Saylor BUS300: Operations Management

Unit 4: Quality Management

4.2: Statistical Process Control

Tcmc Quality Management Services:
Terry McCann’s “Process Diagrams”

Pay attention to the key concepts related to the development of a

process map and workflow charts. Process development is crucial to an
efficient and effective organization. Each process contains the workflow
(system design with tools used) and the procedures (work instructions
for people). Both of these must align and together become the process.

Profit Costs Quality: What is the Relationship

Wikipedia: “Statistical Process Control “

Read this wiki page to better history and application of the SPC method.
This is a standard method used in many organizations to monitor the
quality of processes. Familiarizing yourself with the method is the first
step in understanding how processes can be monitored for more effec-
tive evaluation.

Statistical Process Control

Statistical process control (SPC) is a method of quality control which

uses statistical methods. SPC is applied in order to monitor and control a
process. Monitoring and controlling the process ensures that it operates
at its full potential. At its full potential, the process can make as much
conforming product as possible with a minimum (if not an elimination) of
waste (rework or scrap). SPC can be applied to any process where the
“conforming product” (product meeting specifications) output can be
measured. Key tools used in SPC include control charts; a focus on con-
tinuous improvement; and the design of experiments. An example of a
process where SPC is applied is manufacturing lines.

Overview

Objective Analysis of Variation

SPC must be practiced in 2 phases: The first phase is the initial establish-
ment of the process, and the second phase is the regular production use
of the process. In the second phase, a decision of the period to be ex-
amined must be made, depending upon the change in 4 – M conditions
(Man, Machine, Material, Method) and wear rate of parts used in the
manufacturing process (machine parts, jigs, and fixture)

Emphasis on Early Detection

An advantage of SPC over other methods of quality control, such as “in-

spection”, is that it emphasizes early detection and prevention of prob-
lems, rather than the correction of problems after they have occurred.

Increasing Rate of Production

In addition to reducing waste, SPC can lead to a reduction in the time re-
quired to produce the product. SPC makes it less likely the finished
product will need to be reworked.

Limitations

SPC is applied to reduce or eliminate process waste. This, in turn, elimi-

nates the need for the process step of post-manufacture inspection. The
success of SPC relies not only on the skill with which it is applied, but
also on how suitable or amenable the process is to SPC. In some cases,
it may be difficult to judge when the application of SPC is appropriate.
[citation needed]

History

SPC was pioneered by Walter A. Shewhart at Bell Laboratories in the

early 1920s. Shewhart developed the control chart in 1924 and the con-
cept of a state of statistical control. Statistical control is equivalent to the
concept of exchangeability developed by logician William Ernest
Johnson also in 1924 in his book Logic, Part III: The Logical Foundations
of Science. Along with a gifted team at AT&T that included Harold Dodge
and Harry Romig he worked to put sampling inspection on a rational sta-
tistical basis as well. Shewhart consulted with Colonel Leslie E. Simon in
the application of control charts to munitions manufacture at the Army’s
Picatinny Arsenal in 1934. That successful application helped convince
Army Ordnance to engage AT&T’s George Edwards to consult on the
use of statistical quality control among its divisions and contractors at
the outbreak of World War II.

W. Edwards Deming invited Shewhart to speak at the Graduate School

of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and served as the editor of
Shewhart’s book Statistical Method from the Viewpoint of Quality
Control (1939) which was the result of that lecture. Deming was an impor-
tant architect of the quality control short courses that trained American
industry in the new techniques during WWII. The graduates of these
wartime courses formed a new professional society in 1945, the
American Society for Quality Control, which elected Edwards as its first
president. Deming traveled to Japan during the Allied Occupation and
met with the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) in an
effort to introduce SPC methods to Japanese industry .

“Common” and “Special” Sources of Variation

Main article: Common cause and special cause (statistics)

Shewhart read the new statistical theories coming out of Britain, espe-
cially the work of William Sealy Gosset, Karl Pearson, and Ronald Fisher.
However, he understood that data from physical processes seldom pro-
duced a “normal distribution curve”; that is, a Gaussian distribution or
“bell curve”. He discovered that data from measurements of variation in
manufacturing did not always behave the way as data from measure-
ments of natural phenomena (for example, Brownian motion of particles).
Shewhart concluded that while every process displays variation, some
processes display variation that is natural to the process (“common”
sources of variation)- these processes were described as in (statistical)
control. Other processes additionally display variation that is not present
in the causal system of the process at all times (“special” sources of vari-
ation), and these were described as ‘not in control’.

Application to non-manufacturing processes

In 1988, the Software Engineering Institute suggested that SPC could be

applied to non-manufacturing processes, such as software engineering
processes, in the Capability Maturity Model (CMM). The Level 4 and
Level 5 practices of the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) use
this concept.

The notion that SPC is a useful tool when applied to non-repetitive,

knowledge-intensive processes such as research and development or
systems engineering has encountered skepticism and remains
controversial.

