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4 min read
BCN, alongside PMI, hosted their first British Quality Foundation (BQF) Excellence Hour. The session focussed on scaling control charts and addressed practical challenges in adopting Statistical Process Control (SPC).
Participants in the session:
Tom Furber began by outlining the purpose and agenda of the session. He highlighted the growing appetite among organisations to use control charts more broadly but noted that scaling their adoption is often hindered by practical barriers. The aim of the session was to share experiences, discuss challenges, and explore how SPC can drive informed decision-making at every organisational level.
Tom emphasised the transformative power of SPC, particularly in decision-making. Drawing on his background, he described how the NHS has adopted SPC for strategic monitoring, moving away from traditional traffic-light ratings. SPC enables organisations to identify patterns in data, reduce waste, and interpret information consistently across functions, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
However, Tom noted that many organisations use SPC effectively for quality improvement but often in silos, missing out on broader strategic benefits. The challenge lies in deploying SPC consistently at scale, integrating operational, financial, and system data for a holistic view.
Data quality and access emerged as key issues in the session, with SPC sometimes viewed as a regulatory “tick box” exercise, rather than a powerful tool for improvement, and that leadership buy-in is critical for successful adoption. This discussion touched upon the perception of data collection as a burden, especially on the shop floor, and the importance of demonstrating SPC’s value.
Oliver shared real-world examples from healthcare and manufacturing, illustrating how dynamic control charts can empower end users to explore data in real time. Using BCN’s automated SPC tool solution, EasySPC, organisations like Cincinnati Children’s Hospital have embedded SPC throughout their operations, enabling users to drill into specific metrics, sites, and processes without manual report creation. This approach frees up analysts to focus on data analysis rather than data preparation.
Oliver then shared another use case showing a manufacturing dashboard tailored for different audiences, from leadership teams to shop floor operators. These dashboards allowed users to filter data by process stages, review key performance indicators, and drill down into causes of rework and scrap. The system supported prioritisation and problem-solving, with annotations capturing investigations and learnings for future reference.
Lauren Miles described PMI’s journey, emphasising the importance of developing skills and mindsets around variation. They began with manual charts and team huddles, ensuring everyone understood common and special cause variation. Over time, they identified priority processes and focused on a manageable set of control charts, expanding as needed.
Lauren’s advice was to measure aspects that trigger strong reactions, those most likely to be overreacted to, and to be flexible in walking away from measures that do not drive improvement. PMI’s review rhythms incorporated regular huddles, with escalations and performance measures discussed and escalated as necessary. The use of EasySPC and automated data collection enabled the team to focus on analysis and decision-making, shifting the cultural mindset towards process rather than personal accountability.
The session delved into methods for prioritising anomalies and managing investigations, such as PMI’s use of Western Electric and Nelson’s rules to trigger investigations, with annotations supporting knowledge sharing and root cause analysis. Oliver added that different organisations adopt varying approaches based on their data and culture, and some use dashboards to focus improvement efforts on stable but underperforming processes.
The interactive session blended practical examples, technical insight, and cultural considerations, offering a comprehensive overview of the journey to scaling control charts.
Learn more about BCN’s automated SPC tool, EasySPC here.
