TUM School of Management

Production and Supply Chain Management

Prof Martin Grunow Technische Universität München

Control Limits: X-bar & R-Charts

Need first 25 samples: X-bar-bar = 21.37
R-bar = 3.02

Control limits for X-bar chart: Control limits for R-chart:

UCL ( X ) = X + A2 R UCL( R) = D4 R
CL ( X ) = X CL( R) = R
LCL ( X ) = X − A2 R LCL ( R) = D3 R

Second step: Now we need to look up the constants: A2, D3 and D4

©2012 from "A First Course in Quality Engineering: Integrating Statistical

and Management Methods of Quality" by K.S. Krishnamoorthi. Reproduced
by permission of Taylor and Francis Group, LLC, a division of Informa plc.

Holly Ott Quality Engineering & Management – Module 8 14

 TUM School of Management
Production and Supply Chain Management
Prof Martin Grunow Technische Universität München

Factors for Calculating Limits for

Variable Control Charts

©2012 from "A First Course in Quality Engineering: Integrating Statistical

and Management Methods of Quality" by K.S. Krishnamoorthi. Reproduced
by permission of Taylor and Francis Group, LLC, a division of Informa plc.

Holly Ott Quality Engineering & Management – Module 8 15

 TUM School of Management
Production and Supply Chain Management
Prof Martin Grunow Technische Universität München

Control Limits: X-bar & R-Charts

Need first 25 samples: X-bar-bar = 21.37
R-bar = 3.02

Constants for n= 5: A2 = 0.577, D3 = 0, and D4 = 2.114

Control limits for X-bar chart: Control limits for R-chart:

UCL ( X ) = X + A2 R UCL( R) = D4 R
CL ( X ) = X CL( R) = R
LCL ( X ) = X − A2 R LCL ( R) = D3 R

©2012 from "A First Course in Quality Engineering: Integrating Statistical

and Management Methods of Quality" by K.S. Krishnamoorthi. Reproduced
by permission of Taylor and Francis Group, LLC, a division of Informa plc.

Holly Ott Quality Engineering & Management – Module 8 16

 TUM School of Management
Production and Supply Chain Management
Prof Martin Grunow Technische Universität München

Holly Ott Quality Engineering & Management – Module 8 17

 TUM School of Management
Production and Supply Chain Management
Prof Martin Grunow Technische Universität München

Recalculating Limits With “Remaining

Data”
•  If data falls outside the limits, then the process is not in control. The
assignable causes must be found and eliminated.
•  Then those values of X-bar and/or R that are outside the limits can be
removed from the data, after eliminating the assignable cause(s).
•  New limits can be recalculated for future use from the “remaining”
data to save time and money.
•  (Note: while making these recalculations, start with the R-chart first
because calculation of limits for the X-bar chart requires the value for
a good R-bar.)
•  How many of the original samples can be thrown out, leaving only
samples that will be considered enough for calculating the limits?
©2012 from "A First Course in Quality Engineering: Integrating Statistical
and Management Methods of Quality" by K.S. Krishnamoorthi. Reproduced
by permission of Taylor and Francis Group, LLC, a division of Informa plc.

Holly Ott Quality Engineering & Management – Module 8 18

 TUM School of Management
Production and Supply Chain Management
Prof Martin Grunow Technische Universität München

X-bar & R-Charts – Example

The one R value outside the upper limit is removed, assuming that the
reason for the value being outside the limit was found and rectified.
The new R-bar = 2.85 is calculated from the remaining 23
observations of R. This results in new limits:

©2012 from "A First Course in Quality Engineering: Integrating Statistical

and Management Methods of Quality" by K.S. Krishnamoorthi. Reproduced
by permission of Taylor and Francis Group, LLC, a division of Informa plc.

Holly Ott Quality Engineering & Management – Module 8 19

 TUM School of Management
Production and Supply Chain Management
Prof Martin Grunow Technische Universität München

Recalculated Limits with “Remaining Data”

©2012 from "A First Course in Quality Engineering: Integrating Statistical

and Management Methods of Quality" by K.S. Krishnamoorthi. Reproduced
by permission of Taylor and Francis Group, LLC, a division of Informa plc.

