10-1

Quality Control

Production planning and

control
Chapter 1
Quality Control
William J. Stevenson
9th edition

10-2

Quality Control

Quality Control
Quality control is a process that measures
output relative to standard, and acts when
output doesn't meet standards.
The purpose of quality control is to assure that
processes are performing in an acceptable
manner.
Companies accomplish quality control by
monitoring process output using statistical
techniques.

10-3

Quality Control

Phases of Quality Assurance

Figure 10.1

Inspection
before/after
production
Acceptance
sampling

The least
progressive

Inspection and
corrective
action during
production
Process
control

Quality built
into the
process
Continuous
improvement

The most
progressive

10-4

Quality Control

Inspection
Inspection is an appraisal activity that compares
goods or services to a standard.
Inspection can occur at three points:
- before production: is to make sure that inputs
are acceptable.
- during production: to make sure that the
conversion of inputs into outputs is proceeding
in an acceptable manner.
- after production: to make a final verification
of conformance before passing goods to
customers

10-5

Quality Control

Inspection
Inspection before and after production
involves acceptance sampling procedure.
Monitoring during the production process is
referred as process control

Inputs

Acceptance
sampling

Figure 10.2

Transformation

Process
control

Outputs

Acceptance
sampling

10-6

Quality Control

Inspection
The purpose of inspection is to provide
information on the degree to which items
conform to a standard.
The basic issues of inspection are:
1 - how much to inspect and how often
2- At what points in the process inspection
should occur.
3 - whether to inspect in a centralized or on-site
location.
4- whether to inspect attributes (counts) or
variables (measures)

10-7

Quality Control

How much to inspect and how often

The amount of inspection can range from no inspection to

inspection of each item many times.
Low-cost, high volume items such as paper clips and pencils
often require little inspection because:
1. the cost associated with passing defective items is quite
low.
2. the process that produce these items are usually highly
reliable, so that defects are rare.
High-cost, low volume items that have large cost associated
with passing defective items often require more intensive
inspection such as airplanes and spaceships.
The majority of quality control applications ranges between
these two extremes.
The amount of inspection needed is governed by the cost of
inspection and the expected cost of passing defective items.

10-8

Quality Control

Inspection Costs

Cost

Figure 10.3

Total Cost

Cost of
inspection

Cost of
passing
defectives

Optimal
Amount of Inspection

10-9

Quality Control

Where to Inspect in the Process

Inspection always adds to the cost of the product;
therefore, it is important to restrict inspection efforts to
the points where they can do the most good. In
manufacturing, some of the typical inspection points
are:

Raw materials and purchased parts

Finished products

Before a costly operation

Before an irreversible process

Before a covering process

10-10

Quality Control

Examples of Inspection Points

Table 10.1
Type of
business
Fast Food

Inspection
points
Cashier
Counter area
Eating area
Building
Kitchen
Hotel/motel Parking lot
Accounting
Building
Main desk
Supermarket Cashiers
Deliveries

Characteristics
Accuracy
Appearance, productivity
Cleanliness
Appearance
Health regulations
Safe, well lighted
Accuracy, timeliness
Appearance, safety
Waiting times
Accuracy, courtesy
Quality, quantity

10-11

Quality Control

Centralized versus on-site inspection

Some situations require that inspections be

performed on site such as inspecting the hull of
a ship for cracks.

Some situations require specialized tests to be

performed in a lab such as medical tests,
analyzing food samples, testing metals for
hardness, running viscosity tests on lubricants.

10-12

Quality Control

Statistical process control

Quality control is concerned with the quality of

conformance of a process: Does the output of a
process conform to the intent of design?
Managers use Statistical Process Control (SPC) to
evaluate the output of a process to determine if it
is statistically acceptable.
Statistical Process Control:
Statistical evaluation of the output of a process
during production
Quality of Conformance:
A product or service conforms to specifications

10-13

Quality Control

Control Chart

Control Chart: an important tool in SPC

Purpose: to monitor process output to see if it is

random (in control) or not (out of control).

