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It is hard to make a permanent change to a process. People and systems have a tendency to drift back to the old way of doing things. The control plan provides guidance on how to maintain control of the new process and the measurements that will show the process deviating from the new approach.

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Quick reference

Control Plan

The control plan provides guidance on how to maintain control of the new process and the measurements that will show if the process is deviating from the new approach.

When to use

The control plan should be prepared as part of the implementation for any new process or changed process.  If an existing control plan for the process is already in use, it should be updated.  If there is no control plan, it should be created and released with the process.

Instructions

It is hard to make a permanent change to a process.  People and systems have a tendency to revert back to the old way of doing things.  The control plan is the set of activities that are used by process managers and operators to ensure the process continues to perform as designed.

The control plan normally contains three sections

  • Documentation of the process step or related information for each step of the process. This includes the process flow or sequence. It would also include any testing or inspection requirements and the calibration or MSA requirements associated with the testing and inspection. The documentation also includes the documentation used in the Monitoring section that describes the procedures for collecting and recording data. The process documentation will also typically include the authority level for decisions that are made in the Response portion of the Control Plan.
  • The Monitoring plan for all critical metrics in the process.  This means a description of the metric, how it is measured, who measures it, and how it is recorded. This would also include the target value for the measurement and any tolerance limits around that value. Some measurements are taken 100% of the time, but others are only collected on samples. When sampling is used, the sampling criteria and sampling plan are included in the Monitoring plan.
  • The Response plan for measurements directs the managers and operators on what to do if the measurement is beyond the allowable limits. This will be discussed in depth in another lesson.

Hints & tips

  • The control plan should address all process outputs that are critical to the customer.
  • The control plan should address all inputs that are critical to process performance.
  • The monitoring plan should provide clear limits on acceptable performance.
  • The documentation does not need to be in paper format, it can be electronic. However, the documentation should be readily available to those doing the work of monitoring and responding.
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  • 00:04 Hi, I'm Ray Sheen.
  • 00:06 Well, it's no surprise that in the control phase of a project,
  • 00:09 we will need to create a control plan.
  • 00:11 Let's look at the elements of a control plan.
  • 00:15 >> The control plan is really a decision tree with different actions depending upon
  • 00:19 the circumstances.
  • 00:21 The control plan is the set of activities performed by the process operators,
  • 00:26 equipment or supervisors that will maintain the process performance
  • 00:30 at an acceptable level of customer satisfaction.
  • 00:34 Without a control plan, the process improvements often fade away and
  • 00:38 the process reverts back to what had been going on originally.
  • 00:42 On top of that, the control plan should be collecting data and
  • 00:46 monitoring process performance, which can provide insights for further improvement.
  • 00:51 It should immediately note the introduction of a special cause variation,
  • 00:55 so that can be controlled and prevented.
  • 00:57 When I build a control plan, I build it with three components.
  • 01:01 First is documentation.
  • 01:03 We need to have that so that others can reference this and know what to do.
  • 01:07 The monitoring plan, which identifies what should be watched and
  • 01:11 what we should expect.
  • 01:12 And finally, the response plan, when something is different than expected,
  • 01:16 what should be done?
  • 01:17 In this lesson, I'll discuss the documentation and
  • 01:20 monitoring plan, and the next lesson will go in depth with the response plan.
  • 01:24 Here's an example of a very simple template that I've used for
  • 01:28 consolidating the control plan.
  • 01:29 The first two columns are the documentation.
  • 01:32 What is the process step and
  • 01:33 what are the procedures, work instructions, or checklists
  • 01:37 that instruct the operators on what needs to be accomplished at that step.
  • 01:41 The next three columns are monitoring.
  • 01:44 What is being measured?
  • 01:45 How is it being measured?
  • 01:47 How's it being recorded?
  • 01:48 Now you don't have to have a measurement for every step, but
  • 01:51 every critical process output should be measured at some point.
  • 01:55 And some steps such as inspection and test steps are entirely measurement steps.
  • 02:00 The last few columns are the response plan.
  • 02:02 I'm showing one for
  • 02:04 what to do if a measurement is out of the allowable range and another column for
  • 02:08 highlighting potential actions that can be done with that step.
  • 02:12 Response plan strategies are so
  • 02:14 important that we'll spend the next module digging into them.
  • 02:17 So let's take a moment to discuss the documentation.
  • 02:21 First, don't get hung up on the word documentation.
  • 02:24 It doesn't have to be in paper format.
  • 02:27 It could all be in electronic files or even an app on your phone.
  • 02:31 One thing we want to document is the process.
  • 02:33 What are the steps and the actions that should be occurring at each step?
  • 02:37 This will come from your value stream map.
  • 02:40 It may also include special processes such as those used to do a machine setup.
  • 02:45 In addition to the manufacturing or operational processes,
  • 02:49 be sure you document the inspection and test processes.
  • 02:52 These will include keeping records of an MSA done on the process and
  • 02:56 the calibration records for inspection and test equipment.
  • 02:59 Finally, if the process is using some type of statistical process control or
  • 03:03 other control system, there should be some documentation on how that works and
  • 03:08 where the data and records are collected, stored, and displayed.
  • 03:11 This would also include management decision authority of operators,
  • 03:15 inspectors, and supervisors when things are out of control.
  • 03:19 And now let's wrap this up with a few comments about monitoring.
  • 03:23 As part of the measurement aspect of the monitoring plan,
  • 03:26 each process output should be identified at the appropriate step and the target
  • 03:31 performance along with the allowable tolerances and specifications included.
  • 03:37 And if the test is not a 100% test,
  • 03:39 then the sampling plan parameters need to be explained.
  • 03:43 Where it's appropriate, the monitoring plan should also indicate the target and
  • 03:48 tolerances for the process inputs.
  • 03:50 In many cases, it's the control of the inputs that will be
  • 03:53 used to screen out special cause variation effects.
  • 03:56 Finally, make it clear in the monitoring plan how the measurement is taken,
  • 04:00 who takes the measurement, and where it's recorded.
  • 04:04 Is it going on a run chart or control chart?
  • 04:06 Is it going into a database that automatically tracks and flags problems?
  • 04:11 The point here is that monitoring implies someone or
  • 04:14 something is checking the data to be sure it's acceptable.
  • 04:17 We don't just record it in order to have something to do,
  • 04:21 we record it to be able to conduct real-time tracking of the process.
  • 04:26 >> We aren't trying to be control freaks, but experience tells us that if we don't
  • 04:30 change the way we control the process, any improvement will soon slip away.

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