Topics in the body text of this DOE FAQ Alert are headlined below (the "Expert" ones, if any, delve into statistical details):

P.S. Quote for the month: Sage advice from a friendly, neighborhood statistician.

(Page down to the end of this e-zine to enjoy the actual quote.)

1: Software Alert: Version 10.0.5 of Design-Expert software released (free update for licensed users of v10)

Newly-released version 10.0.5 of Design-Expert software is posted at this download site for free trial evaluation. To update older licensed versions of 10.0, simply download the update from within the program, or download the full installation and reinstall it. The release primarily provides maintenance of existing features. View the Read Me file for details on this update, installation tips, known ‘bugs,’ change history, and FAQs.

2: FAQ: If you see no main effects from one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) experiments, is it safe to assume there will then be no interactions?

Original question from a Technical Manager:
“We had an interesting discussion here in the lab related to the need for Stat-Ease software for doing DOE. If three factors are varied one-by-one and their effects are negligible, can you expect that none will interact? Or would it still make sense to run a proper DOE that can detect possible interactions? What is your opinion?”

Answer:
Yes, it may not be common, but very significant interactions might exist between factors even when the main effects are insignificant. Statistician Karen Grace-Martin pictures this here—a “cross-over interaction” where the effect of one factor depends completely on the level of the other and their main effects cancel. I came across this one time from a company in the Minneapolis area (where we are headquartered) who make surface conditioners for silicon wafers. They used two alternative chemicals, P & Q, that they bought from either supplier X or Y, depending on cost. All was good if both chemicals were purchased from one supplier, but the conditioning failed if bought separately, i.e., P from X and Q from Y, or P from Y and Q from X. A replicated 2² full-factorial on A: P vs Q and B: X vs Y, produced an AB interaction that formed an “X”, with neither A nor B significant.

Consultant Shari Kraber adds: “Also, when you attended our “Experiment Design Made Easy” workshop, we presented a case on roller bearings made by SKF, who got nowhere with OFAT. Their engineer finally made a very substantial breakthrough by applying factorial DOE. It uncovered a surprisingly synergistic interaction—seen here—that  saved their business.”

3: Info alert: The Industrial Statistics Virtual Collaboratory

Byran Smucker, an associate professor of statistics at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, moderates an intriguing bulletin board for research opportunities: The Industrial Statistics Virtual Collaboratory. The site is sponsored by the American Statistical Association’s (ASA) Section on Physical and Engineering Sciences (SPES). Two projects that relate to DOE are “Comparing the Slack-Variable Mixture Model with Other Alternatives” and “Near Replication in Response Surface Designs.”

4: Book giveaway: Winners of a free, autographed DOE Simplified or RSM Simplified book

Congratulations to all these winners of free, DOE Simplified or RSM Simplified books* autographed by my co-author Pat Whitcomb and me:

• Senior Chemist Stacy Conte,
• Research Investigator Diwakar Rana
• Formulation Chemist Eric Oshige
• Principal Scientist Richard Schild
• Director of Process Development Jane Schmidt
• Assistant Research Engineer Robert Russell
• Consultant Robert Miller
• Professor Tom Sutton
• Research Technologist Marc Boucher
• Software Quality Manager Jim Ketchman.

All the best!

5: Reader contribution: Principles for sound software stewardship

Arved, being the “friendly, neighborhood statistician” that he is, gave me his permission to pass along his views on what should be done to assure quality for software such as that published by Stat-Ease. It is very inspiring! Arved encourages other companies, particularly those who employ industrial statisticians, to set up their own software stewards. I heartily concur.

Mark

• Be aware of quantity and locations of the user base.
• Provide relevant information and news to users about the software, webinars and other resources.
• Encourage users to forward improvement ideas for the software to the steward/software company.
• Periodically assess if adequate training exists for users.
• Maintain a reasonable level of hands-on expertise with the software.
• Ensure appropriate Beta testing is being done within the statisticians.
• Be amenable to answer questions about the software from the statisticians.
• Maintain adequate two-way communication with vendor—be the technical interface with the vendor.
• Maintain a bullet list of 3 to 5 items to concentrate on and review this.

6: Webinar alert: Practical DOE—Tricks of the Trade

In two webinars given Monday June 12 at 6:30 AM Central USA Daylight Time (CDT) and, again, on June 14 at 11 AM CDT, Consultant Pat Whitcomb will reveal some new tricks for making the most from your DOE, including an innovative way to expand your search for optimal process conditions when you use response surface methods (RSM). Don’t miss this chance to sharpen up your DOE skills. Save one of these dates on your calendar and go to the Stat-Ease webinar page for the enrollment link (coming soon).

