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Design and application of dual-EWMA scheme for anomaly detection in

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DOI: 10.1016/j.cie.2019.106132

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Design and application of dual-EWMA scheme for anomaly detection in injection
moulding process
Mohammad Shamsuzzaman a⁠ ,⁠ b⁠ ,⁠ ⁎⁠ , Salah Haridy b⁠ ,⁠ d⁠ , Ahmed Maged c⁠ ,⁠ d⁠ , Imad Alsyouf a⁠ ,⁠ b⁠

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a
Sustainable Engineering Asset Management (SEAM) Research Group, United Arab Emirates
b
Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, College of Engineering, University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
c
Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong
d
Benha Faculty of Engineering, Benha University, Benha, Egypt

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords:
Statistical process control
Control chart
D Plastic injection moulding is one of the very challenging processes to yield products with good quality and
low cost. This study presents an optimization model for designing an exponentially weighted moving average
(EWMA) scheme consisting of two individual EWMA schemes (called dual-EWMA scheme) for efficient monitor-
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Dual-EWMA scheme ing of a range of mean shifts in an injection moulding process producing plastic parts. The optimization design is
Injection moulding process
conducted under the constraints of inspection resources (labor equipped with measurement instrumentation) and
false alarm rate, which ensures that no extra manpower will be needed and the false alarm rate of the charting
scheme will not be increased. The effectiveness of the optimal dual-EWMA scheme is investigated through a 23⁠
factorial design considering different scenarios, which shows that the proposed charting scheme is significantly
superior to its main competitor, the conventional dual-EWMA scheme, as well as other schemes. The impact of
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design specifications on the effectiveness of the proposed scheme is analyzed through a sensitivity study. The de-
sign and implementation of the proposed scheme are demonstrated through a case study. Finally, a design table
is presented to ease the application of the proposed scheme in practice.

1. Introduction be reused, especially in mass production. Injection moulding waste,

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such as plastic scrap, can be very costly as well as time-consuming

Injection moulding has been extensively adopted to manufacture
large and heterogeneous types of parts with complex geometries, from
the smallest components such as toys to large parts such as body pan-
els of cars. It is considered the most common technique for plastic pro-
duction. Fig. 1 illustrates the main components of the plastic injection
moulding machine. In the injection moulding machine, the raw mater-
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to reclaim and reuse. The quality characteristics of plastic injection
moulded parts are categorized as variable (e.g. dimensions) and at-
tribute (e.g. mechanical properties) (Rosato & Rosato, 2012). Dimen-
sional consistency in injection moulding is obscured by the need of
the post-injection firing process for the densification of the mould-
ings. Shrinkage is the most evident cause, leading to shape distortion

ial is fed to a hopper into a highly heated barrel with a reciprocating
screw. The raw material is melted by the heaters, and the screw forces
the molten plastic through a check valve to be injected into the mould
at a high velocity and high pressure. The pressure is not lowered until
the gate (cavity entrance) solidifies. The mould cavity temperature is re-
duced by a cooling line containing circulating water or cooling oil. Once
the required temperature is achieved, the final part is ousted and the cy-
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and dimensional variations. On the other hand, numerous process pa-
rameters (e.g. drying temperature, injection pressure, injection time,
mould temperature, and melting temperature) can affect the accuracy
of the moulded part, which makes it very hard to control (Titomanlio
& Jansen, 1996). Identification and use of optimal values of the process
parameters having significant impacts on the output is a critical issue in
injection moulding for producing high-quality products (Dowlatshahi,

cle repeats (Malloy, 1994). 2004). Altan (2010) applied Taguchi experimental design in identi-
Most of the plastic injection moulding operations cannot avoid fying the parameters having significant effects on the shrinkage dur-
scrapping large amounts of non-conforming parts that cannot ing solidification. His experimentation showed that

