Quality data can help manufacturers to advance quality and streamline their operations – if they collect it properly. Instead of gathering plant floor data manually, which many large organizations still do, manufacturers can automate statistical process control (SPC) data collection and get a major leg up on possible quality issues.
Manual data collection increases the risk of errors. Humans make mistakes, and that means that valuable data can be typed in incorrectly or completely overlooked. When out-of-specification data is missed, manufacturers cannot immediately spot quality issues and prevent problems. Manual data collection also does not provide the long-term operational perspective that automated, insight-driven data collection can offer – knowledge about operational trends, which can ultimately drive continuous improvement.