Learning about manufacturing process control through the Target Game
by M. Cecilia C. Baranauskas
International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning (IJCEELL), Vol. 9, No. 3/4, 1999

Abstract: This paper presents and discusses the design of the Target Game, an exploratory learning environment for shop-floor workers, addressing concepts of statistical process control (SPC). The SPC is based on a group of techniques and statistical methods for analysis and improvement of productive processes. While the inspection of all pieces in the manufacturing process is impracticable, the SPC is a preventive method used to control or eliminate the variations in the process. Such verification is made through 'control letters' – graphs that allow following a production process by observing the behaviour of a given quality characteristic, over time. The metaphor of a target aims to make concrete in the context of a computer game, some concepts involved in SPC, for example the interpretation of the control letters, random and causal variations in the processes, study of tendencies of a process, etc. The current procedures and representation used in the routine of manufacture do not lead the workers to grasp the underlying concepts necessary to seek continuous improvement for processes. Through the Target Game, instead of simple 'conformity to the specification', the concept of quality can be understood as the uniformity of the product around an objective (the centre of a target).

Online publication date: Fri, 11-Dec-2009

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