15CHE285 Planning & Analysis of the Gage R&R Study

The basic steps in planning a gage R&R study are given below.

1. Determine the number of parts, the number of operators to use and the number of trials.

There are several issues that must be considered when planning a gage R&R study. The first is
the number of operators and the number of parts to use. The number of parts (n) must be greater
than or equal to 3. The number of operators (k) must be greater than 2. The number of trials (r)
must be greater than or equal to three. This represents how often each operator will measure a
part.

Preferably, the n*k should be greater than 15. This gives more confidence in the results. If
possible, include all the operators who operate the gage in the study.

2. Select the parts for the study

The next step is selecting the parts to include in the study. There are three ways to determine the
% gage R&R. One is to compare the gage variation to the variation of the parts used in the study.
In this case, the parts should be selected to reflect the range of variation in the process. In other
words, don't just take 10 parts off the line right in a row. You need to select the parts so they
reflect the variation seen in the manufacturing process.

The other two ways to determine the % gage R&R is to use an independent estimate of the
process variation or to compare the results to the specification range. If you have an independent
estimate of the process variation (e.g., from a control chart kept on the production process), the
requirement for the parts spanning the production range is less critical. This is also true if you are
comparing the results to the specification range.

3. Label the parts from 1 to n and designate the operators A, B, etc.

4. Conduct the Measurements

The parts must be run in random order. Start with operator A. Operator A measures the parts in
random order. The results are recorded. This process continues for each operator without the
operators being able to see the results from other operators. This cycle is continued until you
have completed all trials. Be sure that an operator cannot see his/her results from previous trials.

Analyzing the Results

To demonstrate how to analyze the results, we will use the following example. Suppose you
want to determine if a certain gage is capable of measuring the length of a certain part. You
decide to do a basic gage R&R study. You select three operators (A, B, and C). You select five
parts that represent typical variation in the length output. You have each operator measure each
part three times. The measurement results are given below.
 App Trial Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
A 1 3.29 2.44 4.34 3.47 2.20
A 2 3.41 2.32 4.17 3.50 2.08
A 3 3.64 2.42 4.27 3.64 2.16
B 1 3.08 2.53 4.19 3.01 2.44
B 2 3.25 1.78 3.94 4.03 1.80
B 3 3.07 2.32 4.34 3.20 1.72
C 1 3.04 1.62 3.88 3.14 1.54
C 2 2.89 1.87 4.09 3.20 1.93
C 3 2.85 2.04 3.67 3.11 1.55

You use the above results to perform the gage R&R calculations. You start by determining the
following:

 The average for each trial for each operator

 The average and range for each part for each operator
 The overall average and average range for each operator
 The overall average and the average range for the part

These calculations are shown in the table below.

Operator Trial/Part 1 2 3 4 5 Average

A 1 3.29 2.44 4.34 3.47 2.20 3.148
A 2 3.41 2.32 4.17 3.50 2.08 3.096
A 3 3.64 2.42 4.27 3.64 2.16 3.226
A
3.45 2.39 4.26 3.54 2.15 3.157
Average
A Range 0.35 0.12 0.17 0.17 0.12 0.186
B 1 3.08 2.53 4.19 3.01 2.44 3.050
B 2 3.25 1.78 3.94 4.03 1.80 2.960
B 3 3.07 2.32 4.34 3.20 1.72 2.930
B
3.13 2.21 4.16 3.41 1.99 2.980
Average
B Range 0.18 0.75 0.40 1.02 0.72 0.614
C 1 3.04 1.62 3.88 3.14 1.54 2.644
C 2 2.89 1.87 4.09 3.20 1.93 2.796
C 3 2.85 2.04 3.67 3.11 1.55 2.644
 C
2.93 1.84 3.88 3.15 1.67 2.695
Average
C Range 0.19 0.42 0.42 0.09 0.39 0.302
Part
3.17 2.15 4.10 3.37 1.94 2.944
Average
Part
0.79 0.91 0.67 1.02 0.90 0.858
Range

You then determine the average range for the three operators.

Then determine the difference between the maximum operator average and the minimum
operator average. A has the maximum average (3.157). C has the minimum average (2.695).

Thus, the difference is 3.157 - 2.695 = 0.462.

Next determine the range of the part averages (Rp). The largest part average is for Part 3 (4.099).
The smallest part average is for Part 5 (1.936).

So, Rp = 4.099 - 1.936 = 2.163

The various contributors to the measurement system variation can now be calculated. There are
five that need to be calculated:

 Instrument variation (EV)

 Operator variation (AV)
 Repeatability and reproducibility (GRR)
 Part variation (PV)
 Total variation (TV)

Repeatability: Instrument Variation (EV)

This is the "within operator" variation. It measures the variation one operator has when
measuring the same part (and the same characteristic) using the same gage more than one time.
The calculation is given below.
where K1 is a constant that depends on the number of trials. For 2 trials, K1 is 0.8862. For 3
trials, K1 is 0.5908. For this example:

Reproducibility: Operator Variation (AV)

This is the "between operators" variation. It is the variation in the average of the measurements
made by the different operators when measuring the same characteristic on the same part. The
calculation is given below.

where K2 is a constant that depends on the number of operators. For 2 operators, K2 is 0.7071.
For three operators, K2 is 0.5231 For this example:

Repeatability and Reproducibility (GRR)

The next calculation combines the two above to determine GRR, which is given by:

For this example,

Part Variation (PV)

The part variation is determined by multiplying the range of the part averages (Rp) by a constant
K3. K3 depends on the number of parts. For 5 parts, K3 = 0.4030. The part variation is then given
by:
Below are some other values of K3 for different numbers of parts:

Parts K3
2 0.7071
3 0.5231
4 0.4467
5 0.4030
6 0.3742
7 0.3534
8 0.3375
9 0.3249
10 0.3146

Total Variation (TV)

This is the total variation from the study. It is determined by the following equation:

Interpreting the Results

Remember, a gage R&R study is a study in variation. You must have variation in the parts and in
the operators to calculate the above numbers. To determine if the measurement system is
adequate, you must compare the results to something.

If you want to compare the results to the variation in the parts used in the study, you use the total
variation (TV). Then you do the following calculations:

%EV = 100(EV/TV) = 100(0.217/0.9285) = 23.3%

% AV = 100(AV/TV) = 100(0.235/0.9285) = 25.3%

%GRR = 100(GRR/TV) = 100(0.319/0.9285) = 34.3%

%PV = 100(PV/TV) = 100(0.872/0.9285) = 93.9%

Don't expect these percentages to sum to 100 because they will not. The number that most people
focus on first is the % GRR. The following guidelines can be used to determine if the
measurement system is acceptable:

 % GRR under 10% of TV: Measurement system is acceptable

 % GRR from 10% to 30% of TV: Measurement system may be acceptable based on the
application
 % GRR over 30% of TV: Measurement system needs improvement

In this example, the measurement system needs improvement since %GRR is greater than 30%.
Sometimes you can look at the %AV and %EV to get insights into where to start improving the
measurement system. But the study indicates that the measurement system must be improved.

P/T Ratio:

If you want to compare the results to the tolerance instead of the total variation, you would
substitute the (USL - LSL)/6 for TV.

Summary

This tool allows us to determine how much variation is due to the measurement system by
looking at the repeatability and reproducibility of the measurement system. Based on these
results, we can determine if the measurement system needs improvement.