A quality control apparatus which controls a manufacturing process in order to manufacture products of predetermined quality from works, the apparatus comprising: a storing module which collects measurement data measured by a plurality of measuring devices (3, 4, 5, 6) disposed in the manufacturing process and stores the collected measurement data along with time data indicative of when each measurement data is measured or collected; and an associating module which determines whether a plurality of data sets (n, n+1, n+2, n+3) are associated with each other or are not associated with each other, the plurality of data sets (n, n+1, n+2, n+3) being associated or not with reference to the time data and dead time (Td1, Td2, Td3) generated between the measuring devices, wherein each of the plurality of data sets include measurement data measured by a respective one of the plurality of measuring devices, wherein each of the plurality of data sets includes items of the measurement data which are measured by the respective one of the measuring devices for a group of works including a given number of works, wherein the plurality of data sets which are associated belong to the same group of works, wherein the storing module collects and stores intermediate characteristic data of an intermediate product measured by an intermediate characteristic measuring device and final characteristic data of a completed product measured by a final characteristic measuring device; and wherein the apparatus further includes: a specification limit generating module which generates an intermediate characteristic specification limit set to the intermediate characteristic measuring device based on a data distribution of the final characteristic data stored in the storing module and a final characteristic specification limit set to the final characteristic measuring device; and a specification limit setting control module which controls the intermediate characteristic measuring device so as to set the intermediate characteristic specification limit generated by the specification limit generating module. a storing module which collects measurement data measured by a plurality of measuring devices (3, 4, 5, 6) disposed in the manufacturing process and stores the collected measurement data along with time data indicative of when each measurement data is measured or collected; and an associating module which determines whether a plurality of data sets (n, n+1, n+2, n+3) are associated with each other or are not associated with each other, the plurality of data sets (n, n+1, n+2, n+3) being associated or not with reference to the time data and dead time (Td1, Td2, Td3) generated between the measuring devices, wherein each of the plurality of data sets include measurement data measured by a respective one of the plurality of measuring devices, wherein each of the plurality of data sets includes items of the measurement data which are measured by the respective one of the measuring devices for a group of works including a given number of works, wherein the plurality of data sets which are associated belong to the same group of works, wherein the storing module collects and stores intermediate characteristic data of an intermediate product measured by an intermediate characteristic measuring device and final characteristic data of a completed product measured by a final characteristic measuring device; and wherein the apparatus further includes: a specification limit generating module which generates an intermediate characteristic specification limit set to the intermediate characteristic measuring device based on a data distribution of the final characteristic data stored in the storing module and a final characteristic specification limit set to the final characteristic measuring device; and a specification limit setting control module which controls the intermediate characteristic measuring device so as to set the intermediate characteristic specification limit generated by the specification limit generating module. a specification limit generating module which generates an intermediate characteristic specification limit set to the intermediate characteristic measuring device based on a data distribution of the final characteristic data stored in the storing module and a final characteristic specification limit set to the final characteristic measuring device; and a specification limit setting control module which controls the intermediate characteristic measuring device so as to set the intermediate characteristic specification limit generated by the specification limit generating module.