Question (i): The logistics department of a large firm employs three "estimators" whose job it is to decide the likely cost of delivering their products to their customers. This enables them to negotiate with Third Party Logistics (3PL) providers for an acceptable price. In order to check if there is any serious discrepancy between the methods used by the three they were each asked to produce estimates for the same four jobs. The results (in hundreds of pounds) are shown in the table below:
|
Job Number
|
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
|
Estimator
Number
|
|
6.2
|
5.0
|
4.6
|
6.6
|
|
2
|
6.3
|
5.4
|
4.9
|
6.8
|
|
3
|
5.9
|
5.4
|
4.4
|
6.3
|
(a) Does the data suggest any discrepancy between the estimators?
(b) Is it possible to identify any interaction between estimators and jobs? Explain your answer.