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62 PCB007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2025 All process control is a feedback loop of sorts. Nevertheless, the element I want to focus on is the control block, or more precisely, the human deci- sions that make up process control. Problem Solving and Process Control The first link in process control is the human. The high-level objectives are to: • Reduce variations • Increase first-pass yields • Reduce repair and rework • Improve quality and reliability • Improve workmanship • Reduce waste I have already listed the process control tools and methods that a person may work with. Statisti- cal tools are of the utmost importance for engineers (Figure 1). They have traditionally been cumbersome and not easy to learn, but I have good news. You can now get excellent statistics training online for free. The NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statis- tical Methods and its Dataplot software provide the necessary tools to get this training. Even if your com- pany has statistical tools like Minitab or DFSS, run the same experiments with Dataplot. This will give you Dataplot experience and a permanent record. Having an excellent statistical package at hand allows you to work on complex ideas over a long period. NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods While looking for Weibull reliability plot information, I found this book from NIST (also called the Engine- ering Statistics e-Handbook) (Figure 2). The organiza- tion of the handbook follows the statistical tools that a process engineer needs to solve a problem (detailed in Table 1) with a breakdown of chapters as follows: • 1–2: Measure the extent of the problem • 3–4: Look for root causes and uncover how many factors are involved in the problem • 5: Postulate a solution • 6: Verify the solution • 7: Monitor the process to ensure the problem is gone and does not reappear • 8: Did the solution create any reliability problems? Handbook Chapters The e-Handbook of Statistical Methods is over 3,300 pages (Table 1). The table of contents presents the H A P PY 'S T EC H TA L K # 4 3 F i g u re 1 : Fo u r c r i te r i a u s e d to s e l e ct t h e r i g ht st at i st i c a l to o l fo r p ro b l e m a n a l ys i s . ▼