Case 2.3 in Chapter 2 introduced you to the Welco Lumber Company and to Gene Denning, Welco Lumber Company’s process improvement team leader. Welco Lumber makes cedar fencing materials at its Naples, Idaho, facility, employing about 160 people.
In Case 2.3 you were asked to help Gene develop a graphical descriptive analysis for data collected from the head rig. The head rig is a large saw that breaks down the logs into slabs and cants. Refer to Case 2.3 for more details involving a study that Gene recently conducted in which he videotaped 365 logs being broken down by the head rig. All three operators, April, Sid, and Jim, were involved. Each log was marked as to its true diameter. Then Gene observed the way the log was broken down and the degree to which the cants were properly centered. He then determined the projected value of the finished product from each log given the way it was actually cut. In addition, he also determined what the value would have been had the log been cut in the optimal way. Data for this study are in a file called Welco Lumber.
In addition to the graphical analysis that you helped Gene per-form in Case 2.3, you have been asked to assist Gene by analyzing these data using appropriate measures of the center and variation. He wishes to focus on the lost profit to the company and whether there are differences among the operators. Also, do the operators tend to perform better on small logs than on large logs? In general, he is hoping to learn as much as possible from this study and needs your help with the analysis.