There is no doubt that quality has become a major feature in the survival plan of organisations. With diminishing markets resulting from improved competitive performance and the associated factor of single-sourcing arrangements by the major organisations, it is clear that unless there is a commitment to change, organisations will lose their competitive edge. This will unfortunately mean elim ination and the resultant harsh realities that come with it for the employees. It has been said on many platforms that unemployment is not inevitable. Those organisations which recognise the requirements for survival know that quality, and its association with customer satisfaction, is now a key issue. Survival programmes based on quality improvement require an unrelenting com mitment to include everyone, from the Managing Director down, in an ongoing, never-ending involvement based on monitoring, and improving, all our activities. These Total Quality Management (TOM) programmes, whatever their specific nature, have a common theme of measuring and then improving. This text describes the philosophy and techniques of one type of involvement programme-Statistical Process Control (SPC). The material to follow suggests that SPC is a major element of any programme and, if properly applied, could be a complete programme in itself. Measuring and improving means that data must be collected, used, understood, interpreted and analysed, and thereby lies the difficulty.

"While it is usually helpful to launch improvement programs, many such programs soon get bogged down in detail. They either address the wrong problems, or they keep beating on the same solutions, wondering why things don't improve. This is when you need an objective way to look at the problems. This is the time to get some data." Watts S. Humphrey, from the Foreword This book, drawing on work done at the Software Engineering Institute and other organizations, shows how to use measurements to manage and improve software processes. The authors explain specifically how quality characteristics of software products and processes can be quantified, plotted, and analyzed so the performance of software development activities can be predicted, controlled, and guided to achieve both business and technical goals. The measurement methods presented, based on the principles of statistical quality control, are illuminated by application examples taken from industry. Although many of the methods discussed are applicable to individual projects, the book's primary focus is on the steps software development organizations can take toward broad-reaching, long-term success. The book particularly addresses the needs of software managers and practitioners who have already set up some kind of basic measurement process and are ready to take the next step by collecting and analyzing software data as a basis for making process decisions and predicting process performance. Highlights of the book include: Insight into developing a clear framework for measuring process behavior Discussions of process performance, stability, compliance, capability, and improvement Explanations of what you want to measure (and why) and instructions on how to collect your data Step-by-step guidance on how to get started using statistical process control If you have responsibilities for product quality or process performance and you are ready to use measurements to manage, control, and predict your software processes, this book will be an invaluable resource.

The business, commercial and public-sector world has changed dramatically since John Oakland wrote the first edition of Statistical Process Control – a practical guide in the mid-eighties. Then people were rediscovering statistical methods of ‘quality control’ and the book responded to an often desperate need to find out about the techniques and use them on data. Pressure over time from organizations supplying directly to the consumer, typically in the automotive and high technology sectors, forced those in charge of the supplying production and service operations to think more about preventing problems than how to find and fix them. Subsequent editions retained the ‘took kit’ approach of the first but included some of the ‘philosophy’ behind the techniques and their use. The theme which runs throughout the 7th edition is still processes - that require understanding, have variation, must be properly controlled, have a capability, and need improvement - the five sections of this new edition. SPC never has been and never will be simply a ‘took kit’ and in this book the authors provide, not only the instructional guide for the tools, but communicate the management practices which have become so vital to success in organizations throughout the world. The book is supported by the authors' extensive and latest consulting work within thousands of organisations worldwide. Fully updated to include real-life case studies, new research based on client work from an array of industries, and integration with the latest computer methods and Minitab software, the book also retains its valued textbook quality through clear learning objectives and end of chapter discussion questions. It can still serve as a textbook for both student and practicing engineers, scientists, technologists, managers and for anyone wishing to understand or implement modern statistical process control techniques.

If you have been frustrated by very technical statistical process control (SPC) training materials, then this is the book for you. This book focuses on how SPC works and why managers should consider using it in their operations. It provides you with a conceptual understanding of SPC so that appropriate decisions can be made about the benefits of incorporating SPC into the process management and quality improvement processes. Today, there is little need to make the necessary calculations by hand, so the author utilizes Minitab and NWA Quality Analyst—two of the most popular statistical analysis software packages on the market. Links are provided to the home pages of these software packages where trial versions may be downloaded for evaluation and trial use. The book also addresses the question of why SPC should be considered for use, the process of implementing SPC, how to incorporate SPC into problem identification, problem solving, and the management and improvement of processes, products, and services.

SPC METHODS FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT A comprehensive, applications-oriented guide to classical and cutting-edge SPC tools and techniques Written by a leading innovator in the field, SPC Methods for Quality Improvement provides a complete blueprint for integrating SPC methods into the manufacturing process. It explains methods for improving existing SPC systems and describes cutting-edge techniques that enable managers to develop full-fledged SPC systems in industries that traditionally were considered off-limits to this type of statistical analysis. The only guide to SPC geared exclusively to the practical concerns of manufacturing professionals, it translates statistical/mathematical concepts into real-world applications with the help of dozens of case studies and examples drawn from a variety of industries. SPC Methods for Quality Improvement is also a superb introductory text for students and newcomers to SPC. The author patiently introduces readers to essential SPC concepts and procedures and provides methodical, step-by-step instruction in the proper use of SPC tools and techniques. In the 1920s and 30s, Walter Shewhart of Bell Telephone Laboratories developed Statistical Process Control (SPC) as a means of analyzing manufacturing processes at the shop-floor level. Shewhart and his disciples—most notably W. Edwards Deming, father of total quality management—realized that SPC provided a sophisticated tool for assessing and improving quality at all levels. SPC, therefore, was the backbone of the quality management revolution of the 1980s and 90s. Yet, until now, there was no comprehensive, practical guide to SPC methods for engineers and managers working in manufacturing. SPC Methods for Quality Improvement fills that vacuum with complete coverage of SPC concepts, tools, and techniques geared to the practical concerns of manufacturing professionals. Dr. Charles Quesenberry introduces all statistical/mathematical essentials and carefully explains the rationale behind each concept. He employs vivid case studies to show how these concepts translate into real-world applications. Using examples drawn from a broad array of industries—from semiconductors to food processing, biomedical engineering to education—he deftly illustrates how SPC methods can streamline the manufacturing process and improve product quality. SPC Methods for Quality Improvement provides detailed, step-by-step guidance on the uses of both classical and second-generation SPC methods. Among cutting-edge methods described are those for charting processes without prior data, charting processes from start-up, and charting short runs with known false alarm rates. Readers also learn methods for studying the form of a reference distribution; how to use transformations to Q-statistics for various models; how to treat data from skewed distributions; and new ways of treating regression, multivariate, and autocorrelated data. An excellent text/primer for students and those new to SPC, SPC Methods for Quality Improvement is also a valuable guide for industrial and production engineers and managers who wish to improve existing SPC systems or to introduce SPC methods into industries where they were once inapplicable.