STATISTICAL PROCESS

CONTROL - SPC

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• What is Statistical Process Control

• History of SPC
• Activities of SPC
• Control Charts
• Control Chart Patterns
• Process Capability
• Process Capability Ratio (Cp)
• Process Capability Index (Cpk)
• Advantages of SPC
• Quiz Questions
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• Is the application of Statistical Methods to monitor and control a process
to ensure that it operates at its full potential to produce conforming
product.
OR

•Is an analytical decision making tool which allows you to see when a
process is working correctly and when it is not.

• Statistical process control is a collection of tools that

when used together can result in process stability and
variance reduction

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•Was Pioneered By Walter .A. Shewhart In The Early 1920s.

•W. Edwards Deming Later Applied SPC Methods In The US During

World war II, Successfully Improved Quality In The Manufacture Of
Munitions And Other Strategically Important Products.

•Deming introduced SPC Methods to Japanese Industry After The War

Had Ended.

•Resulted high quality of Japanese products.

•Shewhart Created The Basis For The Control Chart And The Concept
Of A State Of Statistical Control By Carefully Designed Experiments.

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Statistical process control - broadly broken

down into 3 sets of activities

1. Understanding the process

2. Understanding the causes of variation

3. Elimination of the sources of special cause

variation.
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Understanding the process

• Process is typically mapped out and the process is monitored

using control charts.

Understanding the causes of variation

• Control charts are used to identify variation that may be due to special
causes, and to free the user from concern over variation due to
common causes.

• It is a continuous, ongoing activity.

• When a process is stable and does not trigger any of the detection
rules for a control chart, a process capability analysis may also be
performed to predict the ability of the current process to produce
conforming product in the future.
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Understanding the Causes of Variation

•When excessive variation is identified by the control chart detection

rules, or the process capability is found lacking, additional effort is
exerted to determine causes of that variance.

• The tools used include

• Ishikawa diagrams
•Designed experiments
•Pareto charts

•Designed experiments are critical -only means of objectively

quantifying the relative importance of the many potential causes of
variation.

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Elimination of the sources of special cause variation

•Once the causes of variation have been quantified, effort

is spent in eliminating those causes that are both
statistically and practically significant.

•includes development of standard work, error-proofing

and training.

•Additional process changes may be required to reduce

variation or align the process with the desired target,
especially if there is a problem with process capability.

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• Random • Non-Random
– Common causes – Special causes
– In herent in a process – Due to identifiable factors
– Affects every part – Does not affect every part
– Examples: tool breakage,
– Examples: gravity, air
start up, change of
pressure, tool wear operators
– Can be eliminated – Can be modified through
only through operator or management
improvements in the action
system
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• Machine Warm-up
• Operator Breaks
• Material Changes
• Tool Breakage
• Operator Changes
• Training
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Process is said to be ‘in control’ and stable
• If common cause is the only type of variation that exists in the
process
• It is also predictable within set limits i.e. the probability of any future
outcome falling within the limits can be stated approximately.

Process is said to be ‘out of control’ and unstable

Special cause variation exists within the process

Results Interpretation
Index > 1.67 Meets acceptance criteria
1.33≤ Index ≤ 1.67 May be acceptable
Index ≤ 1.33 Does not meet acceptance criteria
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• Attribute
– a product characteristic that can be evaluated with a
discrete response
– good – bad; yes - no
• Variable
– a product characteristic that is continuous and can be
measured
– weight - length

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TOTAL VARIANCE

2
σT = σ2Tool Wear + σ2Measurement Error +
σ2Gage Error + σ2Material + σ2Temperature
+ σ2Operator + σ2Other

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To measure the process, we take samples and

analyze the sample statistics following these steps
The solid line
(b) After enough samples are represents the
taken from a stable
process, they form a distribution
pattern called a
distribution

Frequency

Weight
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To measure the process, we take samples and

analyze the sample statistics following these steps
(c) There are many types of distributions, including the normal (bell-
(bell-shaped)
distribution, but distributions do differ in terms of central tendency (mean),
standard deviation or variance, and shape

Central tendency Variation Shape

Frequency

Weight Weight Weight

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To measure the process, we take samples and

analyze the sample statistics following these steps

(d) If only natural causes of

variation are present, the
output of a process forms
a distribution that is stable
over time and is Frequency Prediction
predictable

