State-of-the-art SPC System Drives Financial Results

In one facility, the company produces more than 435,000 pounds of finished product every day on 22 packaging lines. While the plant is a sparkling clean state-of-the-art facility, the methods they used to control their processes haven’t always been as sophisticated. As recently as two years ago, the SPC system used for weight control was a paper-based X-Bar and R chart. With clipboard and pencil in hand, quality technicians would measure the package weights of small samples periodically from each package line. They would then compute the average weight of the sample and the range and record the information, along with some process data, on a standard form. The information was then submitted to a quality analyst at the end of each shift. The next morning, the analyst reviewed the data for missing information or errors, corrected any mistakes, and then passed it along to a key-punch operator to be keyed into a computer-based SPC package. Two days after the process data was collected, X-Bar and R charts were printed out along with Process Capability information for review by quality engineers and production managers. With only this rear view mirror perspective, managers and engineers were caught in a daily routine of trying to understand what happened at least two days before. And if process changes were not detected when they happened, product holds and costly sorting and repackaging would result. The need for timely information pointed to the need for a technology improvement, but the clean room environment at the company’s plants creates a unique challenge for technology solutions. Any hardware installed on the manufacturing floor has to tolerate hose-downs with a disinfecting solution. Traditional technology solutions – hardened computers or putting computers in sealed enclosures – were prohibitively expensive and never made it to the shop floor. That changed with the advent of low-cost wireless networks and portable handheld devices.

A leading producer of high-quality food products has used Statistical Process Control (SPC) to monitor package weights for more than 25 years. The company operates a state-of-the-art facility that produces more than 435,000 pounds of finished product every day on 22 packaging lines. Despite their advanced production capabilities, the methods they used to control their processes were not always sophisticated. The company faced challenges in maintaining timely and accurate process control data, which led to inefficiencies and potential product holds. The clean room environment at their plants also posed unique challenges for implementing new technology solutions. The company sought to improve their SPC system to gain financial benefits and enhance their process control capabilities.