Efficiency performance, control charts, and process improvement: complementary measurement and evaluation

Data envelopment analysis provides an assessment of the efficiency performance of production processes by including in its modeling framework technologically critical input/output variables. In order to create the conceptual linkage to traditional control charts, input/output production specifications may use the concepts of process and product characteristics. Process control charts track the variability and central tendency of production processes by studying the stochastic behavior of a single product characteristic. On the other hand, efficiency measurement approaches include, as part of their evaluation, the entire set of critical product and/or process characteristics simultaneously. This research shows that these two approaches can be used in a complementary manner to identify unusual or extreme production instances, benchmark production occurrences, and evaluate the contribution of individual process and product characteristics to the overall performance of the production process. The identification of extreme production instances in conjunction with the evaluation of their technological and managerial characteristics can help identify potential root causes. This information can be used by decision makers to make specific process improvements. These issues are illustrated by studying a production process of a circuit board manufacturing facility