Weight
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To measure the process, we take samples and

analyze the sample statistics following these steps
?
?? ??
(e) If assignable causes are ? ?
present, the process output is ? ?
? ?
? ?
not stable over time and is ??
? ??
?
not predicable
Frequency Prediction

Weight
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Constructed from historical data, the purpose of control

charts is to help distinguish between natural variations and
variations due to assignable causes
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(a) In statistical control

and capable of
producing within
Frequency control limits

Lower control limit Upper control limit

(b) In statistical control
but not capable of
producing within control
limits

(c) Out of control

Size
(weight, length, speed, etc.)
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• Enables successful manufacturing and sales

• Prevents scrap, sorting, rework
• Allows jobs to run well
• Has major impact on cost and schedule

“Process Capability” is the ability of a process to

make a feature within its tolerance.

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Everything Varies
(and the variation can be seen if we measure precisely enough)

• Heights • Pressure
• Weights • Roughness
• Lengths • Strength
• Widths • Conductivity
• Diameters • Loudness
• Wattage • Speed
• Horsepower • Torque
• Miles per Gallon • Etc. etc. etc.
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XX XX
XXX XXX Typical distance
Typical distance XXXX XXXX from the center: +1
from the center: -1 XXXX XXXX standard deviation
standard deviation XXXXX XXXXX
XXXXX XXXXX
XXXXXX XXXXXX
XXXXXX XXXXXX
XXXXXXX XXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX

If we measure the DISTANCE from the CENTER of the bell

to each individual measurement that makes up the bell curve,
we can find a TYPICAL DISTANCE.

The most commonly used statistic to estimate this distance is the

Standard Deviation (also called “Sigma”).

Because of the natural shape of the bell curve, the area of +1 to –1 standard deviations
includes about 68% of the curve.
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How much of the curve is included in how many standard
deviations?

-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6

From –1 to +1 is about 68% of the bell curve.

From –2 to +2 is about 95%
From –3 to +3 is about 99.73%
From –4 to +4 is about 99.99%

(NOTE: We usually show the bell from –3 to +3 to make it easier to draw, but in
concept, the “tails” of the bell get very thin and go on forever.)
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• To compute the mean we simply sum all the observations and divide by the total
no. of observations.

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• Range, which is the difference between the largest and

smallest observations.

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• Standard deviation is a measure of dispersion of a

curve.
• It measures the extent to which these values are
scattered around the central mean.

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Control Charts for Variables
 Mean chart ( x -Chart )
 uses average of a sample
 Range chart ( R-Chart )
 uses amount of dispersion in a sample

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x1 + x2 + ... xk
x= = k

= =
UCL = x + A2R LCL = x - A2R

where
=
x = average of sample means

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OBSERVATIONS (SLIP- RING DIAMETER, CM)

SAMPLE k 1 2 3 4 5 x R
1 5.02 5.01 4.94 4.99 4.96 4.98 0.08
2 5.01 5.03 5.07 4.95 4.96 5.00 0.12
3 4.99 5.00 4.93 4.92 4.99 4.97 0.08
4 5.03 4.91 5.01 4.98 4.89 4.96 0.14
5 4.95 4.92 5.03 5.05 5.01 4.99 0.13
6 4.97 5.06 5.06 4.96 5.03 5.01 0.10
7 5.05 5.01 5.10 4.96 4.99 5.02 0.14
8 5.09 5.10 5.00 4.99 5.08 5.05 0.11
9 5.14 5.10 4.99 5.08 5.09 5.08 0.15
10 5.01 4.98 5.08 5.07 4.99 5.03 0.10
50.09 1.15

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= = ∑x
x = 50.09 = 5.01 cm
k 10

= + A R = 5.01 + (0.58)(0.115) = 5.08

UCL = x 2
=
LCL = x - A2R = 5.01 - (0.58)(0.115) = 4.94

Retrieve Factor Value A2

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5.10 –

5.08 – UCL = 5.08

5.06 –

5.04 –
Mean
x= = 5.01
5.02 –

5.00 –

4.98 – LCL = 4.94

4.96 –

4.94 – | | | | | | | | | |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
4.92 – Sample number

