PLVS: a tool for incorporating design into the statistical education of engineers

The Paint Line Videotape and Simulation (PLVS) software package, based on an actual manufacturing process, is used in statistics and quality control classes to design and analyze solutions to quality problems. It has proven effective in adding a design component to homework and laboratory problems by bridging the gap between textbook and real-world problems by enabling engineering students to design solutions, solve, and evaluate results of industrial problems. For example, it has been observed that while students often have no problem solving textbook problems, they at first often lack the ability to apply the techniques to PLVS problems. The manufacturing environment from which PLVS was derived is described, several PLVS-based assignments are listed and discussed, and the advantages of using PLVS are noted