From Pizza to Locomotives: It's in the Statistics

What do pizzas and locomotives have in common? The answer is that production of both pizzas and locomotives can be analyzed by a universally applicable set of statistics. Terry Blakney, lecturer in statistics at Penn State Erie, has personal experience that backs up that answer -- he's analyzed a variety of processes, including the manufacture of locomotives. In his most recent project, he used his set of statistical techniques to study a very different kind of production: pizza. Better Baked Foods, Inc. of North East, Pa., the world's number one producer of single-serve, microwaveable, frozen French-bread pizza, approached Blakney in July. They asked for his advice to better understand the capability of the processes used to manufacture their product. Blakney answered their questions with a variety of statistical quality-control tools. For more the full story, visit http://www.pserie.psu.edu/newscal/news2002/december-pizza.htm.