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UCL = D4R LCL = D3R

∑R
R= k

where
R = range of each sample
k = number of samples
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OBSERVATIONS (SLIP-
(SLIP-RING DIAMETER, CM)
SAMPLE k 1 2 3 4 5 x R
1 5.02 5.01 4.94 4.99 4.96 4.98 0.08
2 5.01 5.03 5.07 4.95 4.96 5.00 0.12
3 4.99 5.00 4.93 4.92 4.99 4.97 0.08
4 5.03 4.91 5.01 4.98 4.89 4.96 0.14
5 4.95 4.92 5.03 5.05 5.01 4.99 0.13
6 4.97 5.06 5.06 4.96 5.03 5.01 0.10
7 5.05 5.01 5.10 4.96 4.99 5.02 0.14
8 5.09 5.10 5.00 4.99 5.08 5.05 0.11
9 5.14 5.10 4.99 5.08 5.09 5.08 0.15
10 5.01 4.98 5.08 5.07 4.99 5.03 0.10
50.09 1.15
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OBSERVATIONS (SLIP-RING DIAMETER, CM)
SAMPLE k 1 2 3 4 5 x R
1 5.02 5.01 4.94 4.99 4.96 4.98 0.08
2 5.01 5.03 5.07 4.95 4.96 5.00 0.12
3 4.99 5.00 4.93 4.92 4.99 4.97 0.08
4 5.03 4.91 5.01 4.98 4.89 4.96 0.14
5 4.95 4.92 5.03 5.05 5.01 4.99 0.13
6 4.97 5.06 5.06 4.96 5.03 5.01 0.10
7 5.05 5.01 5.10 4.96 4.99 5.02 0.14
8 5.09 5.10 5.00 4.99 5.08 5.05 0.11
9 5.14 5.10 4.99 5.08 5.09 5.08 0.15
10 5.01 4.98 5.08 5.07 4.99 5.03 0.10
50.09 1.15

∑R 1.15 UCL = D4R = 2.11(0.115) = 0.243

R= = = 0.115
k 10 LCL = D3R = 0(0.115) = 0

Retrieve Factor Values D3 and D4

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Sample Size Mean Factor Upper Range Lower Range

n A2 D4 D3
2 1.880 3.268 0
3 1.023 2.574 0
4 .729 2.282 0
5 .577 2.115 0
6 .483 2.004 0
7 .419 1.924 0.076
8 .373 1.864 0.136
9 .337 1.816 0.184
10 .308 1.777 0.223
12 .266 1.716 0.284
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R-Chart Example (cont.)
0.28 –
0.24 –
UCL = 0.243
0.20 –
Range

0.16 – R = 0.115
0.12 –
0.08 –
0.04 – LCL = 0
0– | | | | | | | | | |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Sample number
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Upper control limit

Target

Lower control limit

Normal behavior. Process is “in

control.”
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Upper control limit

Target

Lower control limit

One plot out above (or below).
Investigate for cause. Process is
“out of control.”
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Upper control limit

Target

Lower control limit

Trends in either direction, 5 plots.
Investigate for cause of
progressive change. 40
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Upper control limit

Target

Lower control limit

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Upper control limit

Target

Lower control limit

Run of 5 above (or below) central
line. Investigate for cause.
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Upper control limit

Target

Lower control limit

Erratic behavior. Investigate.
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Upper Specification - Lower Specification

Cp =
6σ

 A capable process must have a Cp of at least 1.0

 Does not look at how well the process is centered in the specification
range
 Often a target value of Cp = 1.33 is used to allow for off-
off-center
processes
 Six Sigma quality requires a Cp = 2.0

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Insurance claims process

Process mean x = 210.0 minutes
Process standard deviation σ = .516 minutes
Design specification = 210 ± 3 minutes

Upper Specification - Lower Specification

Cp =
6σ

= 213 - 207 = 1.938 Process is

6(.516) capable
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Net weight specification = 9.0 oz ± 0.5 oz

Process mean = 8.80 oz
Process standard deviation = 0.12 oz

upper specification limit -

lower specification limit
Cp =
6σ

9.5 - 8.5
= = 1.39
6(0.12)
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New Cutting Machine

New process mean x = .250 inches
Process standard deviation σ = .0005 inches
Upper Specification Limit = .251 inches
Lower Specification Limit = .249 inches

(.251) - .250 .250 - (.249)

Cpk = minimum of ,
(3).0005 (3).0005

Both calculations result in

New machine is
.001
Cpk = = 0.67 NOT capable
.0015
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Net weight specification = 9.0 oz ± 0.5 oz

Process mean = 8.80 oz
Process standard deviation = 0.12 oz

x - lower specification limit

=
3σ
,
Cpk = minimum
upper specification limit - x
=
3σ

8.80 - 8.50 9.50 - 8.80

= minimum , = 0.83
3(0.12) 3(0.12)

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What is Cpk? It is a measure of how well a process is within a specification.

