Statistical Quality Control, 7th Edition

PART 1

Introduction

Controlling and improving quality has become an important business strategy for many organizations: manufacturers, distributors, transportation companies, financial services organizations, health care providers, and government agencies. Maintaining a high level of product or service quality provides a competitive advantage. A business that can delight customers by improving and controlling quality can dominate its competitors. This book is about the technical methods for achieving success in quality control and improvement, and offers guidance on how to successfully implement these methods.

Part 1 contains two chapters. Chapter 1 contains the basic definitions of quality and quality improvement, provides a brief overview of the tools and methods discussed in greater detail in subsequent parts of the book, and discusses the management systems for quality improvement. Chapter 2 is devoted to the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control) problem-solving process, which is an excellent framework for implementing quality and process improvement. We also show how the methods discussed in the book are used in DMAIC.