Conceptualizing organizational implementation and practice of statistical process control

Current widespread implementation and practice of statistical process control (SPC) attest to the potential of SPC to contribute to continuous quality improvement efforts. While much has been written about SPC- related topics, a more fundamental question — “What does the implementation and practice of SPC entail?” — has yet to merit a detailed conceptual or empirical examination. As a result, very little knowledge has accumulated or has been documented to identify, describe, and define the requisite organizational policies and actions to make the implementation and subsequent practice of SPC an effective and viable part of any organization's quality management system. In this paper, we report on research efforts towards an enhanced conceptualization of this phenomenon; we provide various definitional perspectives on organizational efforts to implement and practice SPC, culminating in the proposition of the construct, SPC Implementation/ Practice, and its nominal definition. We also employ an empirical approach, utilizing a panel of subject-matter-experts and the affinity diagram, to identify and define a set of 14 requisite policies and actions indicative of the implementation and practice of SPC within organizations. The identification of these 14 requisite policies and actions facilitates the construction of a diagnostic instrument that organizations can employ to assess shortcomings and uncover improvement opportunities in their implementation and practice of SPC.