When the Cost of Poor Quality in a process sporadically flares up to unusually high levels, it triggers a reaction often called troubleshooting, or corrective action associated with quality control. Control consists of three elements: measuring process performance, comparing the actual performance to the established standard measurement, and then taking action on the difference.
Control employs a corrective action feedback loop. The elements of the feedback loop (and hence, of control) are:
- The control subject, which is the process or product characteristic to be controlled
- A sensor, which measures the control variable
- An umpire, who receives the measure from the sensor
- The target or standard (expressed in units of measure)
- If the standard is not met, the umpire energizes an actuator who adjusts the process to bring it back into compliance with the standard-The actuator may be a supervisor, a task, or another employee
Control is a form of improvement in the sense that a bad situation-failing to meet the agreed upon standard-is made better by re-establishing the current standard, but it is not breakthrough improvement. It is merely removing unwanted change and restoring the process to meet the current standard. Control is carried out by a standard sequence of events:
- Evaluate Actual Performance
- Compare Actual Performance with the Standards
- Act on the (Bad) Difference
Juran can help your organization with quality control by teaching your staff how to compare actual process performance to established standard measurements, and then correct the difference.
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