In his seminal article No Silver Bullet, Fred Brooks points out that the
complexity, conformance requirements, changeability, and invisibility of
software results in inherent and essential variation that cannot be re-
moved. This implies that SPC is less effective in the domain of software
development than in, e.g., manufacturing.

In 2014 a method for data validation of measurement data, based on

SPC, was tried out. The method enabled the user to validate data con-
taining static wave components (process noise), a requirement when
working on hydro power plants where slowly damping surges are abun-
dant during normal operation.

Variation in Manufacturing
In manufacturing, quality is defined as conformance to specification.
However, no two products or characteristics are ever exactly the same,
because any process contains many sources of variability. In mass-man-
ufacturing, traditionally, the quality of a finished article is ensured by
post-manufacturing inspection of the product. Each article (or a sample
of articles from a production lot) may be accepted or rejected according
to how well it meets its design specifications. In contrast, SPC uses sta-
tistical tools to observe the performance of the production process in or-
der to detect significant variations before they result in the production of
a sub-standard article. Any source of variation at any point of time in a
process will fall into one of two classes.

1) “Common Causes” – sometimes referred to as

nonassignable, normal sources of variation. It refers to
many sources of variation that consistently acts on
process. These types of causes produce a stable and re-
peatable distribution over time.
2) “Special Causes” – sometimes referred to as assigna-
ble sources of variation. It refers to any factor causing
variation that affects only some of the process output.
They are often intermittent and unpredictable.

Most processes have many sources of variation; most of them are minor
and may be ignored. If the dominant sources of variation are identified,
however, resources for change can be focused on them. If the dominant
assignable sources of variation are detected, potentially they can be
identified and removed. Once removed, the process is said to be “sta-
ble”. When a process is stable, its variation should remain within a known
set of limits. That is, at least, until another assignable source of variation
occurs. For example, a breakfast cereal packaging line may be designed
to fill each cereal box with 500 grams of cereal. Some boxes will have
slightly more than 500 grams, and some will have slightly less. When the
package weights are measured, the data will demonstrate a distribution
of net weights. If the production process, its inputs, or its environment
(for example, the machines on the line) change, the distribution of the
data will change. For example, as the cams and pulleys of the machinery
wear, the cereal filling machine may put more than the specified amount
of cereal into each box. Although this might benefit the customer, from
the manufacturer’s point of view, this is wasteful and increases the cost
of production. If the manufacturer finds the change and its source in a
timely manner, the change can be corrected (for example, the cams and
pulleys replaced).

Application of SPC

The application of SPC involves three main phases of activity:

1. Understanding the process and the specification limits.

2. Eliminating assignable (special) sources of variation, so that the

process is stable.

3. Monitoring the ongoing production process, assisted by the use of

control charts, to detect significant changes of mean or variation.

Control Charts

The data from measurements of variations at points on the process map

is monitored using control charts. Control charts attempt to differentiate
“assignable” (“special”) sources of variation from “common” sources.
“Common” sources, because they are an expected part of the process,
are of much less concern to the manufacturer than “assignable” sources.
Using control charts is a continuous activity, ongoing over time.

Stable Process

When the process does not trigger any of the control chart “detection
rules” for the control chart, it is said to be “stable”. A process capability
analysis may be performed on a stable process to predict the ability of
the process to produce “conforming product” in the future.

Excessive Variation

When the process triggers any of the control chart “detection rules”, (or
alternatively, the process capability is low), other activities may be per-
formed to identify the source of the excessive variation. The tools used
in these extra activities include: Ishikawa diagrams, designed experi-
ments, and Pareto charts. Designed experiments are a means of objec-
tively quantifying the relative importance (strength) of sources of varia-
tion. Once the sources of variation have been quantified, actions may be
taken to reduce or eliminate them. Methods of eliminating a source of
variation might include: development of standards; staff training; error-
proofing and changes to the process itself or its inputs.

Mathematics of Control Charts

Digital control charts use logic based rules that determine “derived val-
ues” which signal the need for correction. For example,

derived value = last value + average absolute difference

between the last N numbers.

Tcmc Quality Management Services:

Terry McCann’s “Process Diagrams”

Pay attention to the key concepts related to the development of a

process map and workflow charts. Process development is crucial to an
efficient and effective organization. Each process contains the workflow
(system design with tools used) and the procedures (work instructions
for people). Both of these must align and together become the process.
 Process Diagrams: Turtle, Pr…
Pr…

MyBusinessExcellence: “Process
Design And Improvement”

Watch this video for an introduction to process design and improvement.

This video provides a foundation for the use of process design as a tool
to improve processes to impact quality. Every time we adjust work, we
are changing the process. This means that as an operations manager, it
is important that you understand how each change impacts the whole
process. When an adjustment needs to be made to improve quality a
systematic approach to process design is the best method for a success-
ful change.

Video Link https://youtu.be/deyi3BTG5zI

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