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Understanding Statistical Process Control

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This internationally acclaimed textbook is widely used for teaching basic SPC, Data Analysis, and Continual Improvement Techniques to those who work in manufacturing and process industries.

While retaining the superb examples and case histories of the original, the third edition of this classic text includes new material on several important
An expanded definition of World Class Quality, including Excess Cost of Production
A new Pattern Detection Guideline
New material on how the Western Electric Zone Tests look for different sized signals
A completely new chapter on Capability, Predictability, and World Class Quality including new Better ways to interpret and use the capability and performance indexes; An updated discussion of estimating the fraction nonconforming; The Myth of Long-Term Capability...explained and illustrated; New material on Converting Capabilities into Effective Costs of Production and Use; New exercises illustrate the power of conversion.
New section on the Nature of Assignable Causes and Common Causes
Revised material on Charts for Count-Based Data for greater clarity
New section on the Transformation of Data
Updated Bibliography
New, more comprehensive tables in the appendices.

406 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

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About the author

Donald J. Wheeler

35 books13 followers

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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Profile Image for tomlinton.
244 reviews19 followers
December 8, 2008
I believe this is the book
Which offered manual calculation of control charts
It was the equivalent of celestial navigation
which I had just finished
thinking I would sail the world
only to find out
my wife got easily seasick

No sooner was the class out
than I began speculating
that our Excel spreadsheets
could do this much easier
and within a week
I'd proved it
and within another month
the whole TQM movement
at my level in the corporation
had collapsed for want of executives
who could put up with it
Profile Image for Barry.
487 reviews28 followers
March 21, 2024
Well, this book kind of is the be all and end all of understanding statistical process control!

The early chapters guide you through the rationale of why control charts are necessary and how to use them. Later in the book the chapters shift to more detailed ways to monitor and control processes.

If one is working in a production environment where regulation and control and stability are important this book will be really useful. If one wants an overview of how to understand and measure data then the first half of the book will be enough.

I assume this text book was to accompany a course or program of study. At the end of each chapter there are a series of exercises. I quite enjoyed working through the exercises (relatively) long hand. Right now, I can get Excel to do most of this book much quicker but I found the practice of working through the mathematics long-hand helped me appreciate nuance I hadn't noticed before.

Sadly, the book goes from explaining things in a basic high school way to graduate level mathematics in the space of a couple of chapters. If your algebra is rusty the book doesn't really help you and in some cases is downright confusing. Along with the gendered language (this was written in the 80's) it's clear who it's audience is and is not.

Still, despite my criticisms I think the book has broadened my knowledge and the learning in it I use regularly at work. This book helps the reader understand 'is my process in control', 'should I change it', and 'how will I know if a change has occurred.' Whilst I struggled towards the end, I won't ever need to measure a production line to this degree but I think the learning is relevant for anyone involved in managing, monitoring or improving a process of any description.
Profile Image for Warren.
64 reviews18 followers
Currently reading
October 9, 2012
Brief and to the point. Good use of illustrations.
Profile Image for Nancy.
73 reviews19 followers
May 20, 2016
This was the most accessible presentation of SPC I've ever seen.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews

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