A time ordered plot representative sample statistics

obtained from an on going process (e.g. sample
means).

Upper and lower control limits define the range of

acceptable variation.

10-14

Quality Control

Control Chart
Figure 10.4
Abnormal variation
due to assignable sources

Out of
control

UCL
Mean

Normal variation
due to chance

LCL

Abnormal variation
due to assignable sources

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Sample number

10-15

Quality Control

Statistical Process Control

The

essence of statistical process

control is to assure that the output of a
process is random so that future output
will be random.

10-16

Quality Control

Statistical Process Control

The Control Process include

Define what is to be controlled.

Measure the attribute or the variable to be
controlled
Compare with the standard
Evaluate if the process in control or out of control
Correct when a process is judged out of control
Monitor results to ensure that corrective action is
effective.

10-17

Quality Control

Statistical Process Control

Variations and Control

Random variation: Common natural variations

in the output of a process, created by countless
minor factors. It would be negligible.

Assignable variation: A special variation whose

source can be identified (it can be assigned to a
specific cause)

10-18

Quality Control

Sampling Distribution
The variability of a sample statistic can be
described by its sampling distribution.
The sampling distribution is a theoretical
distribution that describe the random variability of
a sample statistic.
The goal of the sampling distribution is to
determine whether nonrandom-and thus,
correctable-source of variation are present in the
output of a process. How?

10-19

Quality Control

Sampling distribution
Suppose there is a process for filling bottles with
soft drink. If the amount of soft drink in a large
number of bottles (e.g., 100) is measured
accurately, we would discover slight differences
among the bottles.
If these amounts were arranged in a graph, the
frequency distribution would reflect the process
variability.
The values would be clustered close to the process
average, but some values would vary somewhat
from the mean.

10-20

Quality Control

Sampling distribution (cont.)

If we return back to the process and take samples
of 10 bottles each and compute the mean amount
of soft drink in each sample, we would discover
that these values also vary, just as the individual
values varied. They, too, would have a distribution
of values.
The following figure shows the process and the
sampling distribution.

10-21

Quality Control

Sampling Distribution

Figure 10.5
Sampling
distribution
Process
distribution

Mean

10-22

Quality Control

Sampling distribution
Properties
The sampling distribution exhibits much less
variability than the process distribution.
The sampling distribution has the same mean as
the process distribution.
The sampling distribution is a normal distribution
regardless of the shape of the process distribution.
(central limit theorem).

10-23

Quality Control

Process and sampling distribution

Process distribution
Mean =
Variance = 2
Standard deviation =

Where:
n = sample size

Sampling distribution
Mean =
Variance =

Standard deviation =

10-24

Quality Control

Normal Distribution

Figure 10.6

Standard deviation

Mean
95.44%
99.74%

10-25

Quality Control

Control limits

Control charts have two limits that separate random

variation and nonrandom variation.
Control limits are based on sampling distribution
Theoretically, the normal distribution extends in either
direction to infinity. Therefore, any value is theoretically
possible.
As a practical matter, we know that 99.7% of the values
will be within 3 standard deviation of the mean of the
distribution.
Therefore, we could decide to set the control limit at the
values that represent 3 standard deviation from the mean

10-26

Quality Control

Control Limits
Figure 10.7

Sampling
distribution
Process
distribution

Mean
Lower
control
limit

Upper
control
limit

10-27

Quality Control

SPC hypotheses
Null hypothesis
H0: the process is in control
Alternative hypothesis
H1: the process is out of control
Actual situation

Decision
Reject H0
Dont reject H0

H0 is true

H0 is false

Type I error

Correct

Correct

Type II error

10-28

Quality Control

SPC Errors

Type I error

Concluding a process is not in control when it

actually is. The probability of rejecting H0 when
it is actually true.

Type II error

Concluding a process is in control when it is not.

The probability of accepting H0 when it is
actually not true.

