Do your operators, engineers, or customer service reps know what needs to be monitored and controlled to achieve the desired outcome?
There’s a tool to address all these questions (ie answers ‘What if’ something is out of control); it’s called the control plan or process control plan or matrix, they are all the same thing. The control plan is a tool that provides process owners and operators with the means to control a process so that it performs well on an ongoing basis. When you are creating a control plan, which elements should you include?
The control plan specifies what needs to be controlled, these are control subjects. Control subjects are factors or perimeters that impact the outcome: What it should be, desired target or specification. This enables operators and process owners to know what to aim for, in this case, what should be the correct
What reality actually is, that is the control plan specifies exactly how actual performance is made known including how the measurement is to be made, how frequently, and where it is recorded. This provides operators and process owners with information on actual performance thus knowing whether target or specifications are met. When to take action and what actions to take. This is basically a set of action triggers something happens and a specific behavior is meant to follow. Who is responsible and authorized to take action?
The control plan enables operators and process owners to know what’s important and what needs to be monitored by whom. It helps them know what target or specification is desired and to know if actual performance is acceptable.
Finally, following a control plan helps you know when to take action and what actions to take. There can be multiple control subjects specified in any control plan. In a pizza kitchen, this could be oven temperature, baking time, weight of dough, amount of sauce and cheese, and so on. Now, this doesn’t mean you should place all elements of your operation in a control plan. Only include the key ones, the key factors driving performance and outcome. As the saying goes, knowledge is power. The control plan provides employees with the knowledge, the means, and the authority to take action so as to achieve specified performance levels.