⁎ Corresponding author at: Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, College of Engineering, University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Email addresses: mshamsuzzaman@sharjah.ac.ae (M. Shamsuzzaman); sharidy@sharjah.ac.ae (S. Haridy); amaged2-c@my.cityu.edu.hk (A. Maged); ialsyouf@sharjah.ac.ae (I. Alsyouf)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2019.106132
Received 21 March 2019; Received in revised form 25 September 2019; Accepted 18 October 2019
Available online xxx
0360-8352/ © 2019.
M. Shamsuzzaman et al.
Fig. 1. Plastic injection moulding machine.
both packing pressure and melting temperature are mainly responsi-
ble for dimensional variation in the moulded part during solidification
while injection pressure has the least effect. He also developed a Neural
Network (NN) model for efficient predictive monitoring of shrinkage.
Kurt, Saban Kamber, Kaynak, Atakok, and Girit (2009) and Kurt et al.
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(2010) conducted similar studies and suggested that the dimensional ac-
curacy of moulded parts depends mainly on packing pressure, melting
temperature, and the dimensional stability for the final product. Sadeghi
(2000) presented a model for anticipating the quality of the moulded
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parts through Adaptive Neural Network (ANN) analysis and evaluated
the performance of the model through simulations. Huwang, Huang,
and Wang (2010) focused on studying cavity deformation on shrink-
age and suggested that controlling and decreasing it can substantially
enhance the overall quality of the moulded part. Min (2003) used Re-
sponse Surface Methodology to optimize injection moulding parame-
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ters and suggested an on-line monitoring technique in which parameters
such as weight or maximum cavity pressure are measured to decide the
quality of a moulded part.
However, even though the optimal values of the critical factors of
the injection moulding process are maintained during production, the
variation in the process output is still inherent. The process variability
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is a serious issue, which ultimately leads to wastage, low productivity,
and poor quality product. Thus, online monitoring and controlling of the
process variability can further enhance the quality of the moulded part,
and statistical process control (SPC) tools can definitely play important
roles in this respect. Rajalingam, Bono, and Sulaiman (2012) used SPC
tools, namely Pareto chart, check sheets, and cause and effect diagram
to recognize the key factors affecting an injection moulding process pro-
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ducing plastic shell-front cover of a cell phone, and finally used a facto-
rial experimental design to investigate the influence of the process para-
meters on the shrinkage of the moulded part. Kanu (2013) showed the
applications of a traditional chart for monitoring several injection
moulding process variables in classroom teaching in order to enrich stu-
dent’s conception about injection moulding and SPC. It is well-known
that the traditional or chart is not very efficient in identifying
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small or moderate process shifts.
Alternatively, the Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA)
and Cumulative Sum (CUSUM) schemes show superior performance in
identifying small and moderate process shifts. However, the EWMA
scheme is a popular choice over the CUSUM scheme, as the EWMA
scheme is easier in design and operation. In addition, it is robust to
non-normal data and has superior characteristics in detecting large
shifts (Montgomery, 2013). Several extensions to the traditional EWMA
scheme were reported in order to improve its performance (Adegoke,
Abbasi, Dawod, & Pawley, 2019; Aparisi & García-Díaz, 2007;
2
Computers & Industrial Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx-xxx
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Huwang et al., 2010; Maravelakis & Castagliola, 2009; Perry, 2019;
Shamsuzzaman & Wu, 2012; Tang, Castagliola, Sun, & Hu, 2018) since it
was firstly developed by Roberts (1958). The effectiveness of the EWMA
scheme in identifying a certain size of process shift basically relies on
the selection of weighting parameter λ. Traditionally, the values of λ are
chosen within the interval (0.05 ≤ λ ≤ 0.25), with 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 be-
ing the popular choices (Montgomery, 2013).
When implementing SPC in practice, it is very challenging to esti-
mate the actual sizes of the process shifts. Researchers usually recom-
mend to use combined Shewhart-CUSUM schemes (Haridy, Wu, Yu, &
Shamsuzzaman, 2013; Lucas, 1982; Morais & Pacheco, 2006; Wu, Yang,
Jiang, & Khoo, 2008; Yashchin, 1985) or combined Shewhart-EWMA
schemes (Albin, Kang, & Shea, 1997; Klein, 1996; Lin & Chou, 2011;
Lucas & Saccucci, 1990; Saccucci & Lucas, 1990; Shamsuzzaman, Khoo,
Haridy, & Alsyouf, 2016a, 2016b; Simoes, Epprecht, & Costa, 2010)
in order to enhance the effectiveness of the charting scheme over a
wide span of process shifts. Several researchers designed multi-CUSUM
schemes with different reference values to monitor a domain of shifts
simultaneously (Han, Tsung, Hu, & Wang, 2007; Reynolds & Stoumbos,
2004; Ryu, Wan, & Kim, 2010; Sparks, 2000; Wu, Yang, Khoo, & Yu,
2010; Zhao, Tsung, & Wang, 2005). Nonetheless, a few articles that
designed multi-EWMA schemes can be found in the available litera-
ture. Han et al. (2007) assessed the effectiveness of the CUSUM and
EWMA multi-chart schemes. However, it is not clear whether the pa-
rameters of the charting schemes proposed by Han et al. (2007) were
optimized or decided subjectively. Recently, multi-EWMA schemes con-
sisting of two individual EWMA scheme (Shamsuzzaman, 2014) (known
as 2-EWMA scheme) and three individual EWMA scheme (known as
3-EWMA scheme) (Shamsuzzaman, Khoo, Haridy, & Alsyouf, 2014)
have been reported. Such designs optimize the control limits and the
weighting parameter λ of the multi-EWMA schemes, and consequently
the effectiveness of the charting scheme is improved to some degree.
However, the optimization design and application of the 2-EWMA
scheme is not explained systematically and the effectiveness of the
charting scheme is not investigated thoroughly. In addition, the sam-
ple size in the optimization design of the multi-EWMA schemes (both
2-EWMA and 3-EWMA schemes) is decided based on a common wisdom
that the EWMA schemes with a sample size of one (n = 1) are mostly
effective from an overall viewpoint (Marion R. Reynolds & Stoumbos,
2004). However, the proposed study shows that a sample size of one is
not the best choice for many situations, and the optimization of the sam-
ple size further improves the effectiveness of the charting scheme.
The design and operation of the 3-EWMA scheme is very com-
plicated compared to those of the 2-EWMA scheme, which may
M. Shamsuzzaman et al. Computers & Industrial Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx-xxx

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Fig. 2. Optimization algorithm.

discourage the practitioners to use the former in their practical appli-
cation. In view of this, the proposed article discusses an optimization
model for designing a dual-EWMA scheme combining two individual
EWMA schemes. The objective is to identify the best sample size and
sampling interval of the dual-EWMA scheme that will not increase in-
spection cost and false alarm rate, meanwhile the effectiveness of the
charting scheme will be improved for detecting a wide domain of mean
shifts. The contributions of the article are summarized as follows: (i)
this study proposes an optimization model that optimizes sample size
and sampling interval in addition to other charting parameters such
as weighting parameter, and control limits of the dual-EWMA scheme,
(ii) the performance of the proposed scheme is investigated extensively

3
M. Shamsuzzaman et al. Computers & Industrial Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx-xxx

Table 1
Comparison of the seven schemes in the 23⁠ factorial designs.

Run τ δm
⁠ ax R Scheme n h λ UCL λ1⁠ UCL1⁠ λ2⁠ UCL2⁠ ATS0⁠ AEQL AEQLn⁠ orm

1 400 1 10 Conventional 5 0.50 – 1.3521 – – – – 400.0 3.3784 3.8195

Optimal 14 1.40 – 0.7208 – – – – 400.0 1.4170 1.6020
Conventional EWMA 1 0.10 0.100 0.7883 399.8 1.3733 1.5527

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– – – –
Optimal EWMA 6 0.60 0.145 0.3333 – – – – 399.9 0.9633 1.0891
Conven dual-EWMA 1 0.10 – – 0.050 0.5563 0.200 1.2186 403.5 1.2306 1.3913
Sub-opt dual-EWMA 1 0.10 – – 0.055 0.5600 0.055 0.5600 402.6 1.1358 1.2841

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Optimal dual-EWMA 14 1.40 – – 0.105 0.1723 0.560 0.4867 402.4 0.8845 1.0000
2 800 1 10 Conventional 5 0.50 – 1.4433 – – – – 800.0 5.5549 5.3209
Optimal 14 1.40 – 0.7804 – – – – 800.1 2.1186 2.0294
Conventional EWMA 1 0.10 0.100 0.8342 – – – – 799.9 1.9026 1.8225
Optimal EWMA 4 0.40 0.080 0.3248 – – – – 799.4 1.1660 1.1169
Conven dual-EWMA 1 0.10 – – 0.050 0.5887 0.200 1.2797 805.2 1.5742 1.5079
Sub-opt dual-EWMA 1 0.10 – – 0.055 0.5957 0.055 0.5957 801.5 1.4458 1.3849
Optimal dual-EWMA 14 1.40 – – 0.085 0.1665 0.515 0.4952 801.8 1.0440 1.0000

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3 400 3 10 Conventional 5 0.50 – 1.3521 – – – – 400.0 2.1571 1.6707
Optimal 7 0.70 – 1.1037 – – – – 400.0 2.0408 1.5807
Conventional EWMA 1 0.10 0.100 0.7883 – – – – 399.8 1.6262 1.2596
Optimal EWMA 4 0.40 0.360 0.7380 – – – – 399.3 1.4402 1.1155
Conven dual-EWMA 1 0.10 – – 0.050 0.5556 0.200 1.2170 400.1 1.4824 1.1481
Sub-opt dual-EWMA 1 0.10 – – 0.055 0.5888 0.280 1.4863 400.1 1.4643 1.1341
Optimal dual-EWMA 3 0.30 – – 0.100 0.4349 0.680 1.4088 401.4 1.2911 1.0000
4 800 3 10 Conventional 5 0.50 – 1.4433 – – – – 800.0 2.9788 2.0647
Optimal 8 0.80 – 1.0926 – – – – 800.0 2.5332 1.7558