A
Cpk =
B A divided by
B

Specification Specification
Limit Limit

Cpk = A divided by B
A = Distance from process mean to closest spec limit
B = 3 Standard Deviations (also called “3 Sigma”)

A bigger Cpk is better because fewer units will be beyond spec.

(A bigger “A” and a smaller “B” are better.)
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“Process Capability” is the ability of a process
to fit its output within the tolerances.

A
Cpk =
B A divided by
B

Specification Specification
Limit Limit

…a LARGER “A”
…and a SMALLER “B”
…means BETTER “Process Capability”
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How can we make Cpk (A divided by B) better?

A
Cpk =
B A divided by
B

Specification Specification
Limit Limit

1. Design the product so a wider tolerance is functional (“robust design”)

2. Choose equipment and methods for a good safety margin (“process capability”)
3. Correctly adjust, but only when needed (“control”)
4. Discover ways to narrow the natural variation (“improvement”)
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What does a very good Cpk do for us?

A
This Cpk is
B about 2.
Very good!

Specification Specification
Limit Mean Limit

This process is producing good units with a good safety margin.

margin

Note that when Cpk = 2, our process mean is 6 standard deviations from
the nearest spec, so we say it has “6 Sigma Capability.”
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What does a problem Cpk look like?

A
This Cpk is just
B slightly greater
than 1. Not good!

Specification Specification
Limit Limit

This process is in danger of producing some defects.

It is too close to the specification limits.

(Remember: the bell curve tail goes further than B…

…we only show the bell to 3-sigma to make it easier to draw.)
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What does a very bad Cpk look like?

A
This Cpk is less
B than 1. We desire
a minimum of 1.33
and ultimately we
want 2 or more.

Specification Specification
Limit Limit

A significant part of the “tail” is hanging out beyond the spec limits.
This process is producing scrap, rework, and customer rejects.
Notice that if distance “A” approaches zero…
…the Cpk would approach zero, and…
…the process would become 50% defective! 54
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• Reduces waste

• Lead to a reduction in the time required to produce the product or

service from end to end
due to a diminished likelihood that the final product will have
to be reworked, identify bottlenecks, wait times, and other sources of
delays within the process.

•A distinct advantage over other quality methods, such as inspection -

its emphasis on early detection and prevention of problems

•Cost reduction

•Customer satisfaction
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True or False?

1. “Process Capability” can be defined as the ability of a process

to make a feature within its tolerance.
2. We can estimate the process average by taking a set of
sample measurements, adding them up, and dividing by the
number of measurements.
3. A “Standard Deviation” can be thought of as the “typical”
distance of the measurements from the average; about 68%
of the individuals will fall within + or – 1 standard deviation of
a bell curve.
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True or False?
1. When using Cpk, the goal is to keep the Cpk value as low as
possible.
2. If a pressure tolerance is 250 PSI minimum, and the process
average is 260 PSI,and the process standard deviation is 4 PSI,
…then the process is “capable.”
3. If the feature tolerance is .350”/.360”, and the process
average is .351”, and the process standard deviation is .004”
…then the process should be called “capable.”
4. If a height tolerance is 7.010” to 7.060”, and the process
average is 7.042”,and the process standard deviation is
.002”……then the process is “capable.”
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True or False?
1. If Larry is cutting an O.D. and the diameter is easily adjustable, the
tolerance is 4.055” to 4.095”, the process average is 4.095”, and the
standard deviation is .001”……then Larry should be able to make the
process fully “capable” by adjusting the process.
2. If Jill is boring an I.D. with a tolerance of 1.475” to 1.525”, and has
measured three samples at 1.501”, 1.500”, and 1.499”……then the average
of the samples is 1.501”, the standard deviation is probably larger than
.010”, and the Cpk is probably zero.
3. If HiTechCo is demonstrating a new “high-precision” surface coating
machine, and claims that their machine “can coat all day with an accuracy
of plus or minus .010 inches,” and during the demo the coating thickness
readings (in inches) were as follows: .027, .028, .027, .029, .028, .029,
.028, .029, .028, .027…then the sample readings suggest that HiTechCo
might be telling the truth about being able to hold plus or minus .010
inches. 58
THANKS

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