Abstract
A study has been made of the use of statistical process control (SPC) in a company manufacturing high-integrity components for assembly into engines used in automobiles. The findings indicate that there is a lack of clear objectives for its use within the company. Some benefits have been achieved but the technique is being deployed imperfectly. A number of areas have been identified in which improvements are needed to make more effective use of SPC. For example, there is too much resetting of the machine tools, control limits are calculated too frequently, special causes have not been successfully identified and eliminated, teamwork is not widely used and insufficient resources are allocated to resolve problems in the company's manufacturing processes.
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