Success factors in the implementation of statistical process control: action research in a chemical plant

Toledo, Jose Carlos de; Lizarelli, Fabiane Letícia; Santana Junior, Manoel Bispo

doi:10.1590/0103-6513.220816

Jose Carlos de Toledo ^* * toledo@dep.ufscar.br

Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brasil

Fabiane Letícia Lizarelli

Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brasil

Manoel Bispo Santana Junior

Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brasil

* toledo@dep.ufscar.br

Research Stages
Search string	((“statistical process control”or”SPC”or”control chart”) and (“critical success factors”or”success factors”))
Data Base	Web of Science, Scopus, Engineering Village and Google Scholar
Search	Title, abstract and keywords Body of the paper (Google Scholar)
Period	1960 – July 2016
Number of papers returned	Web of Science (5), Scopus (13) e Engineering Village (14), Google Scholar (310)
Number of papers selected	Web of Science (2), Scopus (4), Engineering Village (4) e Google Scholar (41)
Number of papers after excluding the repeated ones	41
Number of papers on the subject	25

Critical Success Factor	Definition	Percentage of citation	Authors
1. Commitment and senior management responsibility	Leaders must understand the use and support the implementation with financial, human resources and training and disseminate the importance of quality and the SPC.	92%	1-4; 6-8; 10-25
2. Education and training in SPC	The training in concepts and techniques should be focused initially on leadership and transmitted to the organization continuously and with progressive content.	92%	1; 3-8; 10-25
3. Team work (SPC Team)	There should be a specific working group with leaders, a board of directors committee and an operational team to lead, coordinate and carry out the implementation.	64%	2-7; 11-21
4. Identification and measurement of critical product characteristics	The most critical characteristics should be selected. The characteristic can be the one that impacts the client more and generates significant quality problems.	64%	2-3; 5-8; 10-12; 16-21; 24
5. Definition and correct application of control charts (selection of appropriate control chart, sampling, etc.)	There should be proper selection of the chart, which depends on the type of variable to be analyzed, the data to be collected and the process.	60%	2-3; 5-8; 10-14; 16; 18-20
6. Cultural change and communication	Behavioral and resistance to change issues must be considered. Operators, engineers and managers need to be aware of the benefits of the SPC for the continuous improvement of products and processes and to base its actions on facts and data.	60%	4; 6-7; 11; 14-20; 22-24
7. Measurement system analysis in relation to its capability and applicability	The process of measuring the quality characteristics must be analyzed considering the effect of the inspector, the measuring instrument and the interactions between these factors. This analysis is essential to ensure measurement accuracy and minimize errors in the data obtained.	56%	2-3; 6-11;17-21; 25
8. Process definition and prioritization	A process or a stage where there is waste, rework or variability problems should be chosen.	44%	2; 4; 6-7; 11-12; 16-20
9. Use of facilitators or statistical experts (engineers, etc.) to the SPC	There must be a technical expert for guidance when problems arise in the use of the SPC, who must be available and assist in the implementation.	44%	3; 7; 10; 11; 13; 17-21; 25
10. Use of computers and software for SPC	The use of user-friendly software provides advantages such as less time for mathematical calculations, as well as ease of storage and data recovery.	36%	4; 6-7; 10-11; 16; 18-20
11. Use of a pilot study	There should be a pilot project to learn and sensitize leaders about how SPC can assist in solving problems, and show how SPC can be applied and its benefits.	32%	2; 6-7; 11; 17-18; 20; 24
12. Involvement and empowerment of employees	Operators should be empowered to analysis and decision making on process control and be recognized for their work.	28%	1; 3; 5; 13-15; 20
13. Development of statistical thinking	The SPC should enable those involved to perceive that there is variation in processes and to understand and reduce variation is critical.	20%	9-10; 21; 23; 25
14. SPC use for Continuous Improvement	The SPC should be used as an input of facts and data for Continuous Improvement.	20%	3-4; 20; 23-24
15. Documentation and knowledge updating on the process	It must be ensured that the knowledge on any critical process is reviewed, analyzed, documented and updated according to changes in the process.	20%	3; 7; 11; 18; 20
16. Interpretation capacity of control charts and the allocation of appropriate actions	The ability to interpret the information and behavior observed in control charts should be fomented so that corrective and preventive actions can be taken.	20%	4-5; 9-10; 17
17. Focus on customer satisfaction	The process and the critical characteristics of quality should be chosen in order to increase customer satisfaction.	20%	8; 13-15; 20
18. Feedback, continuous learning and knowledge sharing	It is important that there is opportunity for learning and knowledge sharing among SPC staff, operators and managers involved.	16%	10; 19-21
19. Auditing, analysis and review of control charts for continuous improvement	For the continued implementation of the SPC, auditing and reviews of the use and of the charts should be made to identify possible gaps and targeting the correct use.	12%	3; 10; 21
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CSF	Situation	Action
Commitment and senior management responsibility	The members of the Monitoring Group are supporting and there is no identified focus of resistance. In meetings with the leaders, it was revealed that those who experienced the frustrated initiatives, support the initiative, but with restrained enthusiasm.	The Group continues to demonstrate the support through meetings and interventions in the pilot project and it is awaiting the advance of the other phases of the implementation to verify the need for action with the leaders. Appointment of a facilitator, providing resources for the progress of actions.
Use of pilot project	Consider the experience as a pilot project has been worked in the planning and discussed in meetings with operators and leaders. Thus, expectations that were another top-down program, imposed on operators, did not materialize. The teams understand that this is a pilot for “a new way of working an old idea”.	The implementation of actions continued to be treated as a pilot. Held the formal action release (kick-off) and pilot officialization, with all operational staff, the launch was well received by operators.
SPC implementation team	During the meetings, it was found strained relations between operators and leaders. Apparently, there is a concentration of power in leaders who monopolize the decisions that are taken in the process control room. Some operators have complained that lack the autonomy to make changes in the process, knowing what has to be done. This situation could interfere when the establishment of plans for special causes, which should be done by control room operators.	A production engineer with training in Six Sigma Green Belt was hired, who will be responsible for leading, which would decrease the concentration of power. The SPC team was defined as consisting of operators, leaders, process supervisor and Production Engineer.
Use of facilitator	The need to use a facilitator to assist in the execution of the project and on questions of implementation of the control chart has been verified.	At first, it was chosen as facilitator a supervisor with good knowledge of the industrial process, working routines and which is responsible for the factory quality system. However, the facilitator did not have enough knowledge on statistical methods. The facilitator appointed was the Production Engineer.
Definition and prioritization of the process	It was important to have been made in the planning stage, indicating the plant and process for the pilot implementation.	After discussion, the silica filtration process was set.
Identification and measurement of critical quality characteristics	Several meetings were needed to which variable consensus would bring value to the operation. It is important to choose a variable that operators can take action if the process gets out of control. It is also important that everyone training for taking corrective actions, as currently the action under the process depends on the experience of the operator.	For the choice of the variable, the Monitoring Group realized that important factors are: to be an independent variable, have strong impact with the process output, its correction is the domain of operators and have validated measurement. After meetings with the process teams defined that filtration section, the controlled variable would be the final compression pressure applied on silica plates. This variable was unanimously accepted by the team.
Education and training in SPC	Request by the operators, training in SPC concepts.	Training sessions in early concepts of SPC types of charts, importance and benefits of the implementation.
Cultural change management	Operators understand the concept of the project. Communication with all the employees was essential to realize that something different was being done to an “old issue.” However, there is an expectation for knowing how is done in practice.	The next activities were planned (choose the control chart, measurement system analysis and software), initiating a new action research cycle. It was also decided to include the factor “Communication Evaluation” in the factor “Change management activities”.