Holly Ott Quality Engineering & Management – Module 8 20

 TUM School of Management
Production and Supply Chain Management
Prof Martin Grunow Technische Universität München

Holly Ott Quality Engineering & Management – Module 8 21

 TUM School of Management
Production and Supply Chain Management
Prof Martin Grunow Technische Universität München

A Few Notes about the X-bar & R-Charts

•  Uses of the control charts
•  To control a process at a given target or nominal value.
•  To maintain a process at its current level.
•  As a trouble shooting tool
•  As an acceptance tool
•  Selecting the variable for charting: only important variables should be
tracked using the charts.
•  Preparing instruments: often lack of adequate instruments is cause for
poor quality.
•  Rational Sub-Grouping: when an assignable cause is present, the
subgrouping enables its discovery.
©2012 from "A First Course in Quality Engineering: Integrating Statistical
and Management Methods of Quality" by K.S. Krishnamoorthi. Reproduced
by permission of Taylor and Francis Group, LLC, a division of Informa plc.

Holly Ott Quality Engineering & Management – Module 8 22

 TUM School of Management
Production and Supply Chain Management
Prof Martin Grunow Technische Universität München

A Few Notes about the X-bar & R-Charts

•  Control vs. Capability:
•  Process in control simply means process is consistent.
•  Capability means the process is producing products within
customer’s specifications.
•  A process in control does not automatically mean that the
process is capable.
•  A capability study is needed to verify if the process in- control is
also in-specification (or capable)

©2012 from "A First Course in Quality Engineering: Integrating Statistical

and Management Methods of Quality" by K.S. Krishnamoorthi. Reproduced
by permission of Taylor and Francis Group, LLC, a division of Informa plc.

Holly Ott Quality Engineering & Management – Module 8 23

 TUM School of Management
Production and Supply Chain Management
Prof Martin Grunow Technische Universität München

A Few Notes about the X-bar & R-Charts

•  False alarm in X-bar chart:
•  The Type I error in control chart is called False alarm.
•  When a control chart declares a process not-in-control
when in fact it is in-control, it is a false alarm.
•  The Shewhart charts with 3-sigma limits have a false
alarm probability of 0.0027 in any one sample.
•  That is, approximately 3 out of 1000 samples could cause
false alarm.

Holly Ott Quality Engineering & Management – Module 8 24

 TUM School of Management
Production and Supply Chain Management
Prof Martin Grunow Technische Universität München

Western
Electric
Rules
•  Use of warning
limits drawn at 1-
sigma or 2-sigma
distances from
the center line

©2012 from "A First Course in Quality Engineering: Integrating Statistical

and Management Methods of Quality" by K.S. Krishnamoorthi. Reproduced
by permission of Taylor and Francis Group, LLC, a division of Informa plc.

Holly Ott Quality Engineering & Management – Module 8 25

 TUM School of Management
Production and Supply Chain Management
Prof Martin Grunow Technische Universität München

Western Electric Rules

“Western Electric”* rules to increase the sensitivity of the X-bar chart
are used in addition to the rule that any one point outside of the 3-sigma
limit will indicate an out-of-control situation:

1.  Two of three consecutive plots fall outside of a 2-sigma warning limit
on the same side of the center line.
2.  Four of five consecutive plots fall outside of a 1-sigma warning limit
on the same side.
3.  More than seven consecutive plots fall above or below the
centerline.
4.  More than seven consecutive plots are in a run-up or a run-down.
*Originally published in a handbook by
Western Electric Col, republished as the
©2012 from "A First Course in Quality Engineering: Integrating Statistical Statistical Control Quality Handbook
and Management Methods of Quality" by K.S. Krishnamoorthi. Reproduced (AT&T 1985).
by permission of Taylor and Francis Group, LLC, a division of Informa plc.
Holly Ott Quality Engineering & Management – Module 8 26
 TUM School of Management
Production and Supply Chain Management
Prof Martin Grunow Technische Universität München

Western Electric Rules

•  Use of Runs

©2012 from "A First Course in Quality Engineering: Integrating Statistical

and Management Methods of Quality" by K.S. Krishnamoorthi. Reproduced
by permission of Taylor and Francis Group, LLC, a division of Informa plc.

Holly Ott Quality Engineering & Management – Module 8 27

 TUM School of Management
Production and Supply Chain Management
Prof Martin Grunow Technische Universität München

Statistical
Process
Control

Holly Ott Quality Engineering & Management – Module 8 Quality in Production - 28

 TUM School of Management
Production and Supply Chain Management
Prof Martin Grunow Technische Universität München

Coming Up

  Lecture 9.1: Six Sigma

Holly Ott Quality Engineering & Management – Module 8 29

 TUM School of Management
Production and Supply Chain Management
Prof Martin Grunow Technische Universität München

Practice

  Now let's practice calculating control limits for

the X-bar and R-chart.
  Please complete the next "Practice" module
before continuing with Lecture 9.1.

Holly Ott Quality Engineering & Management – Module 8