STATISTICAL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

(SQQS 3063) THEORIES & CONCEPTS OF CONTROL CHARTS

Chance and Assignable Causes of Variation

A process is operating with only chance causes of variation present is said to be in statistical control. A process that is operating in the presence of assignable causes is said to be out of control.

Chapter 5

Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 6th Edition by Douglas C. Montgomery. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Statistical Basis of the Control Chart

A control chart contains
A center line An upper control limit A lower control limit

A point that plots within the control limits indicates the process is in control
No action is necessary

A point that plots outside the control limits is evidence that the process is out of control
Investigation and corrective action are required to find and eliminate assignable cause(s)

There is a close connection between control charts and hypothesis testing

Chapter 5

Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 6th Edition by Douglas C. Montgomery. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Photolithography Example

Important quality characteristic in hard bake is resist flow width Process is monitored by average flow width
Sample of 5 wafers Process mean is 1.5 microns Process standard deviation is 0.15 microns

Note that all plotted points fall inside the control limits
Process is considered to be in statistical control
Chapter 5 Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 6th Edition by Douglas C. Montgomery. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 4

Chapter 5

Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 6th Edition by Douglas C. Montgomery. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Shewhart Control Chart Model

Chapter 5

Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 6th Edition by Douglas C. Montgomery. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Chapter 5

Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 6th Edition by Douglas C. Montgomery. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Chapter 5

Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 6th Edition by Douglas C. Montgomery. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Chapter 5

Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 6th Edition by Douglas C. Montgomery. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

More Basic Principles

Charts may be used to estimate process parameters, which are used to determine capability Two general types of control charts
Variables
Continuous scale of measurement Quality characteristic described by central tendency and a measure of variability

Attributes
Conforming/nonconforming Counts

Control chart design encompasses selection of sample size, control limits, and sampling frequency
Chapter 5 Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 6th Edition by Douglas C. Montgomery. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 10

 Control Chart design: An important factor in control chart. This includes selection of Sample size how many measurements (n) Control limits how many sigma Sampling frequency how often (interval of hour, an hour, a day, etc)

Chapter 5

Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 6th Edition by Douglas C. Montgomery. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Types of Process Variability

Chapter 5

Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 6th Edition by Douglas C. Montgomery. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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 Stationary and uncorrelated data vary around a fixed mean in a stable or predictable manner Stationary and autocorrelated successive observations are dependent with tendency to move in long runs on either side of mean Nonstationary process drifts without any sense of a stable or fixed mean

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Reasons for Popularity of Control Charts

1. Control charts are a proven technique for improving productivity. 2. Control charts are effective in defect prevention. 3. Control charts prevent unnecessary process adjustment. 4. Control charts provide diagnostic information. 5. Control charts provide information about process capability.

Chapter 5

Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 6th Edition by Douglas C. Montgomery. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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CHOICE OF CONTROL LIMITS 3-Sigma Control Limits

Probability of type I error is 0.0027

Probability Limits
Type I error probability is chosen directly For example, 0.001 gives 3.09-sigma control limits

Warning Limits
Typically selected as 2-sigma limits

Chapter 5

Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 6th Edition by Douglas C. Montgomery. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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 3 Sigma control limit (99.7%): Control limits on a control chart are commonly drawn at 3s from the center line because 3-sigma limits are a good balance point between two types of errors: Type I errors (e.g.1 - 0.997 = 0.0027) occur when a point falls outside the control limits even though no special cause is operating. The result is a witch-hunt for special causes and adjustment of things here and there. The tampering usually distorts a stable process as well as wasting time and energy.
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 Type II or beta errors occur when you miss a special cause because the chart isn't sensitive enough to detect it. In this case, you will go along unaware that the problem exists and thus unable to root it out.
All process control is vulnerable to these two types of errors. The reason that 3-sigma control limits balance the risk of error is that, for normally distributed data, data points will fall inside 3-sigma limits 99.7% of the time when a process is in control. This makes the witch hunts infrequent but still makes it likely that unusual causes of variation will be detected.
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Probability limits Sometimes the control limit is not specified by the multiple of , but in the form of probability limits (Type I error). For example: 0.001 probability limit. Then, the multiple for equals to 3.09. Probability limit is mentioned in a one direction, whereas it is supposed to be both direction. US use the 3 sigma approach, but UK and western Europe use probability limit. If the distribution of quality characteristic is normal, then, the difference between the two limits is very little.
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Warning limits Some control charts have 2 control limits. The outer limit 3 sigma Search for assignable causes. This is the action limit. The inner limit 2 sigma This is the warning limit. Can increase sensitivity in the control chart and thus can signal a shift more quickly (may also increase the risk of false alarm Type I error)
Chapter 5 Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 6th Edition by Douglas C. Montgomery. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 19

