Many times, managers need to know whether the differences they observe among several sample proportions are statistically significant differences or differences due merely to chance.  The differences, whether statistical or not, can easily be determined through the use of a “contingency table” also know as “cross-tabs”.  An Excel spreadsheet will be used to perform this statistical test.  Several examples will be reviewed and analyzed.  Attendees will be given instructions on how to easily download the spreadsheet from the ASQSA website for their use free of charge.  The spreadsheet has been provided by M. Dean Christolear, an ASQ member and author of several Excel spreadsheets. Contingency Table calculations are based on the “Chi-Square” distribution, one of a family of statistical distributions such as the “Normal” distribution, the “t” distribution, the “F” distribution, the “Exponential” distribution and others.  Several examples will be presented covering applications in such diverse professions as manufacturing, quality control, sales, marketing, psychology, surveys, medical research, politics, and education.

Jim Parnella is an industrial statistician/quality engineer with an M.S. in Applied Statistics and a B.S. in Chemistry.  During his career he has held positions as Analytical Chemist, Laboratory Supervisor, Quality Engineer, Quality Improvement Facilitator, Supplier Quality Engineer & Supervisor, Senior Quality Engineer, Senior SPC Engineer, Senior SPC Coordinator and Staff Statistician.  He regularly made ASQ evening meeting presentations covering assorted quality engineering topics in Montgomery, Alabama prior to moving to San Antonio in January.  He made an evening presentation for ASQSA on “Lying With Statistics, the Need for Rational Subgrouping in Control Chart Development” in 2001.  Jim has worked most of his career for the global companies Eastman Kodak, ABB (Asea Brown Boveri) and the Aluminum Corporation of America (Alcoa) before joining a small company, Rheem Water Heaters in Alabama.  Jim developed and taught an SPC course and taught it for seven semesters in the evenings at Victoria College in Victoria, Texas.  He has developed and taught courses throughout the USA, and in Jamaica, Suriname South America and Mexico for his employers covering basic and advanced SPC and DOE, plus Gage Capability, Quality Problem Solving Tools and Six Sigma Green Belt.  A CQE since 1985, he is now semi-retired.

A PowerPoint for this meeting's presentation is available by clicking here.

Location: The South Texas Blood & Tissue Center, 6211 IH 10 West, San Antonio, TX 78201

Time: October 14, 2008, from 6:00 - 8:00 PM.

For more information about the meeting location and time, please click here.

Snacks and refreshments will be provided.