What is the role of expert intuition in process control?

Rules of statistical process control (SPC) suggest that processes should not be adjusted by workers without an explicit data-driven management directive. By contrast, in many workplaces, workers are empowered to improve processes and seen as uniquely knowledgeable due to their experience in close proximity to the process. Thus, it absolutely is expected that operators will commit acts of personal agency as they apply their expert intuition. Based on observations of industry practice, we develop a description of expert intuitive process control (EIPC) and a conceptual framework which enables comparison of this approach to SPC and development of postulates regarding the contexts in which each approach is likely to be valued from a practical perspective.