Process capability for large-volume production

The following procedures are recommended when time and resources

are not gating items. It is ideally suited for large-volume manufactur-
ing, where the parts cost is low and the ease of collecting data is high.
These procedures will increase the accuracy of the process capability
and reduce its apparent variation with time.
1. Initial determination of process capability. Historical guidelines
for variable and attribute data are given in Table 5.4. Each sub-
group of data should be taken at a different point in time, prefer-
ably on different days. In this manner, day-to-day variations of the
process could be integrated into the process capability calculations.
There should be no allowance for process average shift in the Cpk
calculations. For low volume applications, the moving range
method should be used because of the low volume required. A dis-
cussion of the moving range method is given in the next section.
2. Regular updates of the process capability. The process capability
should be regularly checked to determine if the process has
changed. If the change is deemed significant using statistical tests,
then a process quality correction project should be initiated to de-
termine the cause of the process deviation. The amount of data re-
quired for checking the process could be less than the original data
needed for initial determination. Determination of can be
achieved either directly from the data or through the R estimator
for variable data. For large-volume production, a sample size of 30
is sufficient to perform this check of process capability for variable
146 Six Sigma for Electronics Design and Manufacturing
Table 5.4 Amount of data required for process capability studies
Period of time Sample size Total
High Volume
X and R charts 1st period 50 measurements
2nd period 25 measurements
3rd period 25 measurements 100 measurements
P, nP charts 1st period 2025 samples
U and C charts (50100 units tested)
2nd period 2025 samples
(50100 units tested)
3rd period 2025 samples
(50100 units tested) 3000 min. units tested
Low Volume
Moving range Long period 10 consecutive numbers 10
Long period 10 consecutive numbers 10
data. For low-volume production, smaller sample sizes can be used
and deviations tested for the probability that the average or stan-
dard deviation has shifted from the original, given a confidence in-
terval.
3. Correction of process capability based on regular updates. Correc-
tion should only be undertaken if the manufacturing process has
shifted beyond normal statistical significance of 10%, for either
variable or attribute processes, and the population distribution is
assumed to be normal. To check normality, many tests are avail-
able, including the graphical and
2
(chi-square) tests discussed in
Chapter 2. The distribution of the data should be symmetrical,
with no skew. If not, the process should be investigated. Changes
to the process capability should be tested as follows:
Testing changes in the average for variable processes. The z
test is used for comparing sample average to the population av-
erage if the sample and population are both greater than 30. The
t test is used to compare sample average to population average if
the sample is < 30 and the population is > 30. If both the initial
process capability and the process update data are less than 30,
then a compound sample standard deviation term can be calcu-
lated to compare the two samples (population is either known
or unknown). The purpose of this test is to determine if the aver-
age has shifted or not and, therefore, whether to recalculate six
sigma process capability data for the average.
The formulas for these tests against original population data are
as follows:
z = (5.10)
for testing a large sample n with average X against a population (or
large sample) of average and standard deviation ;
t = (5.10)
for testing a small sample n, with average X and sample standard
deviation s, against a population (or large sample) of average and
an unknown standard deviation.
The formulas for testing current samples data against original
sample data, when both are < 30 and with known sample sizes,
are given in Section 5.4
For testing changes in the , several tests are available, depend-
ing on the size of the samples taken. If the initial variable
X

