T Control Methods

Control Methods
Section 1: Introduction
Section 2: Control Methods Defined
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Control Methods
Module Objectives
Welcome to our discussion of control methods. A control method is a technique used to prevent a defect from
occurring.
In this module, we will:
 Describe the relationship between errors and defects

 Discuss the purpose of control methods
 Define six types of control methods
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Control Methods
Section 1: Introduction
The Relationship Between Errors and Defects
To understand the need for control methods, you must first understand the relationship between a defect and an
error condition. An error condition is the cause of a defect.
Consider this example: It’s morning, and you are ironing your shirt for work. The phone rings in another room, and
you quickly run to pick it up. After your conversation, you remember that you were in the middle of ironing, so you
return to the ironing board to find a ruined shirt. In this scenario, the burnt shirt is your defect, and forgetting to
shut off the iron is the error condition, or cause.
Control methods seek to control the error condition, thus reducing the potential for any defect to occur.
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Control Methods
The Purpose of Control Methods
It was Ben Franklin who said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” But, prevention is not always
possible. In the previous scenario, the best way to prevent the defect of a burnt shirt is to create an iron that does
not cause damage when it’s left alone. Irons that turn off automatically with disuse were invented with this
problem in mind, and utilize the mistake-proofing device of automatic shut-off.
Mistake proofing, also known as countermeasures or error proofing is the best control method, because it
prevents the error or defect from occurring. But it’s not always possible to mistake proof a product or process. In
the absence of mistake proofing, there are a number of other control methods that can be used to detect errors
and prevent them from spreading to the final product or process.
The most common control methods include:
 Flags
 Statistical Process Control, or SPC
 Inspection
 Standard Operating Procedures, or SOPs
 Warning Signals
These methods can effectively reduce defects and should be used until a pure mistake-proofing solution can be
developed.
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Control Methods
Section 2: Control Methods Defined

