Process Control: 5 Key Steps and Tools
Key Steps in the Process Control
Control is a cyclical and repetitive process. There are five steps, which aim to ensure that reality conforms to what was planned:
- Establishment of Standards: A standard is a benchmark or criterion that forms the basis for the evaluation or comparison of something. Among the standards, the following can be noted:
- In sum: Production volume, number of stocks, quantity of raw materials, number of hours, etc.
- Quality: Quality control of raw materials received, quality control of production, product specifications, etc.
- Time: Standard time to produce a given product, average stock of a certain product, etc.
- Cost: Production costs, administrative costs, selling costs, etc.
- Measurement of Performance:
- What to measure? Performance measurement focuses on those factors that are critical or decisive, which must be defined in the standards.
- How to measure? When to measure?
- Comparison of Actual and Expected Results: This means checking whether or not what was done matches what was expected.
- Provide Feedback of Results: Thanks to feedback on performance, it is possible to compare actual results with projected ones and try adjustments where required.
- Carry Out Corrective Actions: Actions to correct deviations from the plan. This may involve:
- Planning: Developing new plans and, therefore, defining new standards.
- Organization: Reassigning or clarifying responsibilities, i.e., changing the organizational structure.
- Direction: Through an enrichment of the roles or more effective leadership skills.
- Control: Making systems more effective because the mechanism used may not be the most suitable.
Characteristics of Effective Control
Effective control should be:
- Objective
- Flexible
- Economical
- Adaptable to the organizational climate
- Understandable to those who use it.
It must lead to corrective measures.
Control Techniques and Tools
- Quantity Control: Usually associated with the amount of products or services sold.
- Quality Control: Applied to raw materials, purchasing, and also to the products or services offered.
- Time Control: Often linked with the programming and control of operations, using tools such as Gantt charts and PERT networks.
- Cost Control: Used to determine how the different resources are used in the organization.
Monitoring Tools
Monitoring tools are divided into two categories:
- Informative: Those that are primarily designed to publicize various economic events generated by the company, including:
- Accounting: Aims to accurately reflect the economic and financial situation of a company.
- Statistics: To know, through the development of digital data, any sequence.
- Ratios: Administrators often build some indexes or quotients.
- Corrective: Their fundamental aim is to raise awareness of the degree of compliance with the various plans, the efficient use of resources, and how to correct various deviations.
- Budgetary Control: Uses the budgets of a company.
- Quality Control: Measures the degree to which a good or service complies with a particular standard or rule.
- Performance Evaluation: Measures the results and potential of the human factor.
- Reengineering: A review of processes to achieve significant improvements.
- Benchmarking: Comparison with other companies.
Other Monitoring Tools
- Economic Lot Purchase: Allows knowing the optimal amount of inventory, minimizing procurement costs.
- Gantt Chart: A calendar in which activities are scheduled, showing the duration of each activity, start and end dates, and the total time required for the execution of a job.
- PERT Scheduling