In this article, a multivariate statistical process control (MSPC) strategy, devoted to bias identification and estimation for processes operating under steady-state conditions, is presented. The technique makes use of the D statistic to detect the presence of biases. Besides, it uses a new decomposition of this statistic to identify the faulty sensors. The strategy is based only on historical process data. Neither process modeling nor assumptions about the probability distribution of measurement errors are required. In contrast to methods based on fundamental models, both redundant and nonredundant measurements can be examined to identih, the presence of biases. The petJ61-mance of the proposed technique is evaluated using da ta- recon cilia tion benchmarks. Results indicate that the technique succeeds in identifying single and multiple biases andfulfills three paramount issues to practical implementation in commercial software: robustness, uncertainty, and efficiency. (c) 2008 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.