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Session 3520

Laboratory Experience to Support Experimental Design by Engineering Students

David Elizandro James Smith Tennessee Technological University

Abstract The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, ABET, requires that all undergraduate engineering curricula include the application of statistics to engineering problems. Faculty in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Tennessee Technological University are developing a computer-based simulation which enables students to practice experimental design techniques in a “real world” industrial environment so that the design process, as promulgated by ABET, is enhanced in the curriculum.

Introduction ABET criteria requires that "students must demonstrate knowledge of the application of statistics to engineering problems." The increasing role of statistics in engineering education was discussed at the ASEE Centennial Conference by Nelson and Wallenius who suggested an integration of statistical thinking and methodology throughout the undergraduate engineering curriculum. The Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Tennessee Technological University, like other ABET accredited industrial engineering programs, offers several courses which emphasize topics such as exploratory data analysis, probability models and confidence intervals, statistical process control, regression models, and the design of experiments. These topics are presented in the framework of the Total Quality Management, TQM, philosophy. Lecture concepts are reinforced by a laboratory experience that includes data generation and computerized statistical analysis. All of the aforementioned topics are important in an environment which has embraced a (TQM) philosophy; however, critical to the procedure for evaluating and enhancing industrial processes is a thorough understanding, by engineers, of the design of experiments. The following describes various aspects of systems design, development, and enhancements which are subject to experimental design methods:

Experimental design methods are necessary for comprehensive system design.

Experimental design methods are a powerful experimental tool for system evaluation.

Experimental design methods are necessary for improved quality, since it is the language of quality engineering.

ABET also places minimum standards on engineering curricula which are based upon principles of mathematics, basic sciences, engineering sciences, and engineering design. Generally accepted elements of the

1996 ASEE Annual Conference Proceedings

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Smith, J., & Elizandro, D. (1996, June), Laboratory Experience To Support Experimental Design By Engineering Students Paper presented at 1996 Annual Conference, Washington, District of Columbia. 10.18260/1-2--6156