Abstract
This chapter is devoted to illustrating some methods and techniques for specific topics, starting from an overview of the project management discipline and related tools, to plan, execute, control, document and close a project. The failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) is then illustrated to provide the reader with a method of risk assessment and error prevention for a process. The design of experiment (DoE), a statistical method for planning experimental activities, can give the researcher a means to optimally plan experiments, extract more information from data, strengthen the analysis of results and at the same time reduce the resources required. Two methods borrowed from industry, which are very promising but still at the beginning of their exploitation in scientific research, are then illustrated: lean management and six sigma. For each method, examples of application to scientific research are provided.
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Notes
- 1.
See Chap. 4, Sect. 4.5.2.2.
- 2.
Automotive Industry Action Group: AIAG.org.
- 3.
Project & Quality Manager at Blast Research, and Working Group Coordinator at Associazione Farmaceutici Industria.
- 4.
AFI (Associazione Farmaceutici Industria—Scientific Society) is a cultural, professional and scientific association of graduates in scientific disciplines, drawn from many specialties within daily pharmaceutical practice such as manufacturing, quality control, quality assurance, research and development, engineering, regulatory affairs, marketing, general management and academia ( http://www.afiscientifica.it/all/AFI INGLESE.PDF last accessed Aug.4th 2017).
- 5.
For the difference between technical and biological replicates, see [10].
- 6.
See [11] for further details.
- 7.
The normal probability plot is generated from the coefficients of the regression model that for the general factorial design is substituted by an evaluation of means of levels.
- 8.
See [12] for further details.
- 9.
Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Piemonte Orientale, Italy.
- 10.
For example, see [9].
- 11.
See EP2457088 patent for more details.
- 12.
Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Piemonte Orientale, Italy.
- 13.
As an example, the application of Lean Thinking in the Washington State Government offices, see [13].
- 14.
This is one of the most specific concepts of Lean: Customer requirements drive the production pace, which is optimised to respond as quickly as possible to customer requests, instead of producing on estimates and storing it in warehouse awaiting for customer’s order.
- 15.
A workplace with reduced production capacity, which slows down the production flow, is called bottleneck.
- 16.
T. Barnhart refers to experimental results reported by T. Amabile in [17].
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Lanati, A. (2018). Quality Methods for the Scientific Research. In: Quality Management in Scientific Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76750-5_6
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