CSF	Situation	Action
Measurement System Analysis	It has been observed the need for technical evaluation (analysis of repeatability and reproducibility) of the measurement and behavioral analysis related operators' confidence in the data collected.	The repeatability and reproducibility study showed that the measurement system is reliable. It sought to show that the team itself is responsible for the measured data and its reliability, improving awareness.
Definition and correct application of control charts	The simplest type of chart, the X bar – R chart, is suggested. The average of the variable pressure applied to the end plates of silica in the last 3 minutes filtration cycle should be monitored for X bar and the dispersion inside the sample for R chart. Need to perform autocorrelation analysis.	Creation by the facilitator (Production Engineer), availability for operators of the control chart and the verification that the chart is being used and the data is being properly collected. Operators began to include naturally in their routine the chart consultation. There was no identification of autocorrelation.
Use of computers and software for SPC	This factor is crucial for operators to “buy the idea” and change the culture related to the SPC. It should be used software for easy access and understanding. There must be a unique monitor to display the chart.	Carried out the installation of a unique new computer to the control chart. The chart was built in Excel and is updated every 60 minutes, with constant consultation of the chart on the specific monitor.
Education and training in SPC	It was identified the need for training in relation to analysis of the measurement system on the types of control charts and interpretation.	There was concise and simple training on the analysis of the measurement system. SPC team was trained on the most widely used type of control chart: (X bar – R)
Cultural Change Management	Operators and leaders are more involved in the implementation of the control chart, but there are still barriers in relation to the tool to build the chart (they do not want to be manual) and data reliability.	Operators and leaders actively participated in the definition of the software for the chart. Standards have been established for the collection of data and to increase the confidence of operators.

