- Email: [email protected]
Frontiers in statistical quality control
Book Reviews
H.-J. LENZ, G.B. WETHERILL and P.-Th. WILRICH (Eds.)
Frontiers in Statistical Quality Control Physica, Wt~rzburg, 1981,294 pages, DM ! 20.00 The title of the book can be misleading to readers who expect a general treatise of statistical quality control; in fact it is a diverse collection of papers on this subject, which were presented at a workshop in Berlin in June 1980. The editors decided to publish these papers as a book in order to describe the frontiers of statistical quality control. Each of the participants of the workshop has made significant contributions to this field during the last years. Individually most of the papers are interesting and a wide range of subjects related to the methodology of statistical quality control is covered, including comparisons and modifications of existing adaptive sampling plans, such as MILSTD-105D and IS03951, sampling under non-normality, (cost)-optimal determination of sample size, inspection times and inspection areas for acceptance sampling or process control, etc. There are papers with strong emphasis on theoretical principles, but also papers almost entirely devoted to practical applicability. However, the ediiors did not give the subject matter the uniformity and cohesion of a book. (All authors use their own notation, etc. and the arrangement of the papers is in alphabetical order). In conclusion, this book is rather like a collection of articles and using it for reference purposes could be difficult for readers who are unfamiliar with this subject. However, most of the articles are worth reading and everyone interested in the methodology of statistical quality control will find something to suit this taste.
J. PRAA GMA N University of Technology Eindhoven, Netherlands
Richard F. GRIFFITHS (Ed.)
Dealing with Risk: The Planning, Management and Acceptability of Technological Risk Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1981, xxii + 144 pages, £11.50
417
The subject of risk has become a popular topic in the literature due to increasing public concern with respect to technologically hazardous projects. Researchers and practitioners from the fields of engineering, economics, law, operations research, planning, psychology, and sociology all have had something to say on the subject. Each of these disciplines brings its own unique perspective as to the meaning of the term 'risk'. These viewpoints may differ significantly from each other just as the positions of different interested parties in a risk debate differ with respect to the same problem. The book Dealing with Risk presents a diversity of approaches by scientists and practitioners in the United Kingdom to the problem of management of technological risks. The first portion of the volume deals primarily with the statistical estimation of risk and the concept of an acceptable level of risk. The papers by Griffiths, Cohen and Kletz provide a perspective on the nature of the risk assessment process, the major issues in technological risk and the different approaches used in estimating risk in safety problems. Little attention is given in these papers as to how risk is utilized in an institutional setting, although Griffiths raises a set of interesting questions along these lines at the end of his paper on "The Nature of Decisions in Risk Management". The second half of the volume consists of more practically oriented papers which address the ques.tions associated with the political, social, legal and institutional aspects of risk. Payne and Brough deal with the practical problems with regard to the risks in town planning. The authors document in great detail the planning process for chemical installations in Cheshire following the Flixborough accident in 1974 where a chemical plant exploded killing 28 people. This example illustrates the importance of an actual disaster in spurring individuals and government agencies to design p~anning procedures which explicitly recognize 0otential hazards. It is a lesson that seems to be repeated time and time again: only after the horse is let out of the barn is there an attempt to close the door. Yet this behavior is understandable if cne recognizes that time and attention are the scarce resources in the world, so that in the absence of a disaster it is convenient to ignore low probability catastrophic accidents. The last two chapters in the book provide stimulating ideas for future studies on risk. Mc-
H.-J. LENZ, G.B. WETHERILL and P.-Th. WILRICH (Eds.)
Frontiers in Statistical Quality Control Physica, Wt~rzburg, 1981,294 pages, DM ! 20.00 The title of the book can be misleading to readers who expect a general treatise of statistical quality control; in fact it is a diverse collection of papers on this subject, which were presented at a workshop in Berlin in June 1980. The editors decided to publish these papers as a book in order to describe the frontiers of statistical quality control. Each of the participants of the workshop has made significant contributions to this field during the last years. Individually most of the papers are interesting and a wide range of subjects related to the methodology of statistical quality control is covered, including comparisons and modifications of existing adaptive sampling plans, such as MILSTD-105D and IS03951, sampling under non-normality, (cost)-optimal determination of sample size, inspection times and inspection areas for acceptance sampling or process control, etc. There are papers with strong emphasis on theoretical principles, but also papers almost entirely devoted to practical applicability. However, the ediiors did not give the subject matter the uniformity and cohesion of a book. (All authors use their own notation, etc. and the arrangement of the papers is in alphabetical order). In conclusion, this book is rather like a collection of articles and using it for reference purposes could be difficult for readers who are unfamiliar with this subject. However, most of the articles are worth reading and everyone interested in the methodology of statistical quality control will find something to suit this taste.
J. PRAA GMA N University of Technology Eindhoven, Netherlands
Richard F. GRIFFITHS (Ed.)
Dealing with Risk: The Planning, Management and Acceptability of Technological Risk Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1981, xxii + 144 pages, £11.50
417
The subject of risk has become a popular topic in the literature due to increasing public concern with respect to technologically hazardous projects. Researchers and practitioners from the fields of engineering, economics, law, operations research, planning, psychology, and sociology all have had something to say on the subject. Each of these disciplines brings its own unique perspective as to the meaning of the term 'risk'. These viewpoints may differ significantly from each other just as the positions of different interested parties in a risk debate differ with respect to the same problem. The book Dealing with Risk presents a diversity of approaches by scientists and practitioners in the United Kingdom to the problem of management of technological risks. The first portion of the volume deals primarily with the statistical estimation of risk and the concept of an acceptable level of risk. The papers by Griffiths, Cohen and Kletz provide a perspective on the nature of the risk assessment process, the major issues in technological risk and the different approaches used in estimating risk in safety problems. Little attention is given in these papers as to how risk is utilized in an institutional setting, although Griffiths raises a set of interesting questions along these lines at the end of his paper on "The Nature of Decisions in Risk Management". The second half of the volume consists of more practically oriented papers which address the ques.tions associated with the political, social, legal and institutional aspects of risk. Payne and Brough deal with the practical problems with regard to the risks in town planning. The authors document in great detail the planning process for chemical installations in Cheshire following the Flixborough accident in 1974 where a chemical plant exploded killing 28 people. This example illustrates the importance of an actual disaster in spurring individuals and government agencies to design p~anning procedures which explicitly recognize 0otential hazards. It is a lesson that seems to be repeated time and time again: only after the horse is let out of the barn is there an attempt to close the door. Yet this behavior is understandable if cne recognizes that time and attention are the scarce resources in the world, so that in the absence of a disaster it is convenient to ignore low probability catastrophic accidents. The last two chapters in the book provide stimulating ideas for future studies on risk. Mc-