5.

Process Capability Study

The process capability study is a long-term study that is conducted over an extended operating
time and includes sources of variation external to a machine. These sources are typically
summarized under the headings of Man, Machine, Material, Method and Environment.

5.1 Procedure
A process capability study includes the following steps:

Select parts from series production in “rational” samples (not sorted); at least 25 subgroups
should be evaluated. The preferred sample size is n = 5. Overall, at least 125 parts should be
examinded.
Measure part characteristics and record the results along with production sequence.
Statistical evaluation of the data: Evaluate temporal stability and statistical distribution.
Calculate capability indices.

Note: In special cases, use of fewer than 125 parts may be unavoidable due to time or cost of
making the necessary measurements, or if the test is destructive. Smaller sample sizes lead to
larger confidence intervals of the characteristic(s) being studied. In turn, this reduces the
accuracy of the conclusions that may be drawn from the data. The quality assurance office must
be consulted before the sample size is reduced.

5.2 Data Evaluation (Standard Method)

The following evaluation steps 5.2.1 to 5.2.3 must also be performed in the same way if the
process capability or performance is to be calculated on the basis of the data from quality
control charts.

5.2.1 Studying the Process Stability (Analysis of Variance and F Test)

First of all, it is specified whether measured values are temporally stable or not. If statistical
software is being used, this information can be gained using the analysis of variance (ANOVA).
For this purpose, the total variation (variance) of all single values is divided into two parts: a
variation “Within subgroup” of groups of five, for example, and a variation “Between
subgroups” of means from group to group. An F test is then used to check whether the variation
“Between subgroups” is significantly larger than the variation “Within subgroup” or not.

What is this information used for? Ultimately, a capability index must be given as the result of
the process capability study, whether or not a trend or batch-to-batch variation is detected in the
process. The result of the F test now allows at the very least a rough distinction to be made as to
whether a process model with a stable mean or an extended normal distribution can be used as a
process model.

More critical however are cases where the control limits for the standard deviations are
exceeded. This indicates that the process variation is not stable, that the process behavior cannot
be explained statistically and hence, that the process is not in statistical control.
It is necessary to study and eliminate the causes of this “chaotic” behavior and to repeat the
capability study.

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