Lecturer: Prof. Dr.

Alberto Bernabeo

Week5: Variation (a)

Topic Overview
Variation (a)
Managing variation is essential to quality improvement. In 1924, Dr. Walter Shewhart of
Bell Telephone Laboratories identified two causes of variation (Figure 1):

1. Common cause variation, also known as noise variation, is inherent in a process

over time. It affects every outcome of the process and everyone working in the
process. Managing common cause variation thus requires improvements to the
process.
2. Special cause variation, also known as signal cause variation, arises because of
unusual circumstances and is not an inherent part of a process. Managing this kind
of variation involves locating and removing the unusual or special cause.

Figure 1: Managing Variation

Shewhart further distinguished two types of mistakes that are possible in managing
variation: treating a common cause as special and treating a special cause as common.
 

What is a Process Control Chart?

Process control charts are graphs or charts that plot out process data in a time-ordered
sequence. They typically include a centre line, representing the process mean or
average, and Upper and Lower Contol Limits placed 3 standard deviations either side of
the mean. Shewhart noted that, if any single measurement falls within the bounds of the
Upper & Lower Control Limits, it is considered “expected” behaviour for the process.
                                                            Figure 2: Typical Control Chart

Variation
When a process is stable and in control, as in Figure 2 above, you see nothing but
common cause variation. Common cause variation results from the normal operation
of a process or system and it is expected due to the design of the process,
routine activities, materials, and other factors.
When a single data point falls outside of the control limits, something unexpected has
happened to the process. Something out of the unusual has caused the process to
become out of control. This is one example special cause variation. It indicates
that it's very unlikely that the data point is due to noise, randomness or chance.
In this fifth lecture on Aviation Quality Systems, we shall be reviewing and learning
about the following topics:

 Variation – common causes and special causes.

 Illustration of variation using the Nelson Funnel simulation.
 The construction and use of the x-bar & R-chart for statistical quality control.

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