Process decision program chart: From operations research to total quality control

Abstract In conventional quality control methods, where consequences are analyzed to determine actions, often provide the solution too late. Even if the process is initiated as soon as problems occur, small environmental changes might force the entire process to be redesigned. Without the ability to deal promptly with such situations, it is frequently too late to do anything. The Process Decision Program Chart (PDPC) is one of the methods used to solve problems in Operations Research during the design stage in Research and Development. PDPC is an effective means of moving promptly toward one's goal at the very stage of the process where we encounter an unexpected problem and define the solution process when we are dealing with problems that have more than one possible outcome. In this paper, we discuss the application of PDPC for Total Quality Control in the area of process planning. Object-Oriented Programming Technique is proposed in order to implement this method effectively.