This is a session of Topic 5: Statistics education in the disciplines and the workplace

Development of statistical thinking in the workplace

Organizer

• Shirley Coleman (United Kingdom) : Session chair

Abstract

The International Year of Statistics and the continuing efforts of the Royal Statistical Society, especially with their getstats campaign, have had considerable success in raising the profile of statistics and numeracy in all parts of society and especially in the workplace. The quality improvement initiative, Lean Six Sigma, has also had a widespread beneficial effect on encouraging workers to think statistically. However, more needs to be done to ensure workplaces in all sectors can extract information from their data and develop their understanding of how quantitative analysis can make their workplace more interesting and enjoyable. An important area of concern is the interface between statistics and engineering where designed experiments and statistical process control can offer such a lot in terms of new product development and reliability. Developing statistical thinking in the workplace has a two-way effect; not only does it benefit the workplace but it also benefits statistical education as there are opportunities for case studies and external speakers to inspire students.

The session will explore the successes and lessons learnt from applying statistics in the workplace, including case studies motivated by Lean Six Sigma; we will look at how these experiences can help students, and how the interaction between statistics and the workplace is likely to develop in the future. We will review current initiatives by statisticians working with companies and institutions and consider the impact on workplace efficiency and profitability. Finally we will consider the important relationship between accreditation and the needs of the workplace.

Papers