As a solution, Grand Valley State University is hosting a two-day National Science Foundation (NSF) workshop A New Course in Statistical Process Control Integrating an Industrial Production Facility as the On-line Laboratory on July 17-18.
Twenty faculty members from colleges and universities in 12 different states around the country will attend the NSF workshop to learn more about what GVSU has done with applied statistics learning experiences and how it can be applied at their own educational institutions.
This project is an excellent example of university and industry cooperation, says Ron Garrett, associate professor in the Padnos School of Engineering at GVSU. What Grand Valley has done is highly transportable to other institutions.
The initiative, sponsored by a NSF grant received by GVSU, includes the creation of a course in Statistical Process Control (SPC) in which students upload real-time quality data directly from the factory floor of a production facility operated by an industrial sponsor.
Computers located at the sponsor site electronically transfer the data to a university computer laboratory in a matter of seconds. Each student performs as the member of the quality control team for industry.
The project represents an opportunity for industry to share its expertise and equipment investments with academia.
The cooperative climate between industry and academia resulting from this project is novel, says Garrett. It will show students how to apply statistics to help make American industry competitive at a global level.
