My wife and I were watching the Super Bowl when Janet Jackson revealed her shield. A few moments of silence passed before anything was said.

“Did you see that?” she asked.
“Just a problem with their statistical analysis”, I said.

Now I knew this was a mistake as soon as the words left my mouth. You see, I wasn’t really watching TV with her. I was thinking heavily about a situation at work. But I didn’t want to let her know that a dumb answer had just popped out of my mouth. She wouldn’t let this lie. I would have some explaining to do. I needed a cover story, and fast.

“Statistical analysis?” she harrumphed. “What in the world does statistical analysis have to do with a half naked girl in front of the whole world?”

I had nothing. I could only let fly and see where it went.

“Well, that part of her outfit is probably held in place with a metal connector, like a clasp.”

Yes, that was good.

“The manufacturer of the clasp has made a contract with its customers to maintain a certain level of quality.”

It was coming together now.

“There is range for strength, with an upper and lower specification limit that they have to stay within in order to honor their contract.”

I could feel the rush of success.

“The tool the manufacturer uses to make sure the clasp stays in that range is statistical analysis!”

I was deafened by my own applause. I was the maestro, a man of rare talent, indeed.

She sat back in her lazy-boy. She would never know what a dumb answer I had given her. Then she muttered her response in a voice almost too quiet to hear.

“Well, her dressmaker knows doodly-squat about statistical analysis.”

For a quick look at the mechanics of using Excel for your analysis, I suggest you read our report, Quick Guide to Statistical Process Control with Excel.

Greg Gorby, Editor
RefractoryBlog.com
Refractory Specialties, Inc.