10-29

Quality Control

Type I Error

Figure 10.8

/2

/2

Mean
Probability
of Type I error

LCL

UCL

Using wider limits (e.g., 3 sigma limits) reduces

the probability of Type I error

10-30

Quality Control

Observations from Sample Distribution

Figure 10.9
UCL

LCL
1

2
Sample number

10-31

Quality Control

Types of control charts

There

are four types of control charts; two

for variables, and two for attributes
Attribute: counted data (e.g., number of
defective items in a sample, the number of
calls per day)
Variable: measured data, usually on a
continuous scale (e.g., amount of time
needed to complete a task, length, width,
weight, diameter of a part).

10-32

Quality Control

Variables Control Charts

Mean control charts

Used to monitor the central tendency of a

process.

X-bar charts

Range control charts

Used to monitor the process dispersion

R charts

10-33

Quality Control

Mean Chart (X-bar chart)

The control limits of the mean chart is calculated as follows: (first approach)

Upper Control Limit (UCL) =

x z x

x z

Lower Control Limit (LCL) =

x
Where:
n = sample size
z = standard normal deviation (1,2 and 3; 3 is recommended)

= process standard deviation

= standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the means

x= average of sample means

10-34

Quality Control

Mean Chart (X-bar chart)

Example
A quality inspector took five samples, each with
four observations, of the length of time for glue to
dry. The analyst computed the mean of each
sample and then computed the grand mean. All
values are in minutes. Use this information to
obtain three-sigma (i.e., z = 3) control limits for
the means of future time. It is known from
previous experience that the standard deviation of
the process is 0.02 minute.

10-35

Quality Control

Mean chart
Sample
1
Observation

12.11 12.15 12.09 12.12 12.09

12.10 12.12 12.09 12.10 12.14

12.11 12.10 12.11 12.08 12.13

12.08 12.11 12.15 12.10 12.12

12.10 12.12 12.11 12.10 12.12

10-36

Quality Control

Solution

n=4
z=3
= 0.02

12.10 12.12 12.11 12.10 12.12

x
12.11
5
0.02
UCL : 12.11 3
12.14
4

0.02
LCL : 12.11 3
12.08
4

10-37

Quality Control

Control chart
UCL

12.14

12.11

LCL

12.08

3
Sample

10-38

Quality Control

Mean chart

A second approach to calculate the control limits:

This approach assumes that the range is in control

UCL x A2 R
LCL x A2 R
Where:
A2 = A factor from table 10.2 Page 441

= Average of sample ranges

This approach is
recommended when
the process standard
deviation is not
known

10-39

Quality Control

Example

Twenty samples of n = 8 have been taken from a

cleaning operations. The average sample range for the
20 samples was 0.016 minute, and the average mean
was 3 minutes. Determine three-sigma control limits for
this process.
Solution

x = 3 min. R,

= 0.016, A2 = 0.37 for n = 8 (table

10.2)

UCL x A2 R 3 0.37(0.016) 3.006

LCL x A2 R 3 0.37(0.016) 2.994

10-40

Quality Control

Range Control Chart (R-chart)

The R-charts are used to monitor process dispersion;

they are sensitive to changes in process dispersion.
Although the underlying sampling distribution of the
range is not normal, the concept for use of range charts
are much the same as those for use of mean chart.
Control limits:

UCL D4 R
LCL D3 R
Where values of D3 and D4 are obtained from table
10.2 page 441

10-41

Quality Control

R-chart
Example
Twenty-five samples of n = 10 observations have been
taken from a milling process. The average sample range
was 0.01 centimeter. Determine upper and lower control
limits for sample ranges.
Solution
R = 0.01 cm, n = 10
From table 10.2, for n = 10, D4 = 1.78 and D3 = 0.22

UCL = 1.78(0.01) = 0.0178 or 0.018

LCL = 0.22(0.01) = 0.0022 or 0.002

10-42

Quality Control

R-Chart

Example
Small boxes of cereal are labeled net weight 10
ounces. Each hour, a random sample of size n = 4
boxes are weighted to check process control. Five hours
of observation yielded the following:
Time
9 A.M.
10 A.M
11 A.M
Noon
1 P.M

