MEASURMENT SYSTEM ANALYSIS

there is one aspect of continuous improvement I simply don’t see practiced enough –
measurement systems analysis.So, what I want to do in this article is offer an overview of what
measurement systems analysis (MSA) is all about.

What Is Measurement System Analysis?

Measurement System Analysis (MSA) is used to determine the suitability of a measurement
system for use. It is crucial to have a well-functioning measurement system so that the data
collected is accurate and precise. There are many factors to consider when conducting a
measurement system analysis. This paper will discuss the importance of Measurement System
Analysis and how to go about completing one.

MSA is a process used to evaluate the suitability of a measuring system for use. A measuring
system can be any combination of a transducer, signal conditioner, display, recorder, or data
acquisition system used to obtain a measurement. A measuring system is suitable if it meets the
required technical performance specifications. MSA is used to identify and quantify the sources
of variation in a measuring system.
Procedure of MSA: Gage R&R Study
A software program at a thermal control company is programmed to cut a piece of metal to 12
inches. This piece of metal will eventually become a housing for a thermal control, so it’s
imperative that the first piece of metal measure accurately each time. As part of this company’s
quality control, they’ve created a measurement system in which line operators randomly pull
pieces of metal off the line to measure them with a digital length gauge. This helps to ensure
the machine’s ability to accurately cut the metal.

But how do these operators know that they can rely on their digital length gauge? In this case,
the company decides to perform a Gage Repeatability and Reproducibility Study (Gage R&R).

Step 1: Determine Type of Data Collection

In this case, the manufacturing company wants to know if there is any variation in each piece of
metal’s measurements. This is called variable data, which means the potential exists to have
measurements that vary between samples.
Step 2: Sample Collection and Operator Selection
The next step is to collect a random sampling of the sheet metal during any given production
run. It’s important to obtain at least 10 samples. Once the samples have been randomly chosen,
recruit three operators who routinely complete the measurement system process to participate
in the study. Before the study begins, the sampled sheet metal pieces are labeled with their
appropriate lengths without the operators being aware of these labels.

Step 3: Measurement Process

For this example, the random sampling includes 10 samples of sheet metal casings. Each
operator will measure the sample casings and record their data. Each operator will measure the
same random sampling of ten sheet metal casings three times, for a total of thirty
measurements. Lastly, the study organizer will rearrange the sample set between each operator
to remove any potential bias.

Step 4: Calculations
Once the operators have completed all three rounds of measurement, the study organizer will
compare each set of measurements to three evaluation areas. First, the organizer will compare
each measurement to a master value. Second, the organizer will compare each operator’s
measurements across all three rounds, essentially comparing each operator to themselves. This
is called ‘within’ variation. Last, the organizer will compare each operator’s measurements to
the other appraiser’s measurements. This is called ‘among’ variation.

When the operator compares each variation measure, they’re looking for any potential
measurement error. If the ‘within’ variation varies greatly, there is likely inconsistency in the
process the operator uses to measure the sheet metal casings. If the ‘among’ variation varies
greatly, there is likely inconsistency in how each operator was trained to measure the sheet
metal casings.

Once the organizer has compared the variation measures, they’ll begin the calculation process
to identify the following information:
Mean readings for each operator

Standard deviation for each operator

Differences between each operator’s average and standard deviation

Here, the organizer is looking at the distribution of the data. If all the numbers stack close to the
desired mean, in this case, twelve inches, that means the operator, the measurement process,
and the measurement tools are working properly. This is called accuracy and usually means
everything is right on track.

What Are the Types of Measurement System Analysis?

There are three main measurement system analysis types: attribute agreement, variable
agreement, and stability.

**Attribute agreement is a statistical method that assesses the consistency of ratings between
two or more raters.

**Variable agreement evaluates the agreement between two or more measurement systems
that generate quantitative data.

**Stability assesses the consistency of measurements over time.

Variation

Being able to attack variation is an extremely important aspect of continuous improvement. But
variation is a tricky opponent. The variation we see isn’t always what we think it is. Allow me to
explain with a simple diagram.
Gage R&R VariationAt the top, we see the observed process variation. In other words, this is the
data that we’d use to conduct a Process Capability Study where obviously, we’re interested in
understanding how our process variation is behaving.Unfortunately, there are two things that
make up our total observed process variation, the actual process variation, and the
measurement variation. Put another way, it’s entirely possible that the variation we’re
observing is mostly due to the measurement system, and continuing to attack the actual
process variation won’t help at all.Our actual process variation consists of short-term, long-
term, and part-to-part variation. Measurement variation consists of several characteristics
including accuracy, repeatability, reproducibility, stability, and resolution.

Measurement System Characteristics

Let’s spend some time discussing each of these important measurement system
characteristics.First, accuracy is the ability of the gage to measure the true value of a part on
average. In other words, it’s possible for a measurement system to have high variability but still
be accurate so long as the average value of the measurements are close to the true value.Next,
repeatability, which is a component of precision, is attained when the same person takes
multiple measurements and gets the same, or similar results each time.A close cousin to
repeatability is reproducibility, the second component of Precision. Reproducibility is attained
when other people get the same, or similar results, as you do when measuring the same
item.While repeatability focuses on how well you measure something, reproducibility compares
your measurement performance to other people’s measurement performance.Next, stability is
attained when measurements taken by the same person, or gage, vary little over time. In other
words, it shouldn’t matter what day of the week or time of day it is. We should always be able
to measure in an accurate and repeatable manner.Last, but certainly not least, sufficient
resolution means that your measurement system provides at least five, more preferably, distinct
values in the range you’re measuring.

Sufficient Resolution

For example, let’s say we wanted to measure the heights of three children with a scale that only
measures to the nearest foot. When we did this, our results were 3 feet for child one, 4 feet for
child two, and 5 feet for child three. In other words, we only had three distinct values.As it turns
out, the key to ensuring we have adequate resolution is by determining the amount of
discrimination our scale needs.

Discrimination refers to the number of decimal places that can be measured by the system.
Increments of measure should be approximately one‐tenth of the width of the product
specification or process variation.

For example,

let’s say that we’re working with a process that has an upper customer specification limit of 80
mm and a lower customer specification limit of 60 mm.Discrimination GRRWhen we subtract 60
from 80, we learn that our tolerance is 20 mm. In other words, this measurement system needs
to be able to discriminate to at least 2 mm since 20 mm divided by 10 is 2 mm.

Measurement Systems Analysis

We’ve covered a lot of terms and concepts so far which may make you feel a little
overwhelmed. The good news is we have an extremely powerful tool at our disposal that wraps
everything that we’ve discussed up into a single statistical tool called Measurement Systems
Analysis, or MSA for short.

When to Use Measurement System Analysis?

Measurement System Analysis is a statistical tool that can be used to assess data quality. This
tool can be used to determine measurements' accuracy and identify sources of error.
Measurement System Analysis can assess data quality from various sources, including surveys,
experiments, and observational studies.