Sampling and Rational Subgroups

Although control charts are meant for monitoring a production process as a whole, taking product measurements on an assembly line can be costly, can slow down a process, or can diminish product quality Naturally, companies do not usually measure all products as this may be counterproductive or economically unfeasible. As a compromise, most companies select samples in the form of rational subgroups

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Sampling
A sample is taken at an appropriate interval to check the performance of the process Sampling must be made at the appropriate frequency so that: No extra samples are taken minimize cost Enough samples for the control chart are taken to be most reliable for detecting out of control conditions
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Rational Subgroups
Rational Subgroups is an important concept in collecting data for control charts The subgroups or samples should be selected so that if special (assignable ) causes are present, then: The chance for differences between subgroups will be maximized The chance for differences due to these assignable causes within a sample should be minimized

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 Samples should be selected in a way that explores the variation of interest to you. The variation of interest might be shift-to-shift, day-to-day, hour-to-hour, batch-to-batch, etc. One possible way of looking at control charts is that they are a statistical test to determine if the variation from subgroup to subgroup is consistent with the average variation within the subgroups. A basic principle is to choose the subgroups in a way that will give the maximum chance for the measurements in each subgroup to be alike (within) and the maximum chance for the subgroups to be different (between).
Chapter 5 Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 6th Edition by Douglas C. Montgomery. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 23

Pattern on Control Charts

A control chart may indicate an out of control condition when one or more points fall beyond the control limits or when the plotted points exhibit some nonrandom pattern of behavior.

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Although all points are within the limit, the points do not indicate statistical control because: Pattern is very nonrandom in appearance;19 of 25 points plot below the center line, while only 6 plot above Following 4th point, 5 points in a row increase in magnitude, a run up There is also an unusually long run down beginning with 18th point
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A run is defined as as sequence of observation of the same type. Run up: above the center line Run down: below the center line Two points in a row above/below the center line is known as run of length 2 A run of length 8 or more points has very low probability of occurrence in a random sample of points. Therefore, if this occurs, it is often taken as a signal of an out of control condition
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 Other pattern: cyclical behavior This indicates that a problem with the process such as operator fatigue, raw material deliveries, heat or stress build up. This problem chart could be improved by eliminating or reducing the sources of variability causing this cyclic behavior

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The Cyclic Pattern

Chapter 5

Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 6th Edition by Douglas C. Montgomery. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Chapter 5

Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 6th Edition by Douglas C. Montgomery. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Discussion of the Sensitizing Rules

Chapter 5

Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 6th Edition by Douglas C. Montgomery. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Phase I and Phase II

The construction of a standard control chart involves two phases i.e. Phase I and Phase II. Phase I : Primarily assist operating personnel in bringing the process into a state of statistical control by determining if the process has been in control over the period of time the data were collected and to see if reliable control limit can be established to monitor future production
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 Phase II: Use the control chart in Phase I to monitor the process by comparing the sample statistic for each successive sample as it is drawn from the process to the control limit. Process is assumed to be reasonably stable Emphasis is on process monitoring, not on bringing an unruly process into control

Chapter 5

Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 6th Edition by Douglas C. Montgomery. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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