This book is based on the papers presented at the International
Conference 'Quality Improvement through Statistical Methods' in Cochin,
India during December 28-31, 1996. The Conference was hosted by the
Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin, India; and
sponsored by the Institute for Improvement in Quality and Productivity
(IIQP) at the University of Waterloo, Canada, the Statistics in Industry
Committee of the International Statistical Institute (lSI) and by the
Indian Statistical Institute. There has been an increased interest in
Quality Improvement (QI) activities in many organizations during the
last several years since the airing of the NBC television program, "If
Japan can ... why can't we?" Implementation of QI meth- ods requires
statistical thinking and the utilization of statistical tools, thus
there has been a renewed interest in statistical methods applicable to
industry and technology. This revitalized enthusiasm has created
worldwide discussions on Industrial Statistics Research and QI ideas at
several international conferences in recent years. The purpose of this
conference was to provide a forum for presenting and ex- changing ideas
in Statistical Methods and for enhancing the transference of such
technologies to quality improvement efforts in various sectors. It also
provided an opportunity for interaction between industrial practitioners
and academia. It was intended that the exchange of experiences and ideas
would foster new international collaborations in research and other
technology transfers.