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Conventional EWMA 1 0.10 0.100 0.8342 – – – – 799.9 1.8994 1.3166
Optimal EWMA 4 0.40 0.325 0.7382 – – – – 799.5 1.6947 1.1747
Conven dual-EWMA 1 0.10 – – 0.050 0.5883 0.200 1.2789 804.7 1.6570 1.1485
Sub-opt dual-EWMA 1 0.10 – – 0.055 0.6225 0.260 1.4927 800.6 1.6498 1.1435
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Optimal dual-EWMA 4 0.40 – – 0.105 0.4010 0.740 1.3510 806.4 1.4427 1.0000
5 400 1 20 Conventional 5 0.25 – 1.4433 – – – – 400.0 2.7775 5.3208
Optimal 14 0.70 – 0.7804 – – – – 400.0 1.0593 2.0293
Conventional EWMA 1 0.05 0.100 0.8342 – – – – 399.9 0.9513 1.8225
Optimal EWMA 4 0.20 0.080 0.3248 – – – – 399.7 0.5830 1.1168
Conven dual-EWMA 1 0.05 – – 0.050 0.5894 0.200 1.2813 402.9 0.7926 1.5183
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Sub-opt dual-EWMA 1 0.05 – – 0.055 0.5957 0.055 0.5957 403.0 0.7226 1.3844
Optimal dual-EWMA 14 0.70 – – 0.085 0.1666 0.515 0.4955 402.0 0.5220 1.0000
6 800 1 20 Conventional 5 0.25 – 1.5297 – – – – 799.8 4.6326 7.6462
Optimal 14 0.70 – 0.8364 – – – – 800.0 1.6296 2.6897
Conventional EWMA 1 0.05 0.100 0.8773 – – – – 799.2 1.3587 2.2425
Optimal EWMA 4 0.20 0.065 0.3082 – – – – 799.8 0.6887 1.1367
Conven dual-EWMA 1 0.05 – – 0.050 0.6195 0.200 1.3387 800.2 1.0393 1.7154
Sub-opt dual-EWMA 1 0.05 0.055 0.6286 0.055 0.6286 801.4 0.9394 1.5505
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– –
Optimal dual-EWMA 14 0.70 – – 0.070 0.1610 0.475 0.5009 805.7 0.6059 1.0000
7 400 3 20 Conventional 5 0.25 – 1.4433 – – – – 400.0 1.4894 2.0644
Optimal 8 0.40 – 1.0926 – – – – 400.0 1.2666 1.7556
Conventional EWMA 1 0.05 0.100 0.8342 – – – – 399.9 0.9497 1.3164
Optimal EWMA 4 0.20 0.325 0.7382 – – – – 399.4 0.8472 1.1743
Conven dual-EWMA 1 0.05 – – 0.050 0.5886 0.200 1.2796 403.1 0.8292 1.1493
Sub-opt dual-EWMA 1 0.05 – – 0.055 0.6221 0.260 1.4916 400.6 0.8238 1.1419
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Optimal dual-EWMA 4 0.20 – – 0.105 0.4010 0.740 1.3510 402.8 0.7215 1.0000
8 800 3 20 Conventional 5 0.25 – 1.5297 – – – – 799.8 2.1697 2.7623
Optimal 11 0.55 – 0.9648 – – – – 800.0 1.5681 1.9964
Conventional EWMA 1 0.05 0.100 0.8773 – – – – 799.2 1.1285 1.4367
Optimal EWMA 4 0.2 0.280 0.7142 – – – – 799.1 1.0042 1.2785
Conven dual-EWMA 1 0.05 – – 0.050 0.6200 0.200 1.3396 802.6 0.9257 1.1785
Sub-opt dual-EWMA 1 0.05 – – 0.055 0.6540 0.240 1.4880 802.1 0.9281 1.1815
Optimal dual-EWMA 4 0.20 – – 0.085 0.3771 0.715 1.3735 805.9 0.7855 1.0000
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Note: The significant improvements are in bold.

to help practitioners identify the optimal sample size and sampling in- conclusion is presented and future research directions are suggested in
terval, and other charting parameters under different operational sce- Section 6.
narios, (iii) a design table is provided in order to facilitate the practical
application of the proposed scheme, and the design and application of
the proposed scheme are illustrated through a case study, (iv) a com- 2. Optimization design
puter program is developed based on the proposed optimization algo-
rithm that ease the design process of the charting scheme. 2.1. Assumptions
The remainder of the article is organized as follows. Section 2 pre-
sents the optimization design of the dual-EWMA scheme. Section 3 dis- In the design of a dual-EWMA scheme, the quality characteristic x is
cusses the results of numerical studies conducted to evaluate the per- considered to be independent and follow a normal distribution. If a shift
formance of the charting scheme under different circumstances. Section in the process mean occurs, the process mean μ will be changed accord-
4 develops a design table in order to facilitate the practical application ingly, that is,
of the proposed scheme. Section 5 illustrates the design and applica-
tion of the proposed charting scheme through a case study. Finally, the (1)
M. Shamsuzzaman et al. Computers & Industrial Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx-xxx

Table 2
EANOS values of the seven charting schemes in the 23⁠ factorial experiments.

Design
Run specification EANOS

Conventional Optimal Conventional Optimal Conventional dual- Sub-optimal dual- Optimal dual-
τ δm R scheme scheme EWMA scheme EWMA scheme EWMA scheme EWMA scheme EWMA scheme

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⁠ ax

1 400 1 10 488.3 300.9 277.2 135.8 161.3 139.2 73.9

2 800 1 10 902.4 539.8 484.1 202.3 255.7 219.7 91.4

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3 400 3 10 109.4 58.6 50.9 26.1 16.9 17.5 14.1
4 800 3 10 193.9 95.3 79.7 31.9 20.9 21.6 16.2
5 400 1 20 902.4 539.8 484.1 202.3 253.8 219.1 91.4
6 800 1 20 1678.9 978.7 858.7 307.5 413.6 351.2 111.3
7 400 3 20 193.9 95.3 79.7 31.9 20.8 21.8 16.3
8 800 3 20 347.2 158.9 127.9 38.9 25.8 27.1 18.3

Note: The minimum EANOS values are in bold.

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Table 3
Design table.

