Process Improvement Plan

Running head: PROCESS IMPROVEMENT PLAN 1

Process Improvement Plan

Maria A. Kithcart

University Of Phoenix

OPS 571: Operations Management

December 18, 2012

Christine Becker, MBA

Process Improvement Plan

During the OPS 571 course, MBA students are tasked with reviewing a process and using statistical measures address it. The process selected for this work is the morning rush—the time it takes for Britton Kithcart to prepare to leave home every morning to arrive at school before the 8:00 a.m. bell. For this assignment, students must complete a Statistical Process Control for their respective processes and discuss the use of control limits including the calculations and data used to determine them. Next, students should discuss the effect of any seasonal factors using the process performance data collected each week. Last, students asked discuss the confidence intervals and their usefulness based on the number of data points. The ensuing paragraphs outline the identified process and the measures taken for improvement.

Statistical Process Control

According to the American Society of Quality (ASQ) (Statistical, n.d.), statistical process control (SPC) procedures assist businesses as they monitor process behavior. Originally developed by Walter Shewhart in the early 1920s, a control chart is one of several tools available for measuring processes (Statistical, n. d.). A control chart enables organizations to record data while determining when an unusual event, either a very high or low observation compared with typical process performance, occurs. Control charts assist organizations to distinguish between the following types of process variation:

* “Common cause variation, which is intrinsic to the process and will always be present.

* Special cause variation, which stems from external sources and indicates that the process is out of statistical control” (Statistical, n. d.).

Various tests can help determine when an out-of-control event has...