CSF	Situation	Action
Interpretation of control charts capacity and execution of appropriate actions	There is the need for training for reading and interpretation of the control chart by operators. Actions should be set in the case of the process has special causes. Possible follow-up meetings (mornings), so there is a proper flow of information and actions to special causes.	It was done training for correct reading and interpretation of the control chart. Suggestions from operators to the corrective action plan were collected. Morning meeting was created in the control room and daily summary sheet implemented with indicators such as safety, fuel consumption etc.
Documentation and knowledge updating on the process	Update need for documented procedures for actions in case of special causes.	Together with the operators, procedures (tasks for correction in a logical sequence) and records for situations out of control were created.
Auditing, analysis and review of control charts aiming Continuous Improvement	Need for procedures to change the control limits. Some situations have been identified as crucial for recalculation of limits and included in procedures. The calculation of the limits is the responsibility of the facilitator, since it is a concern that this is not a function of the employees. It was suggested to institute an auditing at a defined frequency to measure, with some indicators, if the use of the control chart is being performed satisfactorily and whether it is adequate.	It was explained to the operators when and who will be responsible for changing the control limits. The limits are reviewed in well-defined conditions, such as exchange of plates after split or other event that may justify the average change. The control limits will be reviewed by the facilitator. Inserted auditing procedure to verify the revision of limits and the use of the chart.
Education and training in SPC	The Monitoring Group of action research suggested recycling and training of operators in the operational procedure of the tasks for special causes and the very concepts of SPC. A training module should be prepared to new operators or as recycling to those who wish.	It was included training, retraining and assessment work plan, as a key action for the implementation and continuity of SPC. The evaluation should be done with a certain frequency (annual) to see if the work process is being followed. The training also demonstrates the concern of senior management with the SPC.
Cultural Change Management	Operators begin to accept and include the use of control charts in the daily routine work.	The chart is included as a source of information for Continuous Improvement.

Actions	CSF	Relevance
Management	Commitment and senior management responsibility	Senior Management and the organization's commitment awareness of the implementation and support of the SPC.
	Management of cultural change and communication	Generate commitment and culture change to use the SPC.
	SPC use for Continuous Improvement	Use the SPC as information generator and analysis for continuous improvement.
	Involvement and empowerment of employees	Create culture and responsibility to correct the process and continuous improvement.
	Development of statistical thinking	Development of understanding of variability and analysis of causes of lack of control and capability.
Organizational	Launching meeting of the project	Awareness of the importance of the pilot project and the SPC.
	Pilot Project use	Acquisition and quick perception of the benefits of using the SPC.
	Team work (SPC Team)	Allocation of responsibilities and goals with the implementation of the SPC.
	Use of facilitator	Use facilitator as a specialist for the implementation, assisting with questions and training in SPC.
	Use of computers and software for SPC	Promoting the insertion of data and constant observation of process.
Technique and Training	Process definition and prioritization	Impact on results, customers and strategic business objectives.
	Education and Training in SPC	Enable the implementation of appropriate tools, increasing the chances of success and continuity of the SPC.
	Critical quality characteristics identification	Enable domain and adjustments in this variable, which must be related to critical issues such as customer satisfaction, quality and safety.
	Measurement system analysis in relation to their capability and applicability	Knowing the variability from the measuring system and the process itself.
	Definition and correct application of control charts (type of chart, sampling, etc.)	Allow appropriate data analysis for further corrective actions and control.
	Capacity to interpret the control charts and the allocation of appropriate actions	Enable appropriate actions and process control.
	Documentation and knowledge updating on the process	Create procedures for corrective actions and documentation for knowledge management.
	Auditing, analysis and review of control charts for continuous improvement	Create procedures for verification of the use and update, so an outdated chart that implies lack of control of the process is not used.
	Feedback, continuous learning and knowledge sharing	Generate continuous learning on the use of the SPC.
	Focus on customer satisfaction	Increase the satisfaction of internal and external customers.

[1] * toledo@dep.ufscar.br

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Success factors in the implementation of statistical process control: action research in a chemical plant

Abstract