τ R δm
⁠ ax Conventional dual-EWMA (λ1⁠ = 0.05, λ2⁠ = 0.20) Optimal dual-EWMA

n h UCL1⁠ UCL2⁠ AEQLn⁠ orm n h λ1⁠ UCL1⁠ λ2⁠ UCL2⁠ ATS0⁠

200 5 3.0 1 0.20 0.4813 1.0788 1.141 3 0.60 0.160 0.4911 0.740 1.3156 202.0
4.5 1 0.20 0.4805 1.0768 1.207 1 0.20 0.090 0.6879 0.610 2.1985 200.1
6.0 1 0.20 0.4810 1.0780 1.286 1 0.20 0.135 0.8705 0.765 2.6047 200.4

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15 3.0 1 0.07 0.5411 1.1898 1.145 3 0.20 0.110 0.4464 0.690 1.3892 200.1
4.5 1 0.07 0.5415 1.1907 1.198 2 0.13 0.130 0.6264 0.780 1.9367 200.2
6.0 1 0.07 0.5415 1.1907 1.316 1 0.07 0.095 0.7861 0.725 2.7256 201.8
25 3.0 1 0.04 0.5661 1.2367 1.146 3 0.12 0.095 0.4313 0.670 1.4188 201.1
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4.5 1 0.04 0.5662 1.2370 1.203 2 0.08 0.110 0.5948 0.76 1.9723 201.3
6.0 1 0.04 0.5670 1.2388 1.320 1 0.04 0.080 0.7423 0.710 2.7765 201.4
400 5 3.0 1 0.20 0.5202 1.1507 1.147 3 0.60 0.125 0.4609 0.710 1.3689 401.9
4.5 1 0.20 0.5205 1.1514 1.191 2 0.40 0.145 0.6416 0.795 1.8987 403.6
6.0 1 0.20 0.5202 1.1507 1.309 1 0.20 0.110 0.8260 0.740 2.6886 403.1
15 3.0 1 0.07 0.5750 1.2536 1.145 3 0.20 0.090 0.4256 0.665 1.4327 401.6
4.5 1 0.07 0.5757 1.2553 1.202 2 0.13 0.105 0.5895 0.755 1.9933 401.9
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6.0 1 0.07 0.5750 1.2536 1.313 1 0.07 0.075 0.7269 0.705 2.7988 403.3
25 3.0 1 0.04 0.5983 1.2979 1.157 4 0.16 0.100 0.3987 0.730 1.3526 403.3
4.5 1 0.04 0.5996 1.3006 1.206 2 0.08 0.085 0.5426 0.740 2.0252 403.0
6.0 1 0.04 0.5989 1.2992 1.318 1 0.04 0.065 0.6928 0.685 2.8134 400.3
600 5 3.0 1 0.20 0.5408 1.1891 1.147 3 0.60 0.110 0.4467 0.690 1.3903 604.4
4.5 1 0.20 0.5409 1.1893 1.195 2 0.40 0.130 0.6265 0.780 1.9369 602.3
6.0 1 0.20 0.5415 1.1907 1.316 1 0.020 0.095 0.7861 0.725 2.2759 603.8
15 3.0 1 0.07 0.5946 1.2910 1.160 4 0.27 0.105 0.4060 0.735 1.3482 602.8
RR

4.5 1 0.07 0.5946 1.2910 1.209 2 0.13 0.090 0.5557 0.740 2.0104 605.8
6.0 1 0.07 0.5941 1.2901 1.321 1 0.07 0.065 0.6873 0.690 2.8092 603.4
25 3.0 1 0.04 0.6169 1.3337 1.170 4 0.16 0.090 0.3887 0.720 1.3792 602.0
4.5 1 0.04 0.6169 1.3337 1.194 2 0.08 0.075 0.5227 0.725 2.0521 605.5
6.0 1 0.04 0.6168 1.3335 1.308 1 0.04 0.055 0.6484 0.675 2.8465 600.4
800 5 3.0 1 0.20 0.5559 1.2177 1.149 3 0.60 0.105 0.4473 0.680 1.4089 807.2
4.5 1 0.20 0.5555 1.2169 1.198 2 0.40 0.120 0.6147 0.770 1.9641 807.0
6.0 1 0.20 0.5559 1.2177 1.323 1 0.20 0.085 0.7541 0.715 2.7471 805.7
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15 3.0 1 0.07 0.6070 1.3147 1.169 4 0.27 0.095 0.3928 0.725 1.3620 801.2
4.5 1 0.07 0.6078 1.3165 1.204 2 0.13 0.080 0.5325 0.730 2.0311 800.3
6.0 1 0.07 0.6070 1.3146 1.317 1 0.07 0.060 0.6701 0.680 2.8247 803.7
25 3.0 1 0.04 0.6297 1.3583 1.183 4 0.16 0.080 0.3711 0.710 1.3881 800.5
4.5 1 0.04 0.6292 1.3573 1.2043 2 0.08 0.070 0.5095 0.715 2.0514 800.4
6.0 1 0.04 0.6297 1.3583 1.303 1 0.04 0.050 0.6260 0.665 2.8575 802.8
1000 5 3.0 1 0.20 0.5662 1.2370 1.145 3 0.60 0.095 0.4314 0.670 1.4191 1008.4
4.5 1 0.20 0.5666 1.2379 1.204 2 0.40 0.110 0.5947 0.760 1.9723 1009.4
6.0 1 0.20 0.5666 1.2379 1.317 1 0.20 0.080 0.7423 0.710 2.7764 1003.3
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15 3.0 1 0.07 0.6173 1.3345 1.170 4 0.27 0.090 0.3885 0.720 1.3787 1002.4
4.5 1 0.07 0.6169 1.3337 1.192 2 0.13 0.075 0.5231 0.725 2.0536 1001.5
6.0 1 0.07 0.6173 1.3345 1.310 1 0.07 0.055 0.6484 0.675 2.8466 1005.5
25 3.0 1 0.04 0.6386 1.3755 1.182 4 0.16 0.075 0.3648 0.700 1.3965 1000.4
4.5 1 0.04 0.6389 1.3760 1.204 2 0.08 0.065 0.4961 0.710 2.0664 1000.2
6.0 1 0.04 0.6383 1.3748 1.288 1 0.04 0.050 0.5994 0.660 2.8775 1009.0

where μ0⁠ and σ0⁠ are the in-control (IC) process mean and standard
deviation, and δ is the shift in process mean in terms of σ0⁠ . For IC
process, δ = 0. In this study, the process shift δ is assumed to follow a
uniform distribution. To ease the design process, σ is considered to be
fixed without any shift (i.e. σ = σ0⁠ ), and the proposed dual-EWMA
scheme is designed for detecting upward shifts in the process mean.
However, the proposed scheme can easily be modified to a symmetri-
cal dual-EWMA scheme for identifying downward shifts in the process
mean.

