An Introduction to Statistical

Process Control

Dr Jane Marshall
Quality, Reliability and Maintenance
Module

Objectives of the session

• Understand the difference between “common
cause” and “special cause” variation.
• Basic understanding of SPC and how it should be
used.
• Do simple SPC chart.

1
 What is SPC?
Broad range of tools (see moodle notes) including pareto
charts, cause and effect diagrams, check
sheets, histograms and SPC control charts.
SPC is a feedback mechanism which alerts us
to changes in a process, so that we can take
appropriate action.
To distinguish between a process running
under common cause or special cause
variation

Benefits of SPC
Reduced variation will lead to:
– Less scrap & rework
– Increased productivity
– Improved reliability
– Reduced direct costs
– Stable processes (for JIT, MRP, etc.)
SPC will lead to:
– Improved process understanding
– Improved communications
– Increased job satisfaction

2
 Variation
Variation is present in everything and is a
combination of:
– Equipment
e.g. tool wear, machine vibration etc.
– Material
e.g. tensile strength, thickness, porosity etc.
– Environment
e.g. temperature, light, pressure etc.
– Operator
e.g. physical and emotional well-being, training

Sources of Variation
• Random or common Cause
– occurs in every
operation/process
– part of the natural “sigma
shift” of processes
– generally management
controllable
• Examples
– raw material variation
– ambient temperature
variation
– an individual’s variation
• Assignable or special Cause
– occurs in most processes
periodically
– special cause is usually
identifiable
– generally operator
controllable
• Examples
– poorly trained operator
– defective material
– damaged tool

3
Common causes vs special causes

Common causes
– Affect capability but not predictability
– Reducing their effect requires management
intervention
Special causes
– Affect stability and predictability
– Can often be eliminated by local action

Statistical Process Control

A process is said to be operating in a state
of statistical control when common causes
are the only source of variation.

“But a state of statistical control is not a

natural state for most processes. It is
instead an achievement, arrived at by
elimination, one by one, by determined
effort, of special causes of excessive
variation.” (W Edwards Deming)

4
 Industries using SPC
Aerospace/Defense
Automotive
Food and beverage
Medical
Packaging
General engineering

SPC Control Charts

+3σ (UCL)

average

-3σ (LCL)

The control chart is a line chart with control limits

(Shewhart & Deming)

5
What are the UCL, and LCL?

Based on the standard deviation of the process

Generally, ± 3 x standard deviation control
limits are used as this covers 99.73% of the
normal distribution
Minimises risk of taking action when it is not
needed
Set when the process is in statistical control
NOT related to specification limits in any way

The average or xbar chart

Concerned with between sub-group variation
and long term variation in process average

Control limits are calculated using the

average within sub-group variation

Do the sub-group averages vary more than

they should, based on the variation within
the sub-groups

6
The Range chart
Concerned with within sub-group variation
and short term variation in process spread

Control limits are calculated using the

average range within sub-group variation

Is the variation within the sub-groups

consistent from sub-group to sub-group?

Calculating Average chart limits

First calculate the process
average x
x
N
Control limits are calculated
about the process average UCL x  A2 * R
Control limits are estimates of LCL x  A2 * R
3s for the distribution of sample
averages
A2 is a proportionality constant

7
Calculating Range chart limits
First calculate the average range
R
R
The control limits are estimates N
of 3s for the subgroup range
distribution
UCL R  D 4 R
Control limits are calculated
about the average range
D3 and D4 are proportionality LCL R  D 3 R
constants

Proportionality constants
n A2 D3 D4 n A2 D3 D4
1 ----- ----- ----- 7 0.419 0.076 1.924
2 1.880 0.000 3.267 8 0.373 0.136 1.864
3 1.023 0.000 2.574 9 0.337 0.184 1.816
4 0.729 0.000 2.282 10 0.308 0.223 1.777
5 0.577 0.000 2.114 11 0.285 0.256 1.744
6 0.483 0.000 2.004 12 0.266 0.283 1.717

8
 Example: Xbar R control chart
A factory produces sockets. The hexagonal inside of the
socket is prepared by an electrolytic process and the
resulting diameter is critical

1 diagonal is selecting from each socket at random,

measured and recorded.

A sample of 5 consecutive sockets is taken each day

and measurements taken and the mean calculated.

