Observational data-driven modeling and optimization of manufacturing processes

•Proposed an integrated variable selection and process parameter design methodology.•Exploits observational data to model, control and improve process performance.•Overcomes costs associated with intrusive controlled designed experiments.•Proposed data-driven approach also identifies significant control variables.•Promising results from a synthetic experimental study and a real world case study. The dramatic increase of observational data across industries provides unparalleled opportunities for data-driven decision making and management, including the manufacturing industry. In the context of production, data-driven approaches can exploit observational data to model, control and improve process performance. When supplied by observational data with adequate coverage to inform the true process performance dynamics, they can overcome the cost associated with intrusive controlled designed experiments and can be applied for both process monitoring and improvement. We propose a novel integrated approach that uses observational data for identifying significant control variables while simultaneously facilitating process parameter design. We evaluate our method using data from synthetic experiments and also apply it to a real-world case setting from a tire manufacturing company.