5
M. Shamsuzzaman et al. Computers & Industrial Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx-xxx

inspection resources (labor equipped with measurement instrumenta-

tion) through a field test.

2.3. Performance measures

The Average Time to Signal (ATS) is commonly used to measure

F
the effectiveness of a charting scheme. The ATS is the average time re-
quired by a charting scheme to detect an OOC state or generate a false
alarm. The OOC ATS indicates the power (or effectiveness) of the chart-

Fig. 3. 3D model of the part of interest.
2.2. Design specifications
The following three parameters are needed for the design of a
OO
ing scheme. On the other hand, the IC ATS (ATS0⁠ ) indicates the false
alarm rate. Previously, the OOC ATS value at a specified mean shift
(δ) was utilized frequently as the objective function to be minimized in
designing a charting scheme. However, this approach does not assure
that the designed charting scheme will perform well over an extensive
range of shifts. Thus, the objective is to design a charting scheme that
can efficiently signal the whole range of δ shifts (i.e. 0 < δ ≤ δm
⁠ ax). A
sounder measure of the overall effectiveness of a charting scheme moni-

PR
dual-EWMA scheme:
toring a range of mean shifts is the Average Extra Quadratic Loss (AEQL)
(Haridy, Maged, Kaytbay, & Araby, 2017; Shamsuzzaman, 2014; Wu et
• τ, minimum allowable IC ATS0⁠
al., 2008; Wu, Yang, Khoo, & Castagliola, 2011),
⁠ ax, maximum possible shift in the process mean
• δm
• R, maximum allowable inspection rate
(2)
The value of τ can be determined based on the allowable false alarm
probability. A greater τ should be used if treating the false alarms where ATS(δ) is the OOC ATS for any given value of δ, and f(δ) is the

D
is very expensive. Otherwise, a lower value of τ is recommended so density function of δ. The AEQL in Eq. (2) is an inclusive measure of
that the detection power of the charting scheme can be increased. the effectiveness of a charting scheme over a wide span of shifts rather
The value of δm than at a particular shift. The index AEQL provides a direct relationship
⁠ ax can be estimated depending on the data collected
between the effectiveness of the charting scheme and the economic out-
TE
during out-of-control (OOC) cases. Since such kind of data are rarely
come using loss function.
recorded in real application, δm ⁠ ax may be assumed to be six. Previ-
As mentioned before, it is highly challenging to estimate the prob-
ous researches show that when δ ≥ 6, nearly all charting schemes pro-
ability distribution of δ in practice due to the lack of adequate data
duce identical ATS values close to 0.5, and therefore, the assessment
on the OOC cases (Pan, Jin, & Wang, 2011). Moreover, the distribu-
of chart’s effectiveness beyond (δ = 6) is not beneficial (Shamsuzzaman
tion of δ varies continuously over time and differs case by case. Conse-
et al., 2016a, 2016b; Wu et al., 2008, 2010). The parameter R refers
EC

quently, a study can rarely be found in the literature that evaluates the
to the inspection rate which is the number of products inspected per
unit time. The value of R can be estimated based on the existing
RR
CO
UN

Fig. 4. Conventional 3 − σ chart in phase I.

6
M. Shamsuzzaman et al. Computers & Industrial Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx-xxx

F
OO
PR
D
TE
Fig. 5. (a) Conventional dual-EWMA scheme (b) Optimal dual-EWMA scheme.
EC

The formulation of the Markov-chain for dual-EWMA scheme is in-

tractable, and all researchers in the available literature use simulation in
such a case (for instance, see, (Bilen, Khan, & Chattinnawat, 2017; Haq
& Khoo, 2019; Sanusi, Mukherjee, & Xie, 2019; Shamsuzzaman et al.,
2016a, 2016b; Zaman, Abbas, Riaz, & Lee, 2016). Following the same
direction, the proposed study also evaluates ATS(δ) of the dual-EWMA
scheme based on Monte Carlo simulation in place of Markov-chain ap-
RR

proach.

2.4. Optimization model

For the dual-EWMA scheme, we need to plot and update the follow-
ing two statistics:
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(4)

where λ1⁠ and λ2⁠ (0 < (λ1⁠ , λ2⁠ ) < 1) are the weighting parameters of the
dual-EWMA scheme. The initial value of or (i.e. at i = 0) is the IC
Fig. 6. Normalized ATS profiles of the two schemes in the case study. process mean (i.e. = = μ0⁠ ), and is the mean of the ith sample.
The dual-EWMA scheme will identify an OOC case if and/or falls
UN

effectiveness of a charting scheme based on a known or an estimated above the corresponding upper control limits UCL1⁠ and UCL2⁠ .
distribution function of δ. Instead, most of the articles (Shamsuzzaman The design of the dual-EWMA scheme can be modeled as follows:
et al., 2016a, 2016b; Sparks, 2000; Wu et al., 2011) used a uniform dis- (5)
tribution to represent the process shifts function. In this article, it is also
assumed that δ follows a uniform distribution. Thus, from Eq. (2), (6)

(7)
(3)

