Technical Paper
Use and Abuse of Probabilistic Methods
1992-09-01
921709
Three case histories are presented in which risk analysis or statistical methods were employed to develop arguments in product liability and product recall cases. Topics discussed include: the use of statistical significance testing to determine manufacturing differences; the necessity of following up statistical testing with sound engineering reasoning; sources of information for estimating publicly acceptable risk; and guidance from governmental regulatory agencies. Simple techniques are found to have very useful application.