Box 1
9.8
10.1
9.9
9.7
9.7

Box 2
10.4
10.2
10.5
9.8
10.1

Box 3
9.9
9.9
10.3
10.3
9.9

Box 4
10.3
9.8
10.1
10.2
9.9

Range
0.6
0.4
0.6
0.6
0.4

10-43

Quality Control

R-Chart

Solution

n=4
For n = 4 , D3 = 0 and D4 = 2.28
0 .6 0 .4 0 .6 0 .6 0 .4
0.52
5
UCL D4 R 2.28(0.52) 1.1865
R

LCL D3 R 0(0.52) 0

Since all ranges are between the upper and lower

limits, we conclude that the process is in control

10-44

Quality Control

Using Mean and Range Charts

Mean control charts and range control charts

provide different perspectives on a process.

The mean charts are sensitive to shifts in process

mean, whereas range charts are sensitive to
changes in process dispersion.

Because of this difference in perspective, both

types of charts might be used to monitor the same
process.

10-45

Quality Control

Mean and Range Charts

Figure 10.10A
(process mean is
shifting upward)
Sampling
Distribution

UCL

Detects shift

x-Chart
LCL

UCL

R-chart
LCL

Does not
detect shift

10-46

Quality Control

Mean and Range Charts

Figure 10.10B

Sampling
Distribution

(process variability is increasing)

UCL

x-Chart
LCL

Does not
reveal increase

UCL

R-chart

Reveals increase
LCL

10-47

Quality Control

Using the Mean and Range Chart

To use the Mean and Range control chart, apply the
following procedure:
1.
2.
3.
4.

5.

Obtain 20 to 25 samples. Compute the appropriate

sample statistics (mean and range) for each sample.
Establish preliminary control limits using the formulas.
Determine if any points fall outside the control limits.
If you find no out-of-control signals, assume that the
process is in control. If not, investigate and correct
assignable cause of variation. Then resume the process
and collect another set of observations upon which
control limits can be based.
Plot the data on a control chart and check for out-ofcontrol signals.

10-48

Quality Control

Control Chart for Attributes

Control charts for attributes are used when

the process characteristic is counted rather
than measured. Two types are available:

P-Chart - Control chart used to monitor the

proportion of defectives in a process

C-Chart - Control chart used to monitor the

number of defects per unit
Attributes generate data that are counted.

10-49

Quality Control

Use of p-Charts
Table 10.3

When observations can be placed into two

categories.

Good or bad

Pass or fail

Operate or dont operate

When the data consists of multiple samples

of several observations each

10-50

Quality Control

P-Charts

The theoretical basis for the P-chart is the binomial

distribution, although for large sample sizes, the normal
distribution provides a good approximation to it.
A P-chart is constructed and used in much the same way
as a mean chart.
The center line on a P-chart is the average fraction
defective in the population, P.
The standard deviation of the sampling distribution when
P is known is:

p (1 p )
n

10-51

Quality Control

P-Chart

The Control limits

UCL p z p
LCL p z p

If p is unknown, it can be estimated from the samples. That

estimates p, replaces p in the preceding formulas, and
^

p replaces p.
p

Total number of defectives

Total number of observations

10-52

Quality Control

P-Chart

Example
An inspector counted the number of defective
monthly billing statements of a company
telephone in each of 20 samples. Using the
following information, construct a control chart
that will describe 99.74 percent of the chance
variation in the process when the process is in
control. Each sample counted 100 statements.