7
M. Shamsuzzaman et al.
where r is the actual inspection rate. Among the six design variables, n,
h, λ1⁠ , UCL1⁠ , λ2⁠ , and UCL2⁠ , the charting parameters, n, λ1⁠ , UCL1⁠ , λ2⁠ , and
UCL2⁠ are considered as independent, while the value of sampling inter-
val, h can be calculated based on n as follows:
(8)
Eq. (8) confirms that the available inspection resources are en-
tirely used (i.e. the constraint (7) is fulfilled). The optimization model
searches for the optimal values of n, h, λ1⁠ , UCL1⁠ , λ2⁠ and UCL2⁠ that ensure
the minimization of AEQL and fulfills the constraints on τ and R.
2.5. Optimization search algorithm
The search algorithm followed in the optimization process is accom-
plished in three levels. Firstly, the initial value of n is set at 1 (n = 1)
and increased by a step size of 1 (Δn = 1). For any specific value of n,
the value of h is computed by Eq. (8). Secondly, for any specific set
of values of n and h, the parameters (λ1⁠ , UCL1⁠ ) and (λ2⁠ , UCL2⁠ ) of the
dual-EWMA scheme are optimized in parallel across the shift range of
(0 < δ ≤ δm⁠ ax/2) and (δm ⁠ ax/2 < δ ≤ δm
⁠ ax), respectively. The optimal value
of λ1⁠ (or λ2⁠ ) is explored from a very small value (say, 0.01) with a step
size of 0.005 (Δλ1⁠ = Δλ2⁠ = 0.005), and the control limit UCL1⁠ (or UCL2⁠ ) is
adjusted to ensure ≥ 2τ. Here, is the IC ATS0⁠ of an individual
EWMA scheme. Once the preliminary values of λ1⁠ and UCL1⁠ (or λ2⁠ and
D
′
UCL2⁠ ) are allocated, the index AEQL for an individual EWMA scheme is
computed as follows:
For (0 < δ ≤ δm
⁠ ax/2),
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(9)
EC
For (δm
⁠ ax/2 < δ ≤ δm
⁠ ax),
(10)
where the variable is the steady-state OOC ATS (Marion R
RR
Reynolds, Amin, & Arnold, 1990) generated by an individual EWMA
scheme, which is computed by the Markov-chain approach. The
steady-state OOC ATS assumes that the process starts and stays in an
in-control condition for a long time and then a process shift occurs
at some random time between two samples rather than within sam-
ples, where this random time is assumed to have a uniform distribu-
tion between two samples. At the end of the second level search, the
CO
optimal values of λ1⁠ , UCL1⁠ , λ2⁠ and UCL2⁠ are identified based on the
′
minimum value of AEQL . Thirdly, for any given set of values of n,
h, λ1⁠ , UCL1⁠ , λ2⁠ and UCL2⁠ , the ATS0⁠ of the dual-EWMA scheme is es-
timated by simulation using 10,000 iterations. If necessary, UCL1⁠ and
UCL2⁠ are adjusted by multiplying a factor a (a < 1 if ATS0⁠ > τ, and a > 1
if ATS0⁠ < τ) in order to make sure that ATS0⁠ ≥ τ (terminate if ATS0⁠ ≥ τ
UN
and ). Then, the value of AEQL of the dual-EWMA
scheme is calculated using Eq. (3). At the end of the entire three-lev-
els search, the optimal dual-EWMA scheme that generates the minimum
AEQL and ensures the constraints, ATS0⁠ ≥ τ and r ≤ R, is finalized. The
corresponding optimal values of n, h, λ1⁠ , UCL1⁠ , λ2⁠ , and UCL2⁠ are also
recorded. The whole three levels of search are illustrated in Fig. 2.
A computer program dual-ewma.c has been developed using C pro-
gramming language based on the above search algorithm, which takes
a few minutes to complete the design of an optimal dual-
8
Computers & Industrial Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx-xxx
EWMA scheme. Once the optimization is carried out, the designed
dual-EWMA chart can be used continuously until the process conditions
change, and the improvement in effectiveness can be benefited on a
long-term basis. The program can be obtained from the corresponding
author upon request.
F
3. Numerical studies
OO
3.1. Study I
The effectiveness of the following seven charting schemes are com-
pared in this study:
(1) The conventional scheme. This charting scheme uses a sample
size n of 5 (sampling interval h is computed by Eq. (8)). A sample
size of five (n = 5) is widely used in the design of a conventional
PR
charting scheme (Montgomery, 2013).
(2) The optimal scheme. The charting parameters such as n, h, and
upper control limit, UCL of this version of the scheme are all op-
timized.
(3) The conventional EWMA scheme. This EWMA charting scheme uses
a fixed weighting parameter λ = 0.1. Conventionally, the widely
used values of λ are 0.05, 0.1, and 0.20, however, these choices
are rather subjective (Montgomery, 2013). In this design, n is set
at 1 (n = 1) as the EWMA scheme with n = 1 is considered to be
highly successful from a general viewpoint (Marion R. Reynolds &
Stoumbos, 2004).
(4) The optimal EWMA scheme (Shamsuzzaman & Wu, 2012). It is an
individual EWMA charting scheme that optimizes the charting pa-
rameters, n, h, λ, and UCL.
(5) The conventional dual-EWMA scheme. In this scheme, two indi-
vidual EWMA schemes are combined. Similar to the conventional
EWMA scheme, the weighting parameters (i.e. λ1⁠ , λ2⁠ ) of the two in-
dividual EWMA schemes are fixed at values of 0.05 and 0.20, re-
spectively, and n is set at 1.
(6) The suboptimal dual-EWMA scheme. Like the conventional
dual-EWMA scheme, the sample size n is set at 1 in this scheme,
however, the charting parameters, λ1⁠ , UCL1⁠ , λ2⁠ , and UCL2⁠ of the two
individual EWMA schemes are optimized.
(7) The optimal dual-EWMA scheme. Similar to the conventional and
suboptimal dual-EWMA schemes, two individual EWMA schemes
are combined in this scheme. However, the charting parameters, n,
h, λ1⁠ , UCL1⁠ , λ2⁠ , and UCL2⁠ of the two individual EWMA schemes are
optimized following the proposed optimization algorithm.
The designs of the above mentioned charting schemes are conducted
under the standard condition (μ0⁠ = 0, σ0⁠ = 1). In this study, a normal-
ized AEQLn⁠ orm for each charting scheme is computed by,
(11)
where AEQL is the value generated by a charting scheme and AEQLo⁠ pt
d
⁠ ual-EWMA is the value obtained from the optimal dual-EWMA scheme.
For any charting scheme, if the value of AEQLn⁠ orm is greater than one,
the effectiveness of the optimal dual-EWMA scheme is superior to this
scheme, and vice versa.
The effectiveness of the seven charting schemes is compared through
a 23⁠ full factorial experiment (Montgomery, 2013). The specifications
τ, R and δm ⁠ ax are considered as the inputs, and AEQLn ⁠ orm (Eq. (11))
is used as the output. The low and high levels for each of the three
input parameters are decided as
M. Shamsuzzaman et al. Computers & Industrial Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx-xxx

follows. sample that leads to a reduction in the detection power of the chart-
ing scheme and thus produces larger AEQL. The interaction τ*R
(p-value = 0.047) and δm ⁠ ax*R (p-value = 0.018) have significant nega-
τ 400 800
R 10 20
tive impacts on AEQL, which indicate that when R is set at the low
δm⁠ a 1.0 3.0 value, there is more substantial growth in AEQL when δm ⁠ ax or τ in-
creases, and vice versa.

F
For each of the eight runs (23⁠ = 8), the resulting AEQL and AEQLn⁠ orm
values together with charting parameters of the seven schemes are 3.3. Study III

recorded in Table 1. The optimization design guarantees the fulfillment
of the constraints on τ and R. The values of AEQLn⁠ orm in all runs are
larger than 1, which indicates that the optimal dual-EWMA scheme al-
ways outperforms the other six schemes to a significant degree.
The grand average, , of the AEQLn⁠ orm values for each chart-
ing scheme over all runs is also computed. The values of dis-
play that the optimal dual-EWMA scheme surpasses (based on AEQL)
the conventional scheme, the optimal scheme, the conventional
OO
In this study, the effectiveness of the seven charting schemes are
further investigated based on Average Number of Observations to Sig-
nal (ANOS). The index, ANOS is the average number of items to be in-
spected by a charting scheme to signal an OOC condition. The smaller
the ANOS, the better is the performance of a charting scheme. For a
given value of mean shift δ, the value of ANOS can be estimated as fol-
lows (Saha, Khoo, Lee, & Castagliola, 2018),

PR
EWMA scheme, the optimal EWMA scheme, the conventional
(12)
dual-EWMA scheme, and the sub-optimal dual-EWMA scheme by about
283%, 93%, 60%, 15%, 35%, and 28%, respectively. Even though the Finally, the expected value of ANOS over a range of δ shifts (i.e.
design of the optimal dual-EWMA scheme is more complicated than that 0 < δ ≤ δm
⁠ ax), where, δ follows a uniform distribution, is given by,
of the conventional EWMA or conventional dual-EWMA scheme, its ap-
plication can be justified by the significant improvement in the overall
performance. The results show that all optimal charting schemes have (13)
better performance compared to its corresponding conventional designs.

