8/17/2020 Attribute Control Charts Overview | BPI Consulting

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Attribute Control Charts Overview

April 2009

In this issue:

Yes/No Data: p and np Control Charts

Binomial Distribution
Counting Data: c and u Control Charts
Poisson Distribution
Small Sample Cases
When to Use Each Chart
Summary
Quick Links

Last month we introduced the np control chart. With that publication,  we have now covered the four
attributes control charts. This month we review the four types of attributes control charts and when you
should use each of them. We have now devoted one publication to each of the four control charts:

p Control Charts
np Control Charts
c Control Charts
u Control Charts

You can access these four publications at this link. (/spc-for-excel-publications-category#attribute) 

These four control charts are used when you have "count" data. Sometimes this type of data is called
attributes data. There are two basic types of attributes data: yes/no type data and counting data. The
type of data you have determines the type of control chart you use. We hope you enjoy the newsletter!

YES/NO DATA: P AND NP CONTROL CHARTS

With this type of data, you are examining a group of items. For each item, there are
only two possible outcomes: either it passes or it fails some preset speci cation.
Each item inspected is either defective (i.e., it does not meet the speci cations) or is
not defective (i.e., it meets speci cations).
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Suppose you teach a green History (/revision-history-for-spc-for-excel-version-6)
belt workshop for your company. You have implemented a processView Cart
that(/cart)

requires each participant to pass a written exam as well as complete a project in orderMy to Account
be given (/user)
the

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title of green belt. This is yes/no type of data. Either a participant completes the requirement or does not
complete the requirement.

Suppose one workshop has 20 attendees. This is the subgroup size (n). A "defective" participant is one
who does not complete the requirements. The number of participants in the workshop who do not
complete the requirements is denoted by np. Suppose that two participants do not complete the
requirements, i.e., np = 2. The fraction defective is called p. In this example, p = np/n = 2/20 = .10 or 10%
of the participants did not meet the requirements. As an instructor, you can track this data for each
workshop.

There are two ways you can track the data: use the p control chart or the np control chart, depending on
what you are plotting and whether or not the subgroup size is constant over time.

The p control chart plots the fraction defective (p) over time. The subgroup size does not have to be the
same each time. This means that sometimes you can have 20 participants, another time 22, another time
18 and so on.

The np control chart plots the number defective over time, and the subgroup size has to be the same
each time. This means you must have 20 participants each time, or you may take a random sample that
is the same each time.

BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION

The p and np control charts involve counts. You are counting items. To use the p or np control chart, the
counts must also satisfy the following four conditions, as shown in Advanced Topics in Statistical Process
Control (Dr. Don Wheeler, www.spcpress.com (http://www.spcpress.com)):

1. The area of opportunity for defective items to occur must consist of n distinct items (e.g., there are
20 distinct participants in the workshop)
2. Each of the n distinct items is classi ed as possessing or not possessing some attribute (e.g., for
each student, determine if the requirements were met or not met)
3. Let p be the probability that an item has the attribute; p must be the same for all n items in a
sample (e.g., the probability of a participant meeting or not meeting the requirements is the same
for all participants).
4. The likelihood of an item possessing the attribute is not a ected by whether or not the previous
item possessed the attribute (e.g., the probability that a participant meets or does not meet the
requirements is not a ected by others in the group).

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Revision
If these four conditions are History
met, the (/revision-history-for-spc-for-excel-version-6)
binomial View Cart of
distribution can be used to estimate the distribution (/cart)
the

counts; the p or the np control chart can be used. The control limits equations for the Myp and np control
Account (/user)

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charts are based on the assumption that you have a binomial distribution. The binomial distribution is a
distribution that is based on the total number of events (np) rather than each individual outcome. The
average and standard deviation of the binomial distribution are given below:

An example of a binomial distribution with an average number defective = 5 is shown below.

The control limits for both the np and p control charts are based on this distribution as can be seen
below. The limits are based on the average +/- three standard deviations. The point to remember is that
it is three standard deviations of the binomial distribution - not the standard deviation you get from
calculating the standard deviation using something like Excel's STDEV function.

np Control Chart: Control Limits

where k is the number of subgroups

p Control Chart: Control Limits

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Remember that to use these equations, the four conditions above must be met. Be careful here because
condition 3 does not always hold. For example, some people use the p control chart to monitor on-time
delivery on a monthly basis. A p control chart is the same as the np control chart, but the subgroup size
does not have to be constant. You cannot use the p control chart unless the probability of each shipment
during the month being on time is the same for all the shipments. Big customers often get priority on
their orders. The probability of their orders being on time is di erent from that of other customers so
you cannot use the p control chart. If the conditions are not met, consider using an individuals control
chart.

COUNTING DATA: C AND U CONTROL CHARTS

We just looked at yes/no type of data that classi es an item as defective or not
defective. If the item is complex in nature, like a television set, computer or car,
it does not make much sense to characterize it as being defective or not
defective. For example, a television set may have a scratch on the surface, but that defect hardly makes
the television set defective. The real issue here is how many defects there are on the television set.

