s 1992 idea of escaping the “time sequence trap”, we review them and propose a fresh way of approaching them.

Keywords:

• Blocking
• hard-to-change factors
• industrial experimentation
• restrictions on randomization
• robust design
• split-plot designs

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pere Grima

Pere Grima is Associate Professor of Statistics at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – BarcelonaTech, where he also earned his PhD. One of the areas he specializes in is experimental design. He has more than twenty years of experience in helping companies implement statistical methods for quality control and improvement. He has been an advisor for the European Quality Award and has acted as a consultant to several multinational companies in Six Sigma projects.

Lluís Marco-Almagro

Lluís Marco-Almagro is Associate Professor at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-BarcelonaTech (UPC), where he teaches and does research on topics related with industrial statistics and quality improvement. He holds a degree in industrial engineering and a PhD in the same field. His main research interest are statistical methods for affective industrial design. He is also involved in process improvement methodologies and has trained Black Belts and acted as a consultant in Six Sigma projects over the last 15 years.

Xavier Tort-Martorell

Xavier Tort-Martorell is Professor of Statistics at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – BarcelonaTech. His research interests and industrial consulting activities cover quality management and improvement, Six Sigma, design of experiments and data-based decision making. He is currently an Associate Editor at TQM&BE (Total Quality Management & Business Excellence), QTQM (Quality Technology and Quantitative Management) and the International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences. Has been an Assessor for the European Quality Award, a jury member for the Catalan Quality Prize and President of the European Network for Business and Industrial Statistics (ENBIS) in 2012 and 2013.