The document discusses the history of process control for various products like silk, beer, olive oil, steel, and glass dating back thousands of years. Early civilizations controlled processes through instructions, evaluation criteria, and sometimes keeping production methods secret. Process control became more formalized over time with marks of craftsmanship on products in the 13th century indicating quality. Modern control plans include documentation of key information, characteristics to monitor, measurement techniques, sampling frequency, and response to out of control conditions. Process control helps ensure quality and avoid issues found down the production line or with customers.