CONTROL CHARTS

FOR ATTRIBUTES

» Engr. Bingo B. Cueto, MSIEM

» Industrial Engineering
Introduction
» Many quality characteristics cannot be
conveniently represented numerically.
» In such cases, each item inspected is classified as
either conforming or nonconforming to the
specifications on that quality characteristic.
» Quality characteristics of this type are called
attributes.
» Examples are nonfunctional semiconductor chips,
warped connecting rods, etc,.
Type of Attribute Charts
p charts
˃ This chart shows the fraction of nonconforming or
defective product produced by a manufacturing
process.
˃ It is also called the control chart for fraction
nonconforming.

c charts
˃ This shows the number of defects or
nonconformities produced by a manufacturing
process.
p charts
 In this chart, we plot the percent of defectives
(per batch, per day, per machine, etc.).

 However, the control limits in this chart are not

based on the distribution of rate events but
rather on the binomial distribution (of
proportions).
Formula
» Fraction nonconforming:
p = (np)/n
where:
p - proportion or fraction non conformities in
the sample or subgroup,
n - number in the sample or subgroup,
np - number non conformities in the sample
or subgroup.
Example
» During the first shift, 450 inspection are made for
book of the month shipments and 5 non conforming
units are found. Production during the shift was
15,000 units. What is the fraction non conforming
(p)?
p = (np)/n = 5/450 = 0.011
Note:
˃ The p, is usually small, say 0.10 or less.
˃ If p > 0.10, indicate that the organization is in serious
difficulty.
Central line and Control limits
» To construct the upper and lower control limits for
a p-chart, we use the following formulas:

p (1  p ) p (1  p )
UCL  p  z LCL  p  z
n n
where:
 np
p= average of p for many subgroups
n
n = number inspected in a subgroup
z = standard normal variable (2 for 99.5%
confidence level and 3 for 99.74% confidence
level)
Example: Constructing a P-Chart
A Production manager for a tire company has inspected
the number of defective tires in five random samples
with 20 tires in each sample. The table below shows the
number of defective tires in each sample of 20 tires.

Sample Sample Size Number

(n) Defective
1 20 3
2 20 2
3 20 1
4 20 2
5 20 1
Step 1:
Calculate the Percent defective of Each Sample and
the Overall Percent Defective (P-Bar)
Sample Number Sample Percent
Defective Size Defective
1 3 20 .15

2 2 20 .10

3 1 20 .05

4 2 20 .10

5 1 20 .05

Total 9 100 .09

Step 2: Calculate the upper and lower control limits

p (1  p )
UCL  p  z
n
0.09(1  0.09)
UCL  0.09  3
20
UCL  0.282
p (1  p )
LCL  p  z
n
0.09(1  0.09)
LCL  0.09  3
20
LCL  0.102  0
c chart
» C-charts are used to monitor the number of
defects per unit.
» Examples are the number of returned meals in
a restaurant, the number of trucks that exceed
their weight limit in a month, the number of
discolorations on a square foot of carpet, and
the number of bacteria in a milliliter of water.
Note that the types of units of measurement we
are considering are a period of time, a surface
area, or a volume of liquid.
Central line and Control limits
» To construct the upper and lower control limits
for a c-chart, we use the following formulas:

UCL  c  z c LCL  c  z c
where:
c = average count of nonconformities
z = standard normal variable (2 for 99.5%
confidence level and 3 for 99.74%
confidence level)
Example: Constructing a C-Chart
Week Number of
The number of weekly Complaints
customer complaints 1 3
are monitored in a 2 2
large hotel. 3 3

Develop a three sigma 4 1

control limits for a C- 5 3

Chart using the data 6 3

table on the right. 7 2

8 1
9 3
10 1
Total 22
1. Compute for CL, UCL, and LCL
 Center line (c bar):

# of complaints
c
# of samples
22
c
10
c  2 .2
 Upper Control limits:

UCL  c  z c
UCL  2.2  3 2.2
UCL  6.65
 Lower Control limits:

UCL  c  z c
UCL  2.2  3 2.2
UCL  2.25  0
Seatwork 1: Construct a p-chart
A Production manager for a tire company has inspected the
number of defective tires in twenty random samples with 20
observations each. Following are the number of defective tires
found in each sample:
Example:
Draw the p-Chart
Seatwork 2: Construct a c-chart
Draw the c-Chart