The role of control charts in promoting organisational learning

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the theoretical interface between statistical thinking, the statistical method of the control chart, and contemporary theories of organisational learning in regard to processes and their improvement. Design/methodology/approach -Theoretical discussion results in an integrated model showing how statistical thinking and methods relate to organisational learning. This is supported by findings from a food industry research project following a design of: exploration (stage 1); theory development (stage 2); and theory testing/refinement (stage 3) incorporating surveys, case studies and key informant interviews. Findings -Empirical evidence shows that statistical techniques such as the control chart can be of benefit to organisations for creating process improvement and organisational learning, providing the charts are utilised to actively convert the data they contain into information and knowledge about the process. Four distinct categories of use of control charts were observed which impacted on the effectiveness with which the charts were able to achieve this. Research limitations/implications -The findings have come from a study conducted only on the food industry. The implications are generalisable, however, to the wider industry context. Practical implications -Findings illustrate problems with control chart application and the vital role of statistical thinking in ensuring that maximum benefit is derived from the charts. We argue that statistical thinking is a fundamental prerequisite to achieving effective double loop learning when using control charts as a basis for process monitoring and improvement Originality/value -Statistical thinking and knowledge management are both growing areas of interest within the quality management and process improvement literature. The paper examines their interrelationship.

Impact analysis of critical success factors on the benefits from statistical process control implementation

“…The authors also emphasize the importance of management aspects such as senior management support and of technical aspects, such as training for CI implementation and maintenance. Despite the fact that SPC is considered a CI form (Mason & Antony, 2000;Grigg & Walls, 2007b), few studies have analyzed the CSF related to SPC use in Brazilian companies.…”

“…The most cited CSFs in the literature (80% of the 173 citations about CSF) are shown in Table 1. (1) Gordon et al (1994), (2) Does et al (1997), (3) Rungtusanatham et al (1999), (4) Xie & Goh (1999), (5) Mason & Antony (2000), (6) Antony et al (2000), (7) Rungasamy et al (2002), (8) Antony & Taner (2003), (9) Grigg & Walls (2007a), (10) Grigg & Walls (2007b), (11) Chen et al (2008), (12) Elg et al (2008), (13) Putri & Yusof (2008), (14) Phyanthamilkumaran & Fernando (2008), (15) Rohani et al (2009), (16) Rohani et al (2010), (17) Mahanti & Evans (2012), (18) Rantamaki et al (2013), (19) Sharma & Kharub (2014), (20) Lim et al (2014).…”

“…One of the reasons for such resistance results from the lack of statistical knowledge; however, this gap can be fulfilled with top management support (Grigg & Walls, 2007b;Lim et al, 2014). However, it demands time to employees to dedicate to SPC and to make the appropriate decisions to apply the control charts; to observe the technical aspects, such as the statistical assumptions used at the time to generate the chart; to identify the critical characteristics during the application of the statistical control charts; and to analyze and remove the special causes.…”

Quality Management: Important Aspects for the Food Industry

“…Another approach is the normality of the control limits, where 2 out of 3 consecutive points are outside the limits of 2σ [8]. The food industry use control charts in different ways depending upon their level of maturity in statistical thinking [15]. In a survey conducted in UK food industry, revealed that while there are large differences in process types, quality priorities and key measures among different sub-sectors of the industry, the use of control charts was broadly similar.…”

“…In a survey conducted in UK food industry, revealed that while there are large differences in process types, quality priorities and key measures among different sub-sectors of the industry, the use of control charts was broadly similar. This generally extended to the use of control charts for recording or monitoring product net weight and volume data [15].…”