Statistical Quality Control, 7th Edition

PART 3

Basic Methods of Statistical Process Control and Capability Analysis

It is impossible to inspect or test quality into a product; the product must be built right the first time. This implies that the manufacturing process must be stable and that all individuals involved with the process (including operators, engineers, quality-assurance personnel, and management) must continuously seek to improve process performance and reduce variability in key parameters. On-line statistical process control (SPC) is a primary tool for achieving this objective. Control charts are the simplest type of on-line statistical process-control procedure. Chapters 5 through 8 present many of the basic SPC techniques, concentrating primarily on the type of control chart proposed by Walter A. Shewhart and called the Shewhart control chart.

Chapter 5 is an introduction to the general methodology of statistical process control. This chapter describes several fundamental SPC problem-solving tools, including an introduction to the Shewhart control chart. A discussion of how to implement SPC is given, along with some comments on deploying SPC in nonmanufacturing environments. Chapter 6 introduces Shewhart control charts for measurement data, sometimes called variables control charts. The and R control charts are discussed in detail, along with several important variations of these charts. Chapter 7 presents ...