{domain:"www.qualitydigest.com",server:"169.47.211.87"} Skip to main content

User account menu
Main navigation
  • Topics
    • Customer Care
    • FDA Compliance
    • Healthcare
    • Innovation
    • Lean
    • Management
    • Metrology
    • Operations
    • Risk Management
    • Six Sigma
    • Standards
    • Statistics
    • Supply Chain
    • Sustainability
    • Training
  • Videos/Webinars
    • All videos
    • Product Demos
    • Webinars
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Submit B2B Press Release
    • Write for us
  • Metrology Hub
  • Training
  • Subscribe
  • Log in
Mobile Menu
  • Home
  • Topics
    • 3D Metrology-CMSC
    • Customer Care
    • FDA Compliance
    • Healthcare
    • Innovation
    • Lean
    • Management
    • Metrology
    • Operations
    • Risk Management
    • Six Sigma
    • Standards
    • Statistics
    • Supply Chain
    • Sustainability
    • Training
  • Login / Subscribe
  • More...
    • All Features
    • All News
    • All Videos
    • Contact
    • Training

It’s Time for a New and Innovative Approach to SPC

Fourth-generation SPC will create an accelerating cycle of improved quality and reduced costs.

Steve Daum
Sun, 06/14/2009 - 23:00
  • Comment
  • RSS

Social Sharing block

  • Print
Body

With several generations of statistical process control (SPC) technology under our belts, it may be time to rethink how we apply SPC in the 21st century.  Basic techniques have been practiced since the 1930s.  Some companies will soon be able to say, “we’ve been practicing SPC for 100 years.” Since the time Walter Shewhart first proposed the techniques, they have been widely deployed. 

Over the years, there have been improvements in how SPC is used. Some of this can be attributed to technological changes. When personal computers and software arrived, the tedium of manual calculations was reduced. When databases came into the picture, it became easier to organize and find data gathered for SPC. When the Internet arrived, it became easier to share and publish SPC information.

Despite the improvements, our current approach to SPC is ripe for an overhaul. A combination of technology improvements, organizational changes, and a more systems-based mindset among companies has set the stage for the next leap forward.

Before thinking about that leap, it is instructive to consider how SPC usage has evolved. While none of this information may be new, it is important to view the sometimes small changes to understand the “big picture” of statistical process control.

 …

Want to continue?
Log in or create a FREE account.
Enter your username or email address
Enter the password that accompanies your username.
By logging in you agree to receive communication from Quality Digest. Privacy Policy.
Create a FREE account
Forgot My Password

Add new comment

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
Please login to comment.
      

© 2025 Quality Digest. Copyright on content held by Quality Digest or by individual authors. Contact Quality Digest for reprint information.
“Quality Digest" is a trademark owned by Quality Circle Institute Inc.

footer
  • Home
  • Print QD: 1995-2008
  • Print QD: 2008-2009
  • Videos
  • Privacy Policy
  • Write for us
footer second menu
  • Subscribe to Quality Digest
  • About Us
  • Contact Us