Davis Balestracci recently wrote, "When I look at training materials or books (on statistical process control), their tendency is to bog down heavily in the mechanics of construction without offering a clue about interpretation." If you have been frustrated by very technical statistical process control (SPC) training materials, then this is the book for you. This book focuses on how SPC works and why managers should consider using it in their operations...

It is only recently that Human Factors Engineering has been applied to the control of process plants in a systematic way, and only a little less recently that Human Factors has been applied at all. Plant control systems began with open control loops with humans watching dials and turning valves as needed. They moved to closed loop control, digital control and distributed control without thinking about how operators would use the tools or see the necessary...