Processing is putting energy into your inputs to generate an output. The better you manage that, the more efficient your output is, resulting in less waste of input and energy. Good process control is key to achieve this.

The aim of process control is that you minimize variability. But good process control does not come easy, and before your well-trained operators can control the process, there has to be a foundation that consists of 4 important characteristics to determine and understand.

1. Gain more value by having less values

Values in a process are divided in two different streams.

• Settings are inputs which you can influence directly yourself.
• Outputs which are by definition a result of a process step and only indirectly controllable

It seems a no-brainer that values are important in process control. But that does not mean that any value is important or even desired to know.Too much information can lead to instability. In process design or improvement, it is recommended to get as much feedback out of your process as possible, but in process control you want as less options as possible.

The risk of having too many options is that people try to use it to find new ways to ‘control’ the process with it, which is the start of chaos itself.

The trick here is to use the famous words;

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler 

To do this, draw a process flow and find the values that are most important for your process step with these guidelines in mind;

• If a value does not clearly influence any result, it is of no importance.
• If there is a 1 on 1 relation between two values, one can go.
• If there are more settings that influence a certain result, keep the one that is physically closest to the first possible measurement of the result.

2. Less variation means more control

Now you know what to control by having the right values in place, it is time to figure out what the numbers behind those values should be.

Settings have an immediate effect on how you target energy into your process. Reducing the range of freedom to change these settings enhances the predictability.

 In any value there is a target and a range. The target is found by writing it down when the process runs well and the output is within the desired limits. The range is found by changing a setting until the output quality reaches its limits and then divide it by two as a start. 

These ranges are not set in stone and have to be revised regularly to ensure that they still reflect the process control needed.

3. How to do more with less

To be predictable it is important to react the same way every time something occurs instead of finding a new solution every time. 

When you listen to the people working with the process every day, you might find differences between individuals and differences in the way they react on the same problem. An Out of Control Action Plan (OCAP) standardizes HOW to react when your process is out of control. 

If not standardized yet, start with the way 1 person or team reacts. Preferably the one with the best proven results, but that is up to you…

You might notice that when the way of working in process control is standardized, you need less settings, which makes your process simpler and more robust.

4. Be lazy when in control

It is often recognized that the laziest operator gets the best results. Why? Because they know when NOT to change the settings. You can try to find only lazy operators, but there is a more standardized way of achieving the same.

For most processes it is enough to start with a few rules defined by Statistical Process Control (SPC). This proven system warns you when it is unlikely that the average output measure is still within your limits, but more importantly, it does not warn when it will be still within the limits even though the measured values is high or low within the agreed ranges.

As in any standard the key is to get it in place and when it is there, update it. You will notice that some standards never have to change, but they have to be checked regularly to ensure that they are still working if you want the operator to keep using them.

Do you ever feel your processes control you? Improve the process on the above points and let me know in the comments what changed!