ABSTRACT
Statistical process control (e.g., see Montgomery 1996, and Hawkins and Olwell 1998) refers to the statistical approaches that have been developed for monitoring a process (such as an industrial production process) over time so as to quickly detect any changes in the process. This has been carried out primarily in conjunction with the objective of improving industrial quality control; by quickly detecting changes that may affect the quality of the end product, one can correct the process before manufacturing defective products. Statistical process control methods generally utilize control charts to monitor an underlying variable of the process of interest for which repeated observations are available over time.