7: Events alert: Highly caffeinated mixture DOE tools detailed at upcoming conferences in Charlotte, Cleveland and University of Connecticut (UConn)

I will present a talk on “Highly Caffeinated Combined Mixture-Process DOE Tools” at the American Society of Quality (ASQ) World Conference on Quality and Improvement, which will be held in Charlotte, NC, May 1-3. Our Sales & Marketing Director Heidi Hansel Wolfe and I hope to see you at the Stat-Ease booth (324). See why you should attend and get registered here.

Shari Kraber will teach a short course on Advanced Design of Experiments (DOE) Tools to Achieve Optimal Formulations for the Cleveland Coating Society Sink or Swim (SOS) Symposium, June 6-7. Sign up via this link.

Next up is our Consultant Martin Bezener who will exhibit Stat-Ease software at the Quality and Productivity Research Conference, University of CT, Storrs, CT, June 13-15. He plans to present a talk on “Strategies for Mixture-Design Space Augmentation”. Register for the conference here.

Click here for these and other upcoming appearances by Stat-Ease professionals.

P.S. Do you need a speaker on DOE for a learning session within your company or technical society at regional, national, or even international levels? If so, contact me. It may not cost you anything if Stat-Ease has a consultant close by, or if a web conference will be suitable. However, for presentations involving travel, we appreciate reimbursement for travel expenses. In any case, it never hurts to ask Stat-Ease for a speaker on this topic.

8: Futures meeting alert: Come to the Camo Futures conference in Glasgow for valuable insights on current trends in multivariate analysis (MVA) and DOE methodology

Our ally Camo Software will host a stimulating meeting of exciting speakers from industry, users of their MVA software and value-added partners from around the world in Glasgow, Scotland on May 31 through June 1. It will be preceded by a day of preconference workshops on MVA and DOE (presented by me) as well as hands-on labs and one-to-one consulting sessions to follow. A dinner and social event will provide plenty of valuable networking opportunities. The event will be hosted by the Centre for Process Analytics and Control Technology at the University of Strathclyde in the heart of historic Glasgow. We hope you can make it to this premier meeting of minds for extracting information from measurement data. Make your plans now—see all the details and register here.

9: Workshop alert: Coming to Chicago, Edison (NJ)—plus core classes in Minneapolis

You can do no better for quickly advancing your DOE skills than attending a Stat-Ease workshop. In these computer-intensive classes, our expert instructors provide you with a lively and extremely informative series of lectures interspersed by valuable hands-on exercises with one-on-one coaching. Enroll at least 6 weeks prior to the date so your place can be assured—plus get a 10% “early-bird” discount.

• DOE Simplified: Half-Day Workshop (DOESH)
• April 20, Minneapolis, Minnesota (MN)
• May 19, Chicago, Illinois (IL)
• Designed Experiments for Pharma (DEPH)
• May 15-16, Edison, New Jersey (NJ)
• Modern DOE for Process Optimization (MDOE)
• June 20-22, Minneapolis, Minnesota (MN)
• Mixture and Combined Designs for Optimal Formulations (MIXC)
• July 18-20, Minneapolis, Minnesota (MN)

See this web page for complete schedule and site information on all Stat-Ease workshops open to the public. To enroll, scroll down to the workshop of your choice and click on it, e-mail [email protected], or call our Client Specialist Rachel Pollack, at 612-746-2030. If spots remain available, bring along several colleagues and take advantage of quantity discounts in tuition. Or, consider bringing in an expert from Stat-Ease to teach a private class at your site.*

I hope you learned something from this issue. Address your general questions and comments to me at: [email protected].

Please do not send me requests to subscribe or unsubscribe—follow the instructions at the end of this message.

Sincerely,

Mark

Mark J. Anderson, PE, CQE
Principal, Stat-Ease, Inc.
2021 East Hennepin Avenue, Suite 480
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55413 USA

P.S. Quote for the month—sage advice from a friendly, neighborhood statistician:


"Remember the three rules of data analysis: Plot the data, plot the data and plot the data.”

—Arved Harding, “Uncovering the Truth”, Quality Progress, Feb 2017, p 64.

Trademarks: Stat-Ease, Design-Ease, Design-Expert and Statistics Made Easy are registered trademarks of Stat-Ease, Inc.

Acknowledgements to contributors:
—Students of Stat-Ease training and users of Stat-Ease software
—Stat-Ease consultants Pat Whitcomb, Shari Kraber, Wayne Adams, and Martin Bezener
—Statistical advisor to Stat-Ease: Dr. Gary Oehlert
—Stat-Ease programmers led by Neal Vaughn
—Heidi Hansel Wolfe, Stat-Ease sales and marketing director, and all the remaining staff that provide such supreme support!

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