Countermeasures
A countermeasure is an improvement made to the process which will eliminate the error condition from ever
occurring. If the error condition doesn’t occur, there is no defect. Otherwise known as error proofing or mistake
proofing, a countermeasure is a long-term corrective action in the form of a design change. The concept of
countermeasures came from our Japanese counterparts.
“Poka-Yoke” is a Japanese term coined by engineer Shigeo Shingo. Poka-Yoke comes from the Japanese words
for “inadvertent error” and “avoidance.” Literally translated, the term means “fool-proofing,” but Dr. Shingo was
concerned the term would offend many workers, so the term was changed to “mistake proofing.”
Examples of countermeasures are everywhere. In most vehicles in the marketplace, you'll notice that your gas
cap is attached to the car by a tether. That means you can't just drive away from the filling station and leave your
gas cap behind. Some homes are built with a keypad in the door, rather than a lock. Removing the need for a key
means you can't lock yourself out of the house. Clothing dryers stop when you open the door. This prevents
personal injury; otherwise, you could get your hand caught in the spinning drum. Online forms very commonly
have pre-populated drop-down lists so we can avoid certain typing mistakes.
Countermeasures are the most effective types of control methods available and should be implemented whenever
possible.
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Control Methods
Flags
A flag is an improvement made to the process which will detect when an error condition has occurred. The flag
will shut down the process so that the defect will not move forward. Flags do not prevent the occurrence of error
conditions, but they do stop processes when error conditions occur.
Fire alarms tied to sprinkler systems is an example of a flag. When the fire occurs, the fire alarm automatically
activates a sprinkler system to try to stop the fire from spreading.
Flags can also be seen in manufacturing facilities. On a cereal box line, a sensor weighs each box to make sure it
has been filled with the correct amount of cereal. If the box has been incorrectly filled, the flag on the line signals
the removal of the defective box.
A third example of a flag is error checking codes in a particular online data entry form. If you have a numerical
only field but you elect to type alphanumerical characters in it, it will not accept those values. The application
effectively shuts down your ability to move forward in data entry if you don’t input the appropriate characters.
Flags are the second best type of control method available. If countermeasures cannot be utilized, try to
implement flags.
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Control Methods
SPC
SPC stands for statistical process control. Control charts can serve as a good control method or a horrible one.
The level of effectiveness of your SPC usage depends completely on the ability of your organization to stay
committed to respecting the rules which indicate out-of-control conditions. It’s important to make the distinction
here between the ability to control a process and the ability to monitor a product.
A process has X’s coming into it and Y’s flowing out of it. The inputs, or X's, have process characteristics and the
outputs, or Y's, have product characteristics. If you attempt to fix an output characteristic, you're not actually
controlling a process; you are simply monitoring the product. The term “statistical process control” is a bit of a
misnomer. You can only control process inputs, not process outputs.
SPC, along with the other control methods discussed, are ways of monitoring a product or process, rather than
controlling it. On the scale of control methods, SPC ranks third. However, there are three levels of SPC usage to
consider:
Level one SPC is the most effective. It is applied to X’s and Y’s with fully-trained operators and staff who respect
the rules, meaning if a chart should signal an out-of-control condition, everyone understands and agrees to shut
down the process for special cause identification and elimination.
Level two SPC applies control charts to X’s and Y’s with fully-trained operators. The operators have been
educated and understand the rules of SPC, but management will simply not empower them to stop for
investigation.
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Control Methods
Level three SPC is not effective. It includes applying SPC on X’s and Y’s without proper training and without
protocols for stopping production or investigating the cause of the defect.
This type of SPC has no value and should not be implemented by an organization.
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Control Methods
Inspection
On the control methods continuum, inspection is ranked fourth. Inspection involves the implementation of a short-
term containment which is likely to detect the defect caused by the error condition. These types of containment
activities are typically referred to as audits or 100 percent inspection. Inspection does have some challenges.
First, it is generally intended to provide short-term containment, but most organizations never replace inspection
once it's implemented.
Second, although it is a very common control method, it is rarely more than 80 percent accurate. Different
inspectors almost always have different standards and criteria with which they discern good units from bad units.
Inspection is neither a good nor a particularly bad control method, but you should avoid relying on it as a control
method. There are a variety of types of inspection a company can use, as well as some limitations that might
cause concern. Let’s look at these in more detail.
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Control Methods
Inspection Types and Limitations
Although inspection is not a preferred control method, some types of inspections are better than others. Here are
three types of inspection that are most effective.
The best type of inspection is called source inspection. Source inspection moves inspection as close to the
source of the defect as possible. Mistakes can be reworked or corrected before they move on and become larger
defects in a larger product. The limitation of source inspection is that it requires 100 percent of a work force to
inspect its work all the time. This can be extremely costly and time consuming.
The next-best type of inspection is called informative inspection. This method investigates the cause of any defect
found and feeds this information back to the process so action can be taken to reduce that defect, if possible. The
limitation of informative inspection is that it only provides information after the defect has occurred. This is often
too late in the process to make a change or adjustment.
The third type of inspection is called judgment inspection. In this method, an inspector attempts to separate good
units from bad units after processing has occurred. This is also referred to as sorting. The limitation of judgment
inspection is that it prevents defects from reaching customers, but it does nothing to decrease the defect rate in
the process.
The most powerful use of inspection is for prevention of defects at the source, not detection of defects after the
fact. Unfortunately, this is not typically how inspection is used. A company should always strive to mistake-proof a
process before relying on inspection techniques.
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Control Methods
Standard Operating Procedures
The fifth type of control method is standard operating procedures, otherwise known as SOPs. Most attempts to
use SOPs as control methods will break down. The intent of using an SOP as a control method is to attempt to
prevent or detect the defect through properly executing tasks documented in an SOP.
Although standard operating procedures are an extremely important part of the process, they are the second-
worst possible control method. As processes evolve, SOPs become obsolete and do not allow for sustainable
short-term or long-term control of a process. SOPs in the work environment are extremely important. However,
they just do not make good control methods.
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Control Methods
Warning Signals
The least desirable control method is the warning signal. These are used to alert employees of a defect. Warning
signals differ from flags because they are not capable of shutting down production. Examples may include
blinking or flashing lights, buzzers, or may be as simple as spell-checker notifications. If signals of this nature
occur often, operators will become immune to or simply disconnect from these warning signals.
A good example of a warning signal is an alarm clock. If used correctly, it can help you get to work on time. But it
can be ignored and the defect can still occur. Because this method requires human response, it is the least
reliable of the control methods. A company should avoid using warning signals as process control.
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Control Methods
Module Review
Thank you for joining us in our discussion of control methods.
With your knowledge, you should now be able to:
 Describe the relationship between errors and defects

 Discuss the purpose of control methods
 Define and provide examples of the six most common types of control methods:
 Countermeasures
 Flags
 SPC
 Inspection
 SOPs
 Warning Signals
We encourage you to evaluate your processes to find opportunities to implement safe, effective control methods.
Good luck!
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Control Methods

In this module, we will:

 Describe the relationship between errors and defects

The Purpose of Control Methods

The most common control methods include:

Section 2: Control Methods Defined

Inspection Types and Limitations

Standard Operating Procedures

Thank you for joining us in our discussion of control methods.

With your knowledge, you should now be able to:

 Describe the relationship between errors and defects

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