10-53

Quality Control

P-Chart

Example (cont.)
Sample

# of defective

Sample

# of defective

11

10

12

12

12

13

14

10

15

21

11

16

10

10

17

22

18

12

13

19

10

10

10

20

16

Total

220

10-54

Quality Control

P-Chart
Solution
Z for 99.74 percent is 3

p
^

220
0.11
20(100)

p (1 p )

0.11(1 0.11)
0.03
100

Control limits are

^

UCL p z

0.11 3(0.03) 0.20

0.11 3(0.03) 0.02

LCL p z

10-55

Quality Control

P-Chart

Solution (cont.)

Fraction
defective

0.20

UCL

0.11

0.02

LCL
1

10

Sample number

20

10-56

Quality Control

Use of c-Charts
Table 10.3

Use only when the number of occurrences per

unit of measure can be counted; nonoccurrences cannot be counted.

Scratches, chips, dents, or errors per item

Cracks or faults per unit of distance
Breaks or Tears per unit of area
Bacteria or pollutants per unit of volume
Calls, complaints, failures per unit of time

10-57

Quality Control

C-Chart

When the goal is to control the number of occurrences (e.g.,

defects) per unit, a C-chart is used.
Units might be automobiles, hotel rooms, typed papers, or rolls of
carpet.
The underlying sampling distribution is the Poisson distribution.
Use of Poisson distribution assumes that defects occur over some
continuous region and that the probability of more than one
defect at any particular point is negligible.
The mean number of defects per unit is c and the standard
deviation is:

10-58

Quality Control

C-Chart

Control Limits

UCL c z c
LCL c z c

If the value of c is unknown, as is generally the

case, the sample estimate, c , is used in place
of c. where:

c = Number of defects Number of samples

10-59

Quality Control

C-Chart

Example
Rolls of coiled wire are
monitored using c-chart.
Eighteen rolls have been
examined, and the number
of defects per roll has
been recorded in the
following table. Is the
process in control? Plot
the values on a control
chart using three standard
deviation control limit.

sample # of
Sample # of
defects
defects

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

3
2
4
5
1
2
4
1
2

10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18

1
3
4
2
4
2
1
3
1
45

10-60

Quality Control

C-Chart

Solution
Average number of defects per coil = c = 45/18 =2.5

UCL c 3 c 2.5 3 2.5 7.24

LCL c 3 c 2.5 3 2.5 2.24 0
When the computed lower control limit is negative, the
effective lower limit is zero. The calculation sometimes
produces a negative lower limit due to the use of normal
distribution as an approximation to the Poisson
distribution.
The control chart is left for the student as a homework

10-61

Quality Control

Managerial consideration concerning

control charts

At what point in the process to use control charts: at the

part of the process that (1) have tendency to go out of
control, (2) are critical to the successful operation of
the product or service.

What size samples to take: there is a positive relation

between sample size and the cost of sampling.

What type of control chart to use:

Variables: gives more information than attributes

Attributes: less cost and time than variables

10-62

Quality Control

Run Tests

Run test a test for randomness

Control charts test for points that are too extreme to be

considered random.

However, even if all points are within the control

limits, the data may still not reflect a random process.

Any sort of pattern in the data would suggest a nonrandom process.

The presence of patterns, such as trends, cycles, or bias

in the output indicates that assignable, or nonrandom,
cause of variation exist.

Analyst often supplement control charts with a run

test, which is another kind of test for randomness.

10-63

Quality Control

Nonrandom Patterns in Control charts

Figure 10.11

Trend: sustained upward or downward

movement.
Cycles: a wave pattern
Bias: too many observations on one side of
the center line
Mean shift: A shift in the average
Too much dispersion: the values are too
spread out

10-64

Quality Control

Run Test
A run is defined as a sequence of observations with a
certain characteristic, followed by one or more
observations with a different characteristic.
The characteristic can be anything that is observable.
For example, in a series AAAB, there are two runs; a
run of three As followed by a run of one B.
The series AABBBA , indicates three runs; a run of
two As followed by a run of three Bs, followed by a
run of one A.

10-65

Quality Control

Run test
There are two types of run test:

1.
2.

Runs up and down

Runs above and below the median

In order to count these runs, the data are transformed

into a series of Us and Ds (for up and down) and into
a series of As and Bs (for above and below the
median).

