Statistical Process Control (SPC): Is a quality control system designed to provide product/process quality information during a product/process run. SPC is also used after the fact to provide an in-depth analysis of product/process quality capability. The term “SPC” is generally used as an umbrella concept to cover quality systems that rely on statistical analysis and charting using only a portion of the available data (i.e. part feature measurements) to predict the overall quality of the products/process. This contrasts with the old method of making a batch of parts, sending them to the QC room for inspection, and then repairing or throwing out the reject parts. In the early days of SPC, charting and statistical calculations were done by hand using a pencil and paper. Today a large assortment of electronic tools is available to reduce the cost of gathering data.