Rating items as defective or not defective is also not very useful if the item is continuous. For example,
suppose you are making a plastic sheet. The fact that the sheet has a small defect such as a bubble or
blemish on it does not make it defective. However, if there are too many bubbles, the sheet may not be
useful for its intended purpose.

For example, suppose you make plastic sheets that are used for sheet protectors. Bubbles on the plastic
sheet are considered defects. You can monitor the number of bubbles over time by counting the number
of bubbles on one plastic sheet. The plastic sheet is the area of opportunity for defects to occur. The
number of bubbles is the number of defects (c).

A defect occurs when something does not meet a preset speci cation. It does not mean that the item
itself is defective. When looking at counting data, you end up with whole numbers such as 0, 1, 2, 3; you
can't have half of a defect. Thus, with the plastic sheet example, you will have 1 bubble, 2 bubbles, etc.

There are two ways to track this counting type data, depending on what you are plotting and whether or
not the area of opportunity for defects to occur is constant.

The c control chart plots the number of defects (c) over time. The area of opportunity must be the same
over time. This means that you use the same sized sheet each time you are counting the bubbles in the
sheet.
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The u control chart plots Revision History

the number (/revision-history-for-spc-for-excel-version-6)
of defects ViewofCart (/cart)
per inspection unit (c/n) over time. The area

opportunity can vary over time. This means that you can vary the number of sheets orMy theAccount
area examined
(/user)

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for bubbles each time.

POISSON DISTRIBUTION

There are four conditions that must be met to use a c or u control chart. These are listed in Advanced
Topics in Statistical Process Control (Dr. Wheeler, www.spcpress.com (http://www.spcpress.com)) as
follows:

The counts must be discrete counts (e.g., each bubble that occurs is discrete).
The counts must occur in a well-de ned region of space or time (e.g., one plastic sheet is the well-
de ned region of space where the bubbles can occur).
The counts are independent of each other, and the likelihood of a count is proportional to the size
of the area of opportunity (e.g., the probability of nding a bubble on a plastic sheet is not related
to which part of the plastic sheet is selected).
The counts are rare compared to the opportunity (e.g., the opportunity for bubbles to occur in the
plastic sheet is large, but the actual number that occurs is small).

If these conditions are met, then the Poisson distribution can be used to model the process. This
distribution is used to model the number of occurrences of a rare event when the number of
opportunities is large but the probability of a rare event is small. The average and standard deviation of
the Poisson distribution are given below:

An example of the Poisson distribution with an average number of defects equal to 10 is shown below.

The control limits for both the c and u control charts are based on the Poisson distribution as can be
seen below. The limits are based on the average +/- three standard deviations. The point to remember is
that it is three standard deviations of the Poisson distribution - not the standard deviation you get from
calculating the standard deviation using something like Excel's STDEV function.
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c Control Chart: Control Limits View Cart (/cart)
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u Control Chart: Control Limits

Remember that the four conditions above must be met if you are going to use these control limit
equations to model your process. If the conditions are not met, consider using an individuals control
chart.

SMALL SAMPLE CASES

The control limits given above are based on either the binomial or the Poisson distribution. The
conditions listed above for each must be met before they should be used to model the process. However,
there is a time when the control limit equations do not apply. If the n * average fraction defective is less
than 5, the control limits above for the p and the np control charts are not valid. The control limits for the
c and u control charts are not valid if the average number of defects is less than 3. For more information
on this, please see the two newsletters below:

Small Sample Case: p and np Control Charts (/knowledge/attribute-control-charts/small-sample-

case-for-p-and-np-control-charts)

Small Sample Case: c and u Control Charts (/knowledge/attribute-control-charts/small-sample-

case-for-c-and-u-control-charts)

There is also more information on the binomial and Poisson distributions in those two newsletters.

WHEN TO USE WHICH CHART

The table below shows when to use each of the charts. X-mR is the individuals control chart.

Yes/No Data Counting Data

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Subgroup (/revision-history-for-spc-for-excel-version-6)
=n Area of Opportunity = n View Cart (/cart)

My Account (/user)

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Follows Binomial Follows Poisson
Distribution? Distribution?

Yes No Yes No

Constant Variable Constant Variable

n n X-mR n n X-mR
Chart Chart
np Chart p Chart c Chart u Chart

More information on the individuals control chart can be found here (/knowledge/variable-control-
charts/individuals-control-charts). It is important to remember that the assumptions underlying the
control charts are important and must be met before the control chart is valid.

SUMMARY

This month’s publication reviewed the four basic attribute control charts: p, np, c and u.  The equations
for the average and control limits were given as well as the underlying assumptions for each type of
control chart.  When to use each chart was introduced.

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Thanks so much for reading our publication. We hope you nd it informative and useful. Happy charting
and may the data always support your position.

Sincerely,

Dr. Bill McNeese

BPI Consulting, LLC

(https://www.linkedin.com/in/billmcneese)
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