As you think about your organization’s manufacturing quality efforts—what you’ve overcome and what you hope to accomplish in the future—there is something you need to know.

You: What? Who? Me?

Me: Yes, you. No matter how long you’ve been playing this game (and I know many of you have been playing it as long as I have), you find that there are many pitfalls to implementing a statistical process control (SPC) system.

I’ve been doing this for about 30 years, and I’ve worked with and witnessed hundreds of SPC implementations. Many have been very successful, virtually transforming plants and corporate cultures. A few have been less than successful. And many—most, actually—occupy the murky middle ground between success and failure. These deployments are usually characterized by an interesting mix of localized support and excitement, coupled with an undercurrent of corporate indifference.

You: OK, I’m interested. Go on.

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