Data is collected for a month giving 22 observations

Example continued

9
 Example: R chart
Rbar = 0.027, n=5, D4=2.115 and D3=0 (from
tables)
UCL = 0.027*2.115, CL=0.027 and LCL= 0.027*0
0.07
0.06
UCL
0.05
Range

0.04
0.03 CL
0.02
0.01
0
LCL
1 6 11 16 21 26
Day

Example: Xbar chart

Xdoublebar = 20.8185, n=5, A2=0.577, CL=20.8185
UCL= 20.8185 + 0.577*Rbar,, LCL= 20.8185 - 0.577*Rbar

20.84

20.835
UCL
20.83

20.825
X bar

20.82

20.815
CL
20.81

20.805
LCL
20.8
1 6 11 16 21 26
Day

10
Example: Conclusion
R chart in control
Xbar chart in control
Process in control at the levels determined
so trial control limits adopted for future
time periods
Usually look at R and Xbar charts together
R chart first as looking at spread – Xbar
chart calculated using R
Table for Control Charts

Process capability
Estimate sP as R /d2
where d2 from tables
Since n=5 d2 = 2.326
From SPC example R = 0.027
So sP = 0.027/2.326 = 0.012

11
Process capability example
Cp = USL-LSL = Cp = USL-LSL
6sP 6*0.012

If the tolerance level is 20.8 ± 0.05 cm then

USL = 20.85 and LSL = 20.75

Cp = 20.85-20.75 = 1.43
0.07

Process capability example

Cpkl = X-LSL Cpku = USL-X
3sP 3sP

Cpkl = 20.82-20.75 Cpku = 20.85-20.82

3*0.012 3*0.012

Cpkl = 2 Cpku = 0.857

12
Important points
SPC does not tell you what to do
Tells you when there is a significant change
Must involve the people who understand the process
Appropriate corrective action is essential
For the technique to be successful it is important to
understand:
– The nature of variation
– The effect of variation on processes
– That management commitment to support control and
improvement of processes is essential

Control Chart procedure

Select the quality characteristic
Choose the rational sub-group
Collect the data
Determine the trial central line and control
limits
Establish the revised central line and
control limits
Achieve the objective

13
Select the quality characteristic
Measurable and can be expressed in numbers,
e.g.
– Length, time, power, velocity pressure, temperature
etc
The characteristics affecting performance and
ultimately the customer
The characteristics affecting production
problems and/or cost
Use Pareto charts
Usually not possible to use all variables - choose
wisely

Rational sub-grouping
Samples chosen to maximise difference between
sub-groups and minimise differences within sub-
groups
Sub-group should be homogeneous – same tool
used, same operator etc.
Choosing sub-groups
– One instant of time – 4 consecutive parts from a machine,
the next sub-group sample would be say 1 hr later –
Instant time method
– Over a period of time – every hour choose 4 parts
randomly from all produced within the hour – period of
time method

14
Sub-group size
Compromise between time and cost and
essentially empirical judgement, guidelines
include:
– As sub-group size increases the control chart is
more sensitive to small variation in process mean
– Statistically the sub-group means are nearly
normally distributed for sample sizes greater than
4
– 5 is commonly used
– If sub-group size greater than 10 the s chart
should be used instead of the R chart

How frequently should samples be

taken?
Often enough to detect process changes
Balance with cost of taking the samples
Generally often at the beginning then
reduce when appropriate
Very process dependent
– How often is the process adjusted
– If process adjusted every 2 hours then sample
every 20 minutes, every 3 hrs sample every 30
minutes

15
Calculating the control limits
Determine the trial central line and control limits
using a 20 -25 sub-groups of data
If analysis of trial limits shows good control then
can use X double bar and R bar
If not then assignable causes must be attributed
to those points out of control
If there are assignable causes then these points
can be removed from the data and the control
chart redrawn
The resulting control limits are then used for
future sub-groups

General rules for interpretation

By default, anything outside the UCL and
LCL always signals that the process has
gone out-of-control

Look for non-random patterns

Decide in advance what actions to take if

the rules are breached.

16
 Example: above UCL

20
15
10
5
0
-5 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
-10
-15

Possible reasons: faulty material, broken tool,

operator mistake, power failure.

Example: 9 values all below centre line

15
10
5
0
-5 0 5 10 15 20
-10
-15

Possible reasons: a process change caused by re-setting

or machines, management intervention, materials/ batch
change.

17
 Example: 7 points in a row all increasing
(or decreasing)

15
10
5
0
-5 0 5 10 15
-10
-15

Possible reasons: a process change caused by:

equipment wear or seasonality (environment)

Example: 14 points in a row alternating

up and down
15
10
5
0
-5
-10
-15

Possible reasons: mixed samples - different

operators, machines, material, poor data collection,
procedures

18
Detection of patterns
Cycles
Gradual changes in level
Mixtures of population
Stratification
Sudden shift
Systematic variation
Trends

Taking action!!
The chart is the process talking to you

It is not acceptable to ignore out of control

values or make excuses.

