Statistical process control: an approach for continuous quality improvement in automotive SMEs - Indian case study

This paper intends to present the outcome of the case study‐based research on implementation of the statistical process control (SPC) in the automotive SMEs in Gujarat, India. The case study‐based research was carried out in four automotive SMEs; all of them are suppliers to automobile OEMs. SPC is one of the important automotive core tools to examine and monitor a process variation and that provides the means to improve process continuously based on numerical results. An attempt is made to identify process variations by implementing SPC in four automotive SMEs and to measure its impact on continuous quality improvement for automotive SMEs. As an outcome of research, process variation and sources for improvements are identified; root cause analysis was carried out to improve the processes in each company. It is also observed that all companies have a significant amount of process variation and improvement opportunity. After implementation of proper actions, process capability is improved significantly in all companies.