Statistical process control applied to the step of mounting of ham of an agribusiness of west

Low variability and juxtaposition of minimum net weight contribute effectively to maintain a competitiveposition, differentiated, legal market service, linearity in the production and low rate of reprocessing. This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of the process of embedding hams (weight in grams) in a large foodprocessing agroindustry located in west of Santa Catarina state. Weight data were collected at the stage ofembedding in three shifts of agroindustry in the month of February 2011, a total of 60 samples, each withfive observations (n = 300). The collected data were treated with methods of Statistical Process Control(SPC). Results show that the process under study is inefficient, because there is significant variability as tothe desired standards of net weight of packaged product, compared to an ideal process with variation of 5gper pack. If the current limits considered acceptable by the company, the process capability (Cp) is 1.045,classified as reasonably capable, but when adjusted target limits (delta 5g), Cp is in just 0.174, deemed incapable,and far below a minimum of Cp index 1.0. The case study shows a waste of a unit of ham 3710gfor each 408 units produced, which means an approximately loss of $ 10,000.00 / month.