D
These results actually highlight the importance of the optimization de-
sign. It is also worthy of noting that the optimal dual-EWMA scheme is
The values of EANOS of the seven charting schemes are calculated
superior to the sub-optimal dual-EWMA scheme by about 28%, which
for each run of the 23⁠ factorial experiment (see Table 2). As shown in
TE
is completely attributable to the optimization of the sample size. This
Table 2, the EANOS values of the optimal dual-EWMA scheme is the
finding shows that the optimization of sample size is an effective way to
lowest one in all runs, which clearly demonstrates its effectiveness in
further improve the performance of the charting scheme, which is con-
identifying the OOC conditions compared to other charting schemes.
sistent with many other optimization designs of charting schemes avail-
able in the literature (for instance, (Haridy et al., 2017; Shamsuzzaman
et al., 2016a, 2016b; Wu et al., 2011)). The reduction in AEQL of the op-
4. Design table
EC

timal dual-EWMA scheme compared to the other six charting schemes

is also checked by paired-t tests (Montgomery, 2013). The results show
To ease the application of the proposed dual-EWMA scheme, a de-
that the reduction in AEQL of the optimal dual-EWMA scheme com-
sign table (see Table 3) has been provided so that user can select the
pared to that of the conventional scheme (p-value = 0.001), the op-
charting parameters values directly based on the information of the
timal scheme (p-value = 0.000), the conventional EWMA scheme
design specifications. The design table shows the charting parameters
(p-value = 0.000), the optimal EWMA scheme (p-value = 0.000), the
of the optimal dual-EWMA scheme for different design specification
RR

conventional dual-EWMA scheme (p-value = 0.001) and the sub-opti-

values of τ (=200, 400, …, 1000), R (=5, 15, 25) and δm ⁠ ax (=3,
mal dual-EWMA scheme (p-value = 0.000) is statistically significant at
4.5, 6). Besides, the values of AEQLn⁠ orm of the corresponding conven-
5% significance level for all.
tional dual-EWMA scheme are also shown in order to clarify the pos-
sible advantage obtained by utilizing the optimal dual-EWMA scheme.
3.2. Study II
It can be seen that, for any combination of τ, R, and δm ⁠ ax, the value of
AEQLn⁠ orm of the conventional dual-EWMA scheme is constantly greater
In this study, the impacts of the three input parameters, τ, R and δm
CO

⁠ ax
than one, which manifests the reliable supremacy of the proposed opti-
on the output, AEQL of the optimal dual-EWMA scheme are investigated
mal dual-EWMA scheme over the conventional dual-EWMA scheme.
based on the 23⁠ factorial experiment. The significant main and inter-
In this design table, the values of the charting parameters of
action effects are identified through an analysis of variance (ANOVA)
one-sided charting scheme are displayed. In order to design two-sided
(at 5% significance level). In the ANOVA analysis, the three-factor in-
schemes, the designer will simply need to double the given value of τ,
teraction is considered as a noise term as the replicate size is one. The
and then the charting parameters values can be identified exactly as the
results from the ANOVA test show that the index, AEQL of the opti-
same as those of the one-sided scheme. The control limits of the EWMA
mal dual-EWMA scheme is significantly affected by the main factors,
UN

schemes are symmetrical, and the values of λ of both of the one-sided

τ, R, and δm ⁠ ax, and the two-factor interaction, τ*R and δm ⁠ ax*R (“*” in-
and two-sided schemes are the same. As mentioned earlier, the design of
dicates interaction). It can be seen that the factors, τ (p-value = 0.017)
the optimal dual-EWMA scheme is conducted under the standard con-
and δm ⁠ ax (p-value = 0.006) have significant positive impacts on AEQL,
dition (μ0⁠ = 0, σ0⁠ = 1), thus the users will need to calculate the actual
i.e. larger τ and δm ⁠ ax result in larger AEQL, and vice versa. This is be-
control limits using real values of μ0⁠ and σ0⁠ as follows (LCL1⁠ and LCL2⁠
cause a larger τ produces broader control limits, which reduces detec-
are the lower control limits of the dual-EWMA schemes):
tion power of the charting scheme, and thus a greater value of AEQL.
Similarly, a smaller δm ⁠ ax results in larger sample, which improves the
detection effectiveness of the charting scheme and minimizes AEQL. (14)
Conversely, the AEQL is negatively influenced by the main factor R
(p-value = 0.004). This means, a smaller R results in larger value of
AEQL, and vice versa. The reason is that smaller R results in a smaller

