If done properly, design of experiments (DOE) provides huge process improvements via small screening studies. Unfortunately, many quality engineers deploy designs such as Plackett-Burmans (PBs) that cannot resolve main effects from potential interactions. This talk will present more suitable experiment-designs for reliable identification of vital factors that affect quality.
Attendees will be greatly enlightened on the fine line of reliable screening at a minimum number of experimental runs. The pitfalls of PBs—these designs confounding main effects with two-factor interactions—will be illustrated definitively by example. Illustrating with case studies, the presenter will:
o Provide a primer on experiment-design resolution
o Flowchart a sequential strategy of experimentation for screening, characterization, optimization and ruggedness testing
o Explain why Resolution III standard two-level factorials and Plackett-Burman designs, commonly recommended for screening, do not work very well for screening
o Lay out the advantages of Resolution IV designs for power, reliability for screening and upside potential for revealing breakthrough interactions
o Give a ‘heads-up’ to modern minimum-run screening designs.
Mark Anderson is an Engineering Consultant with Stat-Ease, Inc. Prior to joining the firm, he spearheaded an award-winning quality improvement program for an international specialty chemical manufacturer, generating millions of dollars in profit. He offers a diverse array of experience in process development, quality assurance and general management. Mark is also the lead author of three books:
• DOE Simplified: Practical Tools for Effective Experimentation, 3rd Edition,
• RSM Simplified: Optimizing Processes Using Response Surface Methods for Design of Experiments, 2nd Edition,
• Formulation Simplified: Finding the Sweet Spot through Design and Analysis of Experiments with Mixtures.
He has published numerous articles on design of experiments (DOE). Mark is also a guest lecturer at the University of MN Chemical Engineering & Materials Science department, the Ohio State University Fisher College of Business and South Dakota Mines Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.