Improved process control for the plastics industry

One of the valuable tools for organizations involved in a total quality improvement effort is statistical process control (SPC). When implementing SPC in their processes, many of these organizations have equated SPC only with X & R control charts. These control charts, though important, may not be the best tool to monitor and control every process. Other charts such as an X, Rw, Rm control chart, which monitors the location of the process outpout, the instantaneous variation, and the process variation over time, may often be a better tool. This is especially true where manufacturing companies are processing materials in batches or using batches of materials such as in polymer production and molding.