A heuristic for the analysis of truncated standard normal distribution assemblies

The analysis of data sets and process conditions commonly assume the use of standard normal distributions and truncated standard normal distributions (TSND). The use of these distributions has application to various engineering disciplines along with numerous other industries (e.g., financial industries, medical fields, management, etc.). For engineering managers, the use of truncated standard normal distributions has particular relevance when evaluating process conditions commonly associated with assembly tolerances, manufacturing, and associated measures of quality. This article summarizes a heuristic approach for the analysis of assembly-level truncated standard normal distributions and associated research from a recent dissertation (Ralls, 2014). This article provides a cursory review of the literature presented by that research, briefly reviews key analysis equations, and provides a heuristic procedure from that research. The approach presented summarizes TSND assembly analysis utilizing a distributions characteristic function and an inversion factor for a single doubly truncated standard normal distribution is also reviewed. Applications, research recommendations, and future investigations for engineering managers in the following areas of truncated distribution analysis are proposed: heuristic improvement, distributions expansion, simulation expansion, and further application to storage and part allocations.