EverRun Incorporated produces treadmills for use in exercise clubs and recreation centers. The treadmill motors are purchased from an outside vendor.

Currently, EverRun is considering which motor to include in its new ER1500 series. Three potential suppliers have been identified: Venetti, Madison, and Edison. EverRun has decided to make its decision based on how long a motor operates at a high level of speed and incline before it fails. A random sample of 10 motors of each type is selected, and each motor is tested to determine how many minutes (rounded to the nearest minute) it operates before it needs to be repaired. The sample information for each motor is as follows:

Venetti Madison Edison 14,722 13,649 13,296 14,699 13,592 13,262 12,627 11,788 11,552 13,010 12,623 11,036 13,570 14,552 12,978 14,217 13,441 12,170 13,687 13,404 12,674 13,465 13,427 11,851 14,786 12,049 12,342 12,494 11,672 11,557

a. At the a = 0.01 level of significance, is there a difference in the average times before failure for the three different suppliers’ motors?

b. Is it possible for EverRun to decide on a single motor supplier based on the analysis of the sample results? Support your answer by conducting the appropriate post-test analysis.