There are three U/D and four A/B runs for the data:
25
29
42
40 35 38
U
U
D
D U
B
B
A
A
B
A

Where the median is 36.5

10-66

Quality Control

Counting Runs
Figure 10.12

Counting Above/Below Median Runs

B A

Figure 10.13

(7 runs)

B A

Counting Up/Down Runs

(8 runs)

10-67

Quality Control

Run test procedure

1.

2.

To determine whether any patterns are present in

control charts, one must do the following:
Transform the data into both As and Bs and Us and
Ds, and then count the number of runs in each case.
Compare the number of runs with the expected
number of runs in a completely random series, which
is calculated as follows:
N
1
2
2N 1

E ( r ) med
E (r ) u / d

Where: N is the number of observations or data

points, and E(r) is the expected number of runs

10-68

Quality Control

Run test procedure (cont.)

3. Calculate the standard deviations of the runs as:
med

N 1
4

u/d

16 N 29
90

4. Calculate the test statistic (Ztest) as following:

Z test
Z test

Z test

observed number of runs expected number of runs

standard deviation of number of runs
N
1)
2

N 1
4
2N 1
r (
)
3

16 N 29
90
r (

For the median

Up and down

If the Ztest is
within 2 or 3;
then the process
is random;
otherwise, it is
not random

10-69

Quality Control

Run test

sample mean sample Mean

Example
Twenty sample means have
1
10
11
10.7
been taken from a process.
2
10.4
12
11.3
The means are shown in
3
10.2
13
10.8
the following table. Use
median and up/down run
4
11.5
14
11.8
test with
5
10.8
15
11.2
z = 2 to determine if
6
11.6
16
11.6
assignable causes of
7
11.1
17
11.2
variation are present.
Assume the median is 11.
8
11.2
18
10.6
9
10.6
19
10.7
10
10.9
20
11.9

10-70

Quality Control

Run test

Solution
sample

mean

A/B

U/D

Sample

Mean

A/B

U/D

10

11

10.7

10.4

12

11.3

10.2

13

10.8

11.5

14

11.8

10.8

15

11.2

11.6

16

11.6

11.1

17

11.2

11.2

18

10.6

10.6

19

10.7

10

10.9

20

11.9

10-71

Quality Control

Run test
Solution (cont.)
1. A/B: 10 runs
and
U/D: 17 runs
2. Expected number of runs for each test is:
N
20
1
1 11
2
2
2 N 1 2(20) 1

13
3
3

E (r ) med
E (r ) u / d

3. The standard deviations are:

med

N 1

20 1
2.18
4

u/d

16 N 29

90

16( 20) 29
1.8
90

4. The ztest values are:

10 11
0.46
2.18
17 13

2.22
1.8

Z med
Zu / d

Although the median

test doesnt reveal any
pattern, because its Ztest
value is within 2, the
up/down test does; its
value exceed +2.
consequently,
nonrandom variations
are probably present in
the data and, hence, the
process is not in control

10-72

Quality Control

Process Capability

Tolerances or specifications

Process variability

Range of acceptable values established by

engineering design or customer requirements

Natural variability in a process

Process capability

Process variability relative to specification

10-73

Quality Control

Capability analysis

Capability analysis is the determination of whether the

variability inherent in the output of a process falls within
the acceptable range of variability allowed by the design
specification for the process output.
If it is within the specifications, the process is said to be
capable. if it is not, the manager must decide how to
correct the situation.
We cannot automatically assume that a process that is in
control will provide desired output. Instead, we must
specifically check whether a process is capable of meeting
specifications and not simply set up a control chart to
monitor it.
A process should be both in control and within
specifications before production begins.

