Spencer Hamrick, a lecturer in the Department of Statistics, organized a visit for students in his Spring 2026 quality control course to observe statistical process control in practice at Caterpillar, Inc. The April visit gave students an opportunity to see concepts from class applied in a real manufacturing environment.

During the visit, students observed topics they had studied throughout the semester, including control charts, process capability indices (Cpk), common and special cause variation, coordinate measuring machines (CMMs), and the use of both variable and attribute data in quality control. The experience allowed students to connect classroom instruction and textbook examples with day-to-day industrial applications. One student commented, “I learned a lot today, especially about how quality can be practically applied in manufacturing. I learned that there are different types of variability which can arise in the process, operators, or even the tools that are used to measure variability. I also learned about Gage R&R and the industry terms for Type I and II errors (manufacturer’s risk and consumer’s risk).”

The group was hosted by Martin Kegel, a former colleague of Hamrick’s who also visited campus earlier in the week to give a guest lecture to the class in preparation for the tour. Through both the lecture and the site visit, students were able to engage directly with professionals working in quality control and manufacturing.

For Hamrick, the visit also carried personal significance. The Caterpillar facility was the starting point of his professional career as an engineer more than two decades ago. Returning to the site with students provided an opportunity to connect his background in engineering with his current role in teaching statistics and quality control. Hamrick said, “For the first time, I placed two feet firmly in the two professions (engineering and teaching) that have defined my working career.”