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engineering module

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14 views

Mod 1

engineering module

Uploaded by

Cherie Joie Taladtad
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After careful study of this chapter, you should be able to do the following:

1. Identify the role that statistics can play in the engineering problem-solving process

2. Discuss how variability affects the data collected and used for making engineering decisions

3. Explain the difference between enumerative and analytical studies

4. Discuss the different methods that engineers use to collect data

5. Identify the advantages that designed experiments have in comparison to other methods of collecting
engineering data

1.1 THE ENGINEERING METHOD AND STATISTICAL THINKING


An engineer is someone who solves problems of interest to society by the efficient application of
scientific principles. Engineers accomplish this by either refining an existing product or process or by
designing a new product or process that meets customers’ needs. The engineering, or scientific,
method is the approach to formulating and solving these problems. The steps in the engineering
method are as follows:
1. Develop a clear and concise description of the problem.
2. Identify, at least tentatively, the important factors that affect this problem or that may play a role
in its solution.
3. Propose a model for the problem, using scientific or engineering knowledge of the phenomenon
being studied. State any limitations or assumptions of the model.
4. Conduct appropriate experiments and collect data to test or validate the tentative model or
conclusions made in steps 2 and 3.
5. Refine the model on the basis of the observed data.
6. Manipulate the model to assist in developing a solution to the problem.
7. Conduct an appropriate experiment to confirm that the proposed solution to the problem is both
effective and efficient.
8. Draw conclusions or make recommendations based on the problem solution

Figure 1. The engineering


method
The field of statistics deals with the collection, presentation, analysis, and use of data to make
decisions, solve problems, and design products and processes. Because many aspects of engineering
practice involve working with data, obviously some knowledge of statistics is important to any
engineer. Specifically, statistical techniques can be a powerful aid in designing new products and
systems, improving existing designs, and designing, developing, and improving production processes.
Statistical methods are used to help us describe and understand variability. By variability, we
mean that successive observations of a system or phenomenon do not produce exactly the same
result.
Often, physical laws (such as Ohm’s law and the ideal gas law) are applied to help design
products and processes. We are familiar with this reasoning from general laws to specific cases. But
it is also important to reason from a specific set of measurements to more general cases to answer
the previous questions. This reasoning is from a sample (such as the eight connectors) to a
population (such as the connectors that will be sold to customers). The reasoning is referred to as
statistical inference.

Figure 2. Statistical inference is one type of


reasoning.

Figure 3. Enumerative
versus analytic study
1.2 COLLECTING ENGINEERING DATA

In the engineering environment, the data is almost always a sample that has been selected from
some population. Three basic methods of collecting data are

• A retrospective study using historical data


• An observational study
• A designed experiment

Retrospective Study

A retrospective study would use either all or a sample of the historical process data archived
over some period of time.

A retrospective study may involve a lot of data, but that data may contain relatively little useful
information about the problem. Furthermore, some of the relevant data may be missing, there may be
transcription or recording errors resulting in outliers (or unusual values), or data on other important
factors may not have been collected and archived.

Observational Study

In an observational study, the engineer observes the process or population, disturbing it as little
as possible, and records the quantities of interest. Because these studies are usually conducted for a
relatively short time period, sometimes variables that are not routinely measured can be included.

Designed Experiments

In a designed experiment the engineer makes deliberate or purposeful changes in the


controllable variables of the system or process, observes the resulting system output data, and then
makes an inference or decision about which variables are responsible for the observed changes in output
performance.

A hypothesis is a statement about some aspect of the system in which we are interested.

TYPES OF DATA

PRIMARY DATA – data which are collected a fresh and for the first time and thus happen to be the
original in character.

SECONDARY DATA – data which have been collected by someone else and which have already been
passed through the statistical process.
METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION: PRIMARY DATA

1. Observation
2. Interview
3. Questionnaire
4. Case Study
5. Survey

Observation Method is a method under which data from the field is collected with the help of
observation by the observer or by personally going to the field.

TYPES of OBSERVATION

• Structured
• Unstructured

Interview Method – This method of collecting data involves presentation or oral-verbal stimuli and
reply in terms of oral-verbal responses.

TYPES OF INTERVIEW

• Personal
• Structured
• Unstructured
• Focused
• Clinical
• Group
• Qualitative and quantitative
• Individual
• Selection
• Depth
• Telephonic

QUESTIONNAIRE METHOD
CASE STUDY
SURVEY

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