Statisticians test hypotheses about data. But where do hypotheses about product failures come from?

The most important sources are the product consumers. For example, "The heat from the pot burned my thumb because the new pot holder didn't have the right insulation."

But sometimes it is only after a number of "other similar incidents" (OSIs) coalesce into perceivable patterns that hypotheses related to product failures take shape. Whether that happens depends greatly on how information derived from individual case studies is collected and organized.

QCS specializes in developing and analyzing databases about product safety and reliability failures. These databases often are based on descriptive information from consumer complaints. Sometimes we use other sources, such as accident data.

In studying incidents of product failures, we work closely with subject matter scientists to explore hypotheses with appropriate statistical methods. This combined expertise can benefit producers, retailers, and consumers alike by limiting financial losses, injuries, and deaths from safety-related problems.

Here's a more complete description of a project involving fatal rollovers of 15-passenger vans.

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