Once a control chart indicates an out of

control situation you are not longer sure of
your process and action must taken to
identify the special causes.

19
Continuous Improvement
If process is not stable ‘problem solve’ the special
causes to attain stability
If process is stable but not capable
– Reduce variation by taking fundamental action on the
process.
Continue to reduce variation as long as it is economic
to do so.

Session Summary
SPC is a charting method for identifying the
existence of special causes of variation.
A process in control will only have random
variation.
Process capability measures how well the
measured variables meet the customer
requirements.

20
 Data types
Variable data
– Quantitative, e.g, pressure, cycles,
temperature etc.
Attribute data
– Counts, e.g. number defective, pass/fail,
go/no-go

Control Charts for Variable Data

x R, Traditional variable control chart showing
subgroup averages (process mean) and
ranges R (variability). Sample size is 3-5,
<10.
x s, Similar chart to Xbar R except subgroup
standard deviations are calculated

I , MR Individual, Moving Range charts are used

when within subgroup variation is essentially
zero.

21
 Control charts for attribute data
p chart Charts the proportion of non-
conforming items being inspected.

np chart Charts the number of defective items in a

lot.
c chart Charts the total number of non-
conformities in an inspection lot.

Charts the number of non-conformities

u chart per unit (dpu) in subgroups

Selecting a Control Chart

START

n = sample size or
subgroup size

no Is n fixed Variable Variable or Attribute

x-s chart and n<10? Attribute
Data

yes

n=1 2n9

Defectives Defects or Defects

Defectives *

I MR chart x-R chart

Constant no
yes Constant no yes
area of
sample
opportunity?
size?

np chart p chart c u chart

chart

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Notes
Starting and administering SPC is not a trivial task.
Many traps and pitfalls await the unwary. If not
handled properly, a number of unproductive
situations can result from the attempt, such as:
Beauty contest programs. These are massive displays of
control charts, histograms, cause and effect diagrams etc.
which serve no useful purpose. These displays are often
placed in "war rooms" which are located faraway from the
processes being monitored. The charts are usually computer
generated and the charts are often very colourful. The
problem is, the people who can use them either don’t ever
see them, or see them too late for the result to serve any
useful purpose.

Notes
My little darling programs. These are programs started
by an individual or small group, usually in the quality
department, with little or no active management
leadership. Those who start these programs have often
recently attended a seminar and learned about the
statistical aspects of SPC, but not the management or
human relations aspects. Charting and data collection is
started before creating a management system and
environment for dealing with the problems highlighted
by SPC.

23
Notes
"The greatest show on earth!" These programs are
usually launched by training or human resources
departments and they usually feature speeches by senior
management, suggestion programs (almost always called
something cute), buttons, badges, hats, flags and other
paraphernalia, etc. Everyone is told the obvious ("quality
is important to our customer, and to us!") and asked to
give 110% to the cause of quality without ever being told
exactly what that means. SPC is implemented on a hit-
and-miss basis and everyone is expected to understand
SPC with little training or guidance. These programs
never die, rather, like old soldiers, they simply fade away.

Notes
Drill instructor programs. These programs are started by
autocratic upper managers who have, by god, had it with
the rubbish being produced by the "troops." You will
implement SPC, you will produce quality! Of course, once
the proclamation has been made, the leader retires from
the scene to let someone else handle all of the details.
When the smoke clears and no progress has been made,
heads may roll. But effective quality improvement is
highly improbable.

24
Notes
Potpourri. This sort of SPC consists of a melange of
statistical and pseudo-statistical tools splattered about.
Over here we have a "control chart" with control limits
that are really the engineering specifications. Over there
is a control limits that are really the engineering
specifications. Over there is a chart with no limits of any
kind, put in place to "help people get used to the idea of
plotting data." Somewhere else, Mil-Std-105E is being
applied and the results plotted on a p-chart. Such an
approach results in total chaos, but management can be
easily duped into thinking that they are witnessing a truly
sophisticated rendition of SPC.

Notes
The island of excellence. This is the immortal pilot SPC
project. It was originally started to "get a feel for how
SPC can be used here at XYZ Corp.," but expansion never
quite got off of the ground. Nevertheless, management
was quick to see the PR value of the effort and the
refused to let it die. The main purpose becomes eyewash
for guests, especially customers who want to see tangible
evidence that you are serious about quality
improvement.

25
Notes
The list can be extended ad nauseam, but you get the
idea. The important lesson here is that successful SPC is
no accident. To assure success SPC must be carefully
planned and it must receive the active attention of every
level of management, from top management on down.

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