The design of a visual display for the presentation of statistical quality control information to operators on the plant floor

We applied human-centered design methodologies to enhance the presentation of product quality information to operators on a manufacturing plant floor. First, an initial visual display concept that integrated a pictorial representation of a product with standard graphical and tabular information about the product's quality was refined through iterative design and testing. A preliminary study was then conducted to determine the specific features of such a display (termed a pictorial control chart) from among eight candidate detail designs. Finally, a formal study was conducted to compare the performance of operators using this refined pictorial control chart design with their performance using a conventional control chart. Operators completed a quality control task in significantly less time using the pictorial control chart. There were no significant differences in the number of errors committed with the two charts. Subjective measures showed a significant preference for the pictorial control chart. Actual or potential applications of this research include the development of quality control tools that are useful to and usable by operators on the manufacturing plant floor.