A Diamond Anniversary:
Celebrating 75 years of SPC

75 years ago Walter Shewhart published ‘Economic Control of Quality of Manufactured Product’ and revolutionized how we see and manage manufacturing processes. This marked the beginning of modern quality and process management. Shewhart’s inspiration was that statistical thinking combined with analytics gives us a method that is uniquely capable of monitoring process performance and a usable path to control and process improvement.

Shewhart’s methods have provided us with the basis for making modern information intensive manufacturing work. His teachings provide the major underpinnings that make today’s distributed enterprises and supply chains work dependably and well. His original inspiration has spawned several modern quality movements including TQM, Six Sigma, and Continuous Process Improvement. Now the time has arrived for the next generation, Manufacturing Analytics.

During the last decade, SPC has grown from the QC department to diagnosing and managing processes throughout the enterprise. NWA has been at the forefront of developing these enterprise applications. As Shewhart said in his data presentation rules, “data has no meaning apart from its context.” Current information systems technology enables us to configure application and role specific analytic reporting throughout the enterprise and improve corporate decision making. As we expand the applications of SPC into Manufacturing Analytics, we are developing powerful new tools to apply proven continuous improvement techniques to corporate processes.

So, let’s celebrate the Diamond Anniversary of Shewhart’s seminal work which has led us into a better and more productive way of producing our products, managing our companies, and satisfying our customers. We are working to develop the next generation methods that will enable success in extensive enterprises and supply chains. We call these methods Manufacturing Analytics and look forward to helping you step up to these next generation applications.