Control charts

Control charts, also known as Shewhart charts (after Walter A. Shewhart) or process-behavior charts, are a statistical process control tool used to determine if a manufacturing or business process is in a state of control. It is more appropriate to say that the control charts are the graphical device for Statistical Process Monitoring (SPM). Traditional control charts are mostly designed to monitor process parameters when underlying form of the process distributions are known. However, more advanced techniques are available in the 21st century where incoming data streaming can-be monitored even without any knowledge of the underlying process distributions. Distribution-free control charts are becoming increasingly popular.

If analysis of the control chart indicates that the process is currently under control (i.e., is stable, with variation only coming from sources common to the process), then no corrections or changes to process control parameters are needed or desired. In addition, data from the process can be used to predict the future performance of the process. If the chart indicates that the monitored process is not in control, analysis of the chart can help determine the sources of variation, as this will result in degraded process performance. A process that is stable but operating outside desired (specification) limits (e.g., scrap rates may be in statistical control but above desired limits) needs to be improved through a deliberate effort to understand the causes of current performance and fundamentally improve the process.

The control chart is one of the seven basic tools of quality control. Typically control charts are used for time-series data, though they can be used for data that have logical comparability (i.e. you want to compare samples that were taken all at the same time, or the performance of different individuals); however the type of chart used to do this requires consideration.

Chart details

A control chart consists of:

• Points representing a statistic (e.g., a mean, range, proportion) of measurements of a quality characteristic in samples taken from the process at different times (i.e., the data)
• The mean of this statistic using all the samples is calculated (e.g., the mean of the means, mean of the ranges, mean of the proportions)
• A center line is drawn at the value of the mean of the statistic
• The standard deviation (e.g., sqrt(variance) of the mean) of the statistic is also calculated using all the samples
• Upper and lower control limits (sometimes called “natural process limits”) that indicate the threshold at which the process output is considered statistically ‘unlikely’ and are drawn typically at 3 standard deviations from the center line.

The chart may have other optional features, including:

• Upper and lower warning or control limits, drawn as separate lines, typically two standard deviations above and below the center line
• Division into zones, with the addition of rules governing frequencies of observations in each zone
• Annotation with events of interest, as determined by the Quality Engineer in charge of the process’ quality
• Action on special causes

Usage

If the process is in control (and the process statistic is normal), 99.7300% of all the points will fall between the control limits. Any observations outside the limits, or systematic patterns within, suggest the introduction of a new (and likely unanticipated) source of variation, known as a special-cause variation. Since increased variation means increased quality costs, a control chart “signaling” the presence of a special-cause requires immediate investigation.

This makes the control limits very important decision aids. The control limits provide information about the process behavior and have no intrinsic relationship to any specification targets or engineering tolerance. In practice, the process mean (and hence the centre line) may not coincide with the specified value (or target) of the quality characteristic because the process design simply cannot deliver the process characteristic at the desired level.

Control charts limit specification limits or targets because of the tendency of those involved with the process (e.g., machine operators) to focus on performing to specification when in fact the least-cost course of action is to keep process variation as low as possible. Attempting to make a process whose natural centre is not the same as the target perform to target specification increases process variability and increases costs significantly and is the cause of much inefficiency in operations. Process capability studies do examine the relationship between the natural process limits (the control limits) and specifications, however.

The purpose of control charts is to allow simple detection of events that are indicative of actual process change. This simple decision can be difficult where the process characteristic is continuously varying; the control chart provides statistically objective criteria of change. When change is detected and considered good its cause should be identified and possibly become the new way of working, where the change is bad then its cause should be identified and eliminated.

Elements of a Control Chart

There are three main elements of a control chart as shown in Figure.

• A control chart begins with a time series graph.
• A central line (X) is added as a visual reference for detecting shifts or trends – this is also referred to as the process location.
• Upper and lower control limits (UCL and LCL) are computed from available data and placed equidistant from the central line. This is also referred to as process dispersion.

Four Process States

Processes fall into one of four states:

1) The ideal

2) The threshold

3) The brink of chaos

4) The state of chaos.

When a process operates in the ideal state, that process is in statistical control and produces 100 percent conformance. This process has proven stability and target performance over time. This process is predictable and its output meets customer expectations.

A process that is in the threshold state is characterized by being in statistical control but still producing the occasional nonconformance. This type of process will produce a constant level of nonconformances and exhibits low capability. Although predictable, this process does not consistently meet customer needs.

The brink of chaos state reflects a process that is not in statistical control, but also is not producing defects. In other words, the process is unpredictable, but the outputs of the process still meet customer requirements. The lack of defects leads to a false sense of security, however, as such a process can produce nonconformances at any moment. It is only a matter of time.

The fourth process state is the state of chaos. Here, the process is not in statistical control and produces unpredictable levels of nonconformance.