s/n
X

/n
The Use of Six Sigma with High- and Low-Volume Products and Processes 147
process capability population data is greater than 30, and the ca-
pability update data is less than 30, then the
2
test can be used.
To compare current value of to the initial process capability
when both data sets are under 30, the F test should be used. F
tests can test for a level of significance (5% or 1%) to determine if
the s between the two data sets are statistically different. De-
pending on the results of these tests, the six sigma attributes are
either retained or recalculated. The F test can also be used when
two or more sample data sets originate from a common popula-
tion. In that case, the differences between sample variability are
either due to natural variation or a deviation in the product.
More details on the F test are given in Chapter 7.
5.2.2 Determination of standard deviation for
process capability
There are four different methods for determining the standard devia-
tion of the population for process capability studies:
1. Total overall variation. All data is collected into one large group
and treated as a single large sample with n greater than 30.
2. Within-group variation. Data is collected into subgroups, and a dis-
persion statistic is calculated (range). All ranges of each subgroup
are averaged into an R . The is calculated from an R estimator
(d
2
). This method is the basis for variable control chart limit calcu-
lations and discussed in Chapter 3.
3. Between-group variation. Data is collected into subgroups, and an
average (X ) is calculated for each subgroup. The standard devia-
tion s of sample averages is calculated. The population is esti-
mated from the central limit theorem equation, = s n . This
method can be used to obtain process capability from control chart
limits.
4. Moving range method. In this method, data is collected into one
group of small numbers of data, over time. A range (R) is calculat-
ed from each two successive points. All ranges of each pair are av-
eraged into an R . The is calculated from an R estimator (d
2
) for n
= 2, which is equal 1.128. Method 4 is the preferred method for
time series data and small data sets from low-volume manufactur-
ing.
For processes that are in statistical control, these methods are equiv-
alent over time. For processes not in control, only Method is 2 insensi-
tive to process variations of the average over time. The estimate is
inflated or deflated with Method 1 and could be severely inflated/de-
148 Six Sigma for Electronics Design and Manufacturing
flated with Method 3. An example of a process out of control is one in
which one subgroup has a large sample average shift as opposed to
smaller average shifts in the other subgroups. Another way to advan-
tageously leverage Method 2 to negate the effect of average shift is to
use Method 4, with the data spread over time.
5.2.3 Example of methods of calculating
Example 5.10
Data for a production operation was collected in 30 samples, in three
subgroups, measured at different times. The four different methods of
calculating are as follows.
Subgroup
Subgroup Measurement range(R) Average s
I 4, 3, 5, 5, 4, 8, 6, 4, 4, 7 5 5 1.56
II 2, 4, 5, 3, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, 5 5 4 1.56
III 3, 6, 7, 6, 8, 4, 5, 4, 6, 6 5 5.5 1.51
Average of subgroups IIII 5 4.83 1.54
For the total group 6 4.83 1.62
Moving range for each subgroup Total R
I 1, 2, 0, 1, 4, 2, 2, 0, 3 15 1.67 1.48
II 2, 1, 2, 4, 2, 1, 1, 1, 3 17 1.89 1.68
III 3, 1, 1, 2, 4, 1, 1, 2, 0 15 1.67 1.48
Average moving range 1.74 1.54
Method 1. Total overall variation of 30 data points from 3 sub-
groups

2
= = = [777 (145)
2
/30]/29 = 2.626
= 1.62
Method 2. Within-group variation; R = 5 (n = 10)
= R /d
2(n=10)
= 5/3.078 = 1.62
Method 3. Between-group variation
s(X ) = (5, 4, 5.5) = 0.763
= s n = 0.764 1 0 = 2.415

i
y
i
2
(

i
y
i
)
2
/n

n 1

i
(y
i
y

)
2

n 1
The Use of Six Sigma with High- and Low-Volume Products and Processes 149
Method 4. Moving range method (n = 2)
For each subgroup, obtain the average range between successive
numbers:
Subgroup I: = R /d
2(n=2)
= 1.67/1.128 = 1.48
Subgroup II: = R /d = 1.89/1.128 = 1.68
Subgroup III: = R /d = 1.67/1.128 = 1.48
2
2
For the total groups (IIII), = R/d = 1.74/1.128 = 1.54.
As can be seen from Example 5.10, the of the overall 30 numbers
was 1.62 (Method 1). The 30 numbers were made of three subgroups
(samples) with large shifts in sample averages. The closest indirectly
calculated value was obtained by Method 2, between-group varia-
tion from the R estimator of , because it negated the average shifts.
The moving range method (Method 4) was as much as 10% off, even
when using the full 30 numbers. The least accurate value was Method
3, the between-group variation, which derived from a distribution of
sample averages and the conversion of the sample to population .
The number of subgroups (samples) was small and led to the largest
error in determination.

2
5.2.4 Process capability for low-volume production
When it is not feasible to collect the amount of data required to deter-
mine process capability because of cost or resource issues or produc-
tion volume, reduced data can be used successfully to estimate
process capability, provided that confidence is quantified in the data
analysis. Although 30 points of data are considered statistically sig-
nificant, a smaller number of data points can be taken, using prede-
termined error levels and confidence goals, to obtain a good estima-
tion of process average and variability. Refer to earlier sections in this
chapter for proper methods and examples.
The moving range method provides an alternate mechanism for es-
timating the for small amounts of data, provided that data points
are taken over time for both variable and attribute processes. Ten
data point are required to provide an estimator for with the moving
range method.
150 Six Sigma for Electronics Design and Manufacturing