Your good operators are already using some form of SPC. Good operators in good operations know what kind of results they should be getting and monitor their performance.
Many, many years ago I had a job where I went into operations and turned them around. After three times my reputation was to the point where people would quit when they heard I was coming. However maybe 40% of the good people were really happy someone was coming to make everyone do their job properly. Good SPC with the openness and feedback that requires will make alto of good employees very happy. It does work.
We have a brazing operation with six belt furnaces. We established a process so there is a very clear, simple visual indicator of wetting. The operators constantly monitor the results and adjust for drafts, power fluctuation, discrepancy in part size or density, etc.
Start by assuming the operators are really good and start by checking how well the equipment is working. When I go in I assume the operators are all good but we probably ought to go over the procedures anyway. This gives people a chance to quit doing things wrong and / or to start doing things right without every having to admit they were making a mistake in the first place.
I like to start really early by making a change that improves quality but also improves the operators quality of life. Lighting usually works really well for this. Maybe next best are simple repairs to keep the workplace cleaner. If you can smell, taste, or feel oil (welding fumes, grinding dust, etc.) in the air start by checking the ventilation. Try the book Industrial Ventilation from the American Council of Government Industrial Hygienists. Warning – an open door can really screw up the ventilation but some people really like an open door in nice weather.
I once had a Boeing supervisor comment on my “Columbo’ like approach. Go in, hang around and ask a lot of questions until they figure out the answers on their own. The only problem with this is that you don’t look smart because they figured out the answer on their own and you just happened to be there.
Good news – Deming can work better than you ever dreamed. Kaizen can be both fun and very productive.
I like to take what we call a modified Toguchi approach. You go in, assess the situation, consider all the factors and then see how much good and how many kinds of good you can accomplish with the elast amount of effort anfd expsanse. The better you do this the more elegant the solution.
Ask (yes, really, politely, honestly ask) the people at all levels what they think. We have an engineer who doesn’t like doing this because eh is an engineer and he knows best. After enough years they have pointed out ways to make enough things better that he now sees value in the system.
If you have honestly worked on the plant floor it will help. Do not go down and run a 5 minute test then extrapolate that it to an hour, day, etc.
Read Goldratt then reread Goldratt.
Put yourself in an operators place. In my earlier example, no one in management realized the operators were getting hit in the chest and they had no idea how unpleasant that was.
Tom
Of course, most problems with machines are not caused by ill-spirited employees, and SPC won't work without recording defects....