10-74

Quality Control

Process Capability
Figure 10.15
Lower
Specification

Upper
Specification

A. Process variability
matches specifications
Lower
Specification

Upper
Specification

B. Process variability
Lower
Upper
well within specifications Specification Specification

C. Process variability
exceeds specifications

10-75

Quality Control

Capability analysis
If the product doesnt meet specifications (not capable) a
manager might consider a range of possible solutions such
as:
1. Redesign the process.
2. Use an alternative process.
3. Retain the current process but attempt to eliminate
unacceptable output using 100% inspection.
4. Examine the specifications to see whether they are
necessary or could be relaxed without adversely affecting
customer satisfaction.

10-76

Quality Control

Process Capability Ratio

Calculate the capability and compare it to
specification width. If the capability is less than the
specification width, the process is capable.
Where: Capability = 6; where is the process SD
Or calculate
Process capability ratio, Cp =
Cp =

specification width
process width

Upper specification lower specification

6

The process is capable if Cp is at least 1.33, this ratio

implies only about 30 parts per million can be expected
to not be within the specification

10-77

Quality Control

Capability analysis

Example
A manager has the option of using any one of three
machines for a job. The machines and their standard
deviations are listed below. Determine which machines
are capable if the specifications are 10 mm and 10.8 mm.
Machine

Standard deviation
(mm)

0.13

0.08

0.16

10-78

Quality Control

Capability analysis
Solution
Capability = 6

Machine

Standard
deviation (mm)

Machine
capability

Capable

A
B
C

0.13
0.08
0.16

0.78
0.48
0.96

Yes
Yes
No

It is clear that machine A and machine B are

capable, since the capability is less than the
specification width (10.8 10 = 0.8)

10-79

Quality Control

Capability ratio
Example
Compute the process capability ratio for each machine
in the previous example
Solution
Machine Standard Machine
deviation capability
(mm)
6

Cp

Capable

0.13

0.78

0.8/0.78= 1.03

No

B
C

0.08
0.16

0.48
0.96

0.8/0.48 = 1.67
0.8/0.96 = 0.83

Yes
No

Only machine B is capable because its ratio exceed 1.33

10-80

Quality Control

3 Sigma and 6 Sigma Quality

Upper
specification

Lower
specification
1.350 ppm

1.350 ppm

1.7 ppm

1.7 ppm

Process
mean
+/- 3 Sigma
+/- 6 Sigma

10-81

Quality Control

Cpk ratio

If a process is not centered (the mean of the

process is not in the center of the specification), a
more appropriate measure of process capability is
the Cpk ratio, because it does take the process mean
into account.
The Cpk is equal the smaller of
Upper specification process mean
3
And
Process mean lower specification
3

10-82

Quality Control

Cpk Ratio

Example
A process has a mean of 9.2 grams and a standard
deviation 0f 0.3 grams. The lower specification limit
is 7.5 grams and upper specification limit is 10.5
grams. Compute Cpk

Solution
1. Compute the ratio for the lower specification:
9.2 7.5 1.7

1.89
3(.3)
0. 9

2. Compute the ratio for the upper specification:

10.5 9.2 1.3

1.44
3(0.3)
.9

The smaller of the two ratios is 1.44

(greater than 1.33), so this is the Cpk .
Therefore, the process is capable

10-83

Quality Control

Improving Process Capability

Simplify the process
Standardize the process
Mistake-proof
Upgrade equipment
Automate

10-84

Quality Control

Improving Process Capability

Method

Examples

Simplify

Eliminate steps, reduce number of parts

Standardize

use standard parts, standard procedure

Make
Design parts that can only be assembled
mistake-proof the correct way; have simple checks to
verify a procedure has been performed
correctly
Upgrade
equipment

Replace worn-out equipment; take

advantage of technological improvements

Automate

Substitute processing for manual

processing

10-85

Quality Control

Taguchi Loss Function

Figure 10.17

Traditional
cost function
Cost

Taguchi
cost function

Lower
spec

Target

Upper
spec

10-86

Quality Control

Limitations of Capability Indexes

1.

Process may not be stable

2.

Process output may not be normally

distributed

3.

Process not centered but Cp is used