Key ingredients for the effective implementation of statistical process control

Continuous improvement of product, process and service quality is important for today’s organisations to remain competitive in global marketplaces. Statistical process control (SPC) is an important and powerful technique for the continuous improvement of product and process quality. The control chart is the familiar tool used within SPC for determining out‐of‐control situations and thereby eliminating or reducing variation in processes. However, a control chart is by no means the only ingredient – nor necessarily the most important – for the successful application of SPC. This paper identifies and discusses these key ingredients for the successful application of SPC in both manufacturing and service organisations.