Tools for Process Improvement and Troubleshooting

digital process automation as the subject of quality control evaluation
All processes should be well understood and evaluated for
maximum performance.
In the process control and engineering world, professionals are constantly seeking ways to optimize their systems and particular process strategies. Quality-related issues and systems provide chances for process operators to not only identify potential areas for improvement or correction, but also employ troubleshooting techniques to make systems perform at the highest level possible. Traditionally, seven basic tools have been utilized in order to troubleshoot quality related issues, and serve as simple, yet extremely effective ways to find solutions.

The cause and effect diagram is used to investigate and systematically list potential causes which contribute to an identified effect. Grouping the causes into different categories visually when attempting to determine the root cause of a process issue allows the controller to view every component of a system, and then subsequently investigate how the individual parts act together. This can be extremely useful when attempting to troubleshoot process control systems.

Check sheets allow for real-time data collection, either quantitative or qualitative. A multitude of potential issues, such as dimensions being incorrect in a product or malfunctions in system technology, are trackable via the check sheet. The data collected by these sheets allows for an operator to make sequential decisions regarding the process based on hard data, from which decisions for optimization can be derived and executed.

The control chart is a process control tool based on statistics. The basic function of the chart is to determine whether or not an industrial process is correctly operating in a state of control, or if the process should be evaluated for quality-related problems. Basically, the goal of this chart is to determine the efficacy of the process system and its associated control limits. If the variation of the process system deviates too much from the expected behavior of the system, an investigation into the system is required. These charts can be essential to monitoring process health.

Histograms are a basic quality tool due to their ability to allow controllers a rough estimation of probability distributions related to the process in question. If the variable in question being assessed by the histogram matches the expected behavior, then the histogram will show said correlation – likewise, if the process is behaving in an unexpected manner, the histogram will reflect these details. The Pareto chart is a chart specifically helpful in tracking defects, by category, which occur most frequently in a certain process. In a process where the resulting product is defective, the Pareto chart will highlight the defect of highest occurrence or the most frequent deviation from the expected result.

The scatter diagram is a tool which allows process controllers to identify whether a relationship exists between two different quantitative variables and, if there is a relationship, to help identify what kind of relationship exists between said variables. The control parameters are established on one axis, while the dependent variables are established on the other. If the plot can correctly show the relationship between the variables, then any alterations in said relationship are identifiable and the related processes can be immediately examined for cause.


The last basic tool for process control and quality-related troubleshooting is the flow chart, which allows for the diagramming of relationships in the process to track and examine the workflow of the process in question. Together, these seven items constitute a basic toolbox for optimization and correction of processes, where their simplicity correlates to effectiveness in understanding particular process systems.

Analynk Wireless manufactures wireless communications equipment for process measurement and control.