9
M. Shamsuzzaman et al.
5. Case study
The design and application of the proposed dual-EWMA scheme
have been investigated through a case study in an engineering company
in Egypt. The main products of the company are blenders, choppers,
irons, blowers, and fans. Most of these products are mainly made of plas-
tic parts. Consequently, plastic injection moulding has the largest share
of all the manufacturing operations in this company. Due to the high
cost of the scrap and the environmental regulations, it was necessary
for the company to stop the money bleeding by lowering the scrap rate.
Therefore, the company decided to use SPC charting scheme for moni-
toring and controlling the injection moulding process. The part of inter-
est in this study is an impeller which is mounted on a shaft connected to
a compressor of a vacuum cleaner. Hence one of the important critical
to the quality characteristic is the internal diameter of the hub in the
center of the impeller (Fig. 3).
For the part of interest, a diameter smaller than the lower specifi-
cation limit (10.90 mm) usually causes a crack on the hub to appear
and propagate, which eventually leads to the failure of the impeller.
On the other hand, a diameter larger than the upper specification limit
(11.09 mm) causes the impeller not to be appropriately mounted on the
shaft. The variation in the diameter of the hub takes place during the
solidification state of the injection moulding process. The primary im-
provement strategy is to design an SPC charting scheme for monitor-
D
ing the hub diameter in order to predict the excessive variation in the
process so that timely actions can be taken to minimize the defective
rate in the future. According to the available inspection resources (la-
bor equipped with measurement instrumentation), the inspection rate
TE
was estimated as 5 (R = 5). Since there is no record about the maximum
variation in the process mean, it is decided to set δm
⁠ ax at 4.5 as suggested
by the QA Engineer.
Generally, the control charts are designed over two phases, namely,
phase I and phase II designs. In phase I, Shewhart-type control charts
(e.g. , and X&MR charts) are generally used in order to esti-
EC
mate the in-control (IC) process parameters (i.e. µ0⁠ and σ0⁠ ) values (Mo-
hammad Shamsuzzaman, Haridy, Alsyouf, & Rahim, 2018). At the same
time, the estimated IC process parameters are recommended to be used
in designing an advanced charting scheme such as EWMA scheme for
monitoring the process in phase II (Montgomery, 2013). The design and
application of the proposed charting scheme are explained below.
RR
5.1. Phase I design
In this phase, 30 samples of the hub diameter x are collected (sample
size, n = 5). After initial screening, 25 samples are accepted, which con-
forms the normality assumption of the data (p-value = 0.057). Then, a
CO
conventional chart (upper control limit, UCL = 11.05067, central
line, CL = 11.01216, lower control limit, LCL = 10.97365) is designed
based on the 25 samples (Fig. 4). The conventional chart exhibits
an IC status of the process with μ0⁠ = 11.01 and σ0⁠ = 0.0294.
5.2. Phase II monitoring
UN
The estimated μ0⁠ and σ0⁠ (=11.01 and 0.0294, respectively) obtained
in phase I are now used to design the proposed optimal dual-EWMA
scheme to monitor the process. In order to demonstrate the effective-
ness of the proposed dual-EWMA scheme, a conventional dual-EWMA
scheme is also designed. Since the IC ATS0⁠ of the conventional 3-σ
chart is 370 (Montgomery, 2013), it is decided to set the IC
ATS0⁠ at 400 (τ = 400) (which is the closest value to 370) so that the
design table (see Table 2) developed in this article can be utilized.
Since the objective is to design a two-sided scheme, the value of τ
10
Computers & Industrial Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx-xxx
is doubled to 800 (=2 × 400). From Table 2 (see the row for τ = 800,
R = 5, δm
⁠ ax = 4.5), the parameters of the two-sided dual-EWMA schemes
are found.
Conventional dual-EWMA scheme:
n = 1, h = 0.20, λ1⁠ = 0.05, UCL1⁠ = 0.5555, LCL1⁠ = −0.5555, λ2⁠ = 0.20,
F
UCL2⁠ = 1.2169, LCL2⁠ = −1.2169
Optimal dual-EWMA scheme:
n = 2, h = 0.40, λ1⁠ = 0.12, UCL1⁠ = 0.6147, LCL1⁠ = −0.6147, λ2⁠ = 0.77,
OO
UCL2⁠ = 1.9641, LCL2⁠ = −1.9641
Since the control limits obtained from the design table is standard-
ized, Eq. (12) is used to finalize the control limits as follows.
Conventional dual-EWMA scheme:
PR
Optimal dual-EWMA scheme:
In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the optimal dual-EWMA
scheme over the conventional dual-EWMA scheme, 20 simulated data
samples on the diameter x are used. The first 10 samples are cre-
ated from a normal distribution under IC conditions (μ0⁠ = 11.01,
σ0⁠ = 0.0294), whereas, the last 10 samples are created from a normal
distribution under an OOC condition assuming that the process experi-
enced a shift of size 1.5σ at the 11th event (μ1⁠ = 11.054, σ0⁠ = 0.0294).
The EWMA statistics and of the two EWMA schemes are calculated
(Eq. (4)) for all the 20 samples on the diameter xi⁠ and are plotted on the
corresponding charting schemes (see Fig. 5).
Fig. 5(a) illustrates that the conventional dual-EWMA scheme sig-
nals the OOC state at the 20th sample point, whereas, the optimal
dual-EWMA scheme (Fig. 5(b)) signals the OOC state at the 12th sam-
ple point, which evidently illustrates the supremacy of the optimal
dual-EWMA scheme over the conventional dual-EWMA scheme. This
improvement in detection power is totally due to the optimization de-
sign presented in this study.
The normalized ATS (i.e. ATS/ATSo⁠ pt dual-EWMA) profiles of the two
charting schemes (i.e. conventional and optimal dual-EWMA) over the
shift range of (δ = 0 to δm
⁠ ax = 4.5) are also shown in Fig. 6, which show-
cases the supremacy of the optimal dual-EWMA scheme compared to
the conventional dual-EWMA scheme for almost whole range of shifts in
mean, other than a small range of (0 < δ ≤ 1.75). However, as shown in
Table 3, the optimal dual-EWMA scheme is superior to the conventional
dual-EWMA scheme by about 20% (in terms of AEQL), for this specific
application. Since the monitoring of the process can be conducted by a
computer, the operators will only need to key-in the values of xi⁠ , then
entire calculation and plotting of the charting scheme will be performed
automatically.
6. Conclusions
The injection moulding process is widely used in the plastic indus-
try. The defective rate of the injection moulding process producing plas-
tic products is usually quite high, and the efficient disposal of the de-
fective plastic parts are also critical because of the regulations related
to environmental and waste management issues. Thus, companies are
stimulated to find all possible ways to reduce the defective rate of
the process. However, almost all available research articles used off-
M. Shamsuzzaman et al.
line quality control tools (mainly the design of experiments) in order to
improve the quality of items produced by injection moulding. This study
designs a dual-EWMA scheme for statistical monitoring and controlling
of a plastic injection moulding process so that timely action can be taken
to reduce the quantity of defective items. The optimization algorithm of
the dual-EWMA scheme considers a wide domain of mean shifts in the
injection moulding process, which is more common and realistic in prac-
tice. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme is investigated through
comprehensive numerical studies, which show that the proposed opti-
mal dual-EWMA scheme surpasses (in terms of AEQL) the conventional
scheme, the optimal scheme, the conventional EWMA scheme, the
optimal EWMA scheme, the conventional dual-EWMA scheme, and the
sub-optimal dual-EWMA scheme by about 283%, 93%, 60%, 15%, 35%,
and 28%, respectively. The sensitivity of the design specifications on the
effectiveness of the proposed dual-EWMA scheme is also investigated,
and a design table is provided to ease the application of the charting
scheme in practice. Finally, the design procedure and application of the
proposed charting scheme are illustrated through a real case study in an
injection moulding process producing plastic parts.
In the proposed design, the mean shift is represented by a uniform
distribution. Further research could be conducted to consider the effec-
tiveness of the charting scheme under different shift distributions such
as Rayleigh and Beta distributions.
D
7. Funding details
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agen-
TE
cies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declared that there is no conflict of interest.
EC
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