Running Your Machines With Spc : A Shop-floor Guide for Manufacturing

Finally – a “non-math” SPC book! This plant manager’s guide explains how to use control charts, and the tremendous benefits that can be expected when Statistical Process Control is properly applied. These benefits include enhanced product performance, reduced cost, and streamlined delivery. Some of the topics discussed are: reading control charts, using control charts, good tools misused, tools for running your machine, benefits of running machines with SPC. Special appendices provide additional information about control chart calculations and plotting control limits. This book explains the role that SPC plays within a well-run factory; it is for businesspeople that want the big picture. After 30+ years of working with and teaching plant managers, author James Abbott has identified the qualities that set apart the most successful and promotable of this group. These managers have an intricate understanding of their machines, they are expert at assessing each component of their operation, and everyone at their facility has explicitly defined duties. These qualities are achieved by learning a specific set of holistic skills. The most powerful weapon in the plant manager’s arsenal is Statistical Process Control (SPC). You don’t need to be a math genius to harness the full power of SPC, but you do need to understand the role of engineers, quality professionals, and operators and how each fits within a well-run manufacturing facility. Promotable plant managers know WHO uses control charts and who uses capability studies WHAT Operations should be focusing on (hint: it isn’t the product!) WHEN tacticians vs. strategists should be making decisions WHERE results should be posted WHY SPC improves performance, cuts cost, and streamlines delivery HOW to quickly benefit using SPC This book provides a unique opportunity for plant managers to study the interrelationships necessary to take full advantage of Statistical Process Control. Mr. Abbott’s practical experience has shown that by adding decision-making, accountability, and knowledge base tools to the traditional control charts and capability studies, improvements are more quickly attained and more easily sustained. Running Your Machines with SPC explains how and why to use control charts. In addition to the conventional control charts and capability studies, you will be introduced to bonus tools like the Walkabout® Dependency Diagram. You will practice plotting readings on a control chart and learn what the data is saying about the process. Finally, you will follow along as a fictional candy company tries to implement SPC, but misuses some good tools. When the candy company correctly uses SPC, the benefits are immediately evident.

This introductory level text on statistical process control (SPC) is one part of a trio of books which the author has titled the "Walkabout Series." This series is designed to help the reader to establish correctness, consistency, and capability within the manufacturing organization. The author refers to correctness, consistency, and capability as the three C’s. Correctness refers to both a correct functional organization and the optimization of the methods for producing the product. Consistency is the consistent running of each machine within the manufacturing plant. Capability measures the machine’s ability to meet the customer’s expectations. This book attempts to show the reader how to use the three C’s within their organization and how to correctly use two specific SPC tools, control charts and capability studies.

This book is not the typical introductory SPC text. It is not designed to be a technical reference for the SPC practitioner. The author also explains how and why to use control charts. These critical subjects are often overlooked in other basic SPC books. The reader will find the author’s explanation of the reasons for using SPC to be very informative and useful in the implementation of SPC. Many current texts do not adequately explain why SPC should be used and the benefits that can be obtained from a good SPC program. The author also does a good job in illustrating how to correctly use SPC. He provides a simple but powerful tool called a dependency diagram that is used to identify the manufacturing process steps that need to be controlled via SPC. The Diagram is also used to identify the measurements that should be controlled at each process step.

The material, including the nuts and bolts of constructing control charts, is presented in a very understandable way. The author has specifically minimized the use of statistical formulas and jargon in order to put the reader at ease. Even with the minimal use of statistics, the author is able to make the reader understand the correct methods for the construction of the basic variable control charts including the average chart, the range chart, the individual chart, and the moving range chart. He does this by using simple examples. Also, through his simple examples, the author is able to explain the correct methods for interpreting the control chart. He explains how one knows when a process has changed and what should be done when this occurs.

This book is not just another text that is written to present a simplified approach to SPC. This book contains much more. The author spends a good deal of time explaining how to select the characteristics that should be measured and how to correctly measure them. He presents the concepts of precision and measurement error. Again, through the use of simple examples the author presents these subjects in a very understandable way.

While it is generally understood that control charts are typically used by machine operators to control the manufacturing process, the author also addresses management’s role when SPC is used. He does a good job in defining what management needs to do and when there is the need to get involved. Conversely, the author is able to clearly define when management should not get involved. He defines these situations as operational decisions and management decisions. Operational decisions are made by the manufacturing group and are designed to control the process while management decisions address how the process capability compares to the customer requirements.

This book is written for those in manufacturing who wish to understand the basics of SPC. The basics include how and why to use SPC, the specific roles of manufacturing employees and management, and the basics of constructing and interpreting simple control charts. The book is written more in a conversational manner. The author avoids complex statistical techniques, formulas, and jargon but still manages to present somewhat complex topics. This book provides the basic tools and background necessary for the implementation of a simple SPC program in a manufacturing setting.

As reviewed in "Technometrics", a jointly sponsored publication of "American Society of Quality" and "American Statistical Association"