Evan Miller recalls an experience a few years ago during an auto industry workshop in Detroit. He was shocked at the level of knowledge from tier one, two and three suppliers (not his customers). Though it was a small group, he was left thinking that after the recession, “A lot of the knowledge of quality techniques had walked out the door,” says Miller. “They were trying to figure out how to spell SPC.”
Although he was exaggerating, Miller, president of Hertzler Systems, thought that the recession had eroded knowledge of statistical process control.