Statistical Process Control

What is SPC?
Involves comparing the output of a process or

service with a standard and taking remedial actions

in case of a discrepancy between the two.
Involves in determining whether a process can
produce a product that meets desired specification.
Is a powerful collection of problem-solving tools
useful in achieving process stability and improving
capability through the reduction of variability.
Is one of the greatest technological developments of
the twentieth century because it is based on sound
underlying principles, is easy to use, has significant
impact, and can be applied to any process.

In other word, SPC is..

SPC is a method of quality control which

uses statistical methods to monitor and

control a process.
S (statistical) By the help of statistical
data and statistical analyzing methods
P (process) understanding the present
process capability and quality specifications
C (control) control the quality to meet the
specifications with minimum variations.

(cont)
Is achieved by taking periodic sample

from the process and plotting these

sample points on the chart, to see if the
process is within statistical control limits.
If a sample points is outside the limits,
the process may be out-of-control, and
the cause is sought so the problem can
be corrected.
If the sample is within the control limits,
the process continuous without
interference but with continued
monitoring.

(cont)
Online SPC means that information is

gathered about the product, process or

service while it is functional.
When the output differs from a
determination normality, correction
action is taken at the operational phase.
This approach attempts to bring the
system to an acceptable state ASAP.

The SPC Tools

There are several SPC tools that usually

use in continuous quality improvement.

The tools are:
Check Sheets
Histograms
Ishikawa / Fishbone Diagram
(commonly known as Cause-and-Effect
Diagram
Steam and Leaf Plot
Run Charts (commonly known as Flow
charts)
Pareto Diagram

Among these tools, the Shewhart control

chart is the most technically

sophisticated.
To understand the statistical concepts
that form the basis of SPC, we must first
describe Shewharts theory of variability.

Chance and Assignable Causes of

Quality Variation
Chance causes of quality variation :
Commonly known as common cause.
Natural variability or background noise is

the cum effect of small and unavoidable

causes an inherentance part of the
process.
Is the effect of many small causes and
cannot be totally eliminated.
A process that is operating with only
chance causes of variation present is said
to be in statistical control.

Example
Body Temperature
If our bodys processes are in

control, we expect temperature to

vary slightly above and below 98.6
degrees F. This is the common
cause (or expected) variation.

(cont...)
Assignable Causes of Quality Variation:
Commonly known as special cause.
Something that is not inherent in the process.
Presented in the output of a process
This variability in key quality characteristics

usually arises from:

Improperly adjusted machine
Defective raw materials
Operator errors
A process that is operating in the presence of
assignable causes is said to be out-of-control.

(cont...)
It is "Assignable", i.e. it can be discovered and

corrected at the machine level.

Although the detection of an assignable cause
can be automated, its identification and
correction often requires intimate understanding
of the manufacturing process.
For example:
Symptom: significant yield drop.

Assignable Cause: leaky etcher load lock door

seal.
Symptom: increased e-test rejections
Assignable Cause: probe card worn out.

Control Charts

Control Charts

Developed in 1920s to distinguish

between chance cause variation in the

system and variation caused by system
is being out of control assignable cause
Provide basis information for decision
making purpose either the variation in
output is due to common cause (incontrol) or assignable cause (out-ofcontrol)

(cont...)

Why Use a Control Chart?

Reduce scrap and re-work by the systematic

elimination of assignable causes.

Prevent unnecessary adjustments.
Provide diagnostic information from the
shape of the non random patterns.
Find out what the process can do.
Provide immediate visual feedback.
Decide whether a process is production
worthy.

Types of Control Charts

Variable Control Charts
Variable Control Chart for continuous quality

measure
Product characteristic that can be measured
Length, size, weight, height, time, velocity
x
-chart: process average/ mean quality level
R-chart: process variability monitored by
control chart of range
S-Charts: process variability monitored by
control chart of Std. Dev.

(cont...)
Attribute Control Charts
Attribute Control Chart for attribute

quality measure
Product characteristic evaluated with a
discrete choice
Good-bad, yes-no, acceptabledefective, timely-late, right-wrong
and etc
p-chart: control chart for fraction of
nonconforming
np-chart: control chart for the numbers

Basic Principles
A typical control chart has control

limits set at values such that if the

process is in control, almost all points
will lie between the upper control
limit (UCL) and the lower control limit
(LCL).
when the process is in control, all the
sample points will fall within the
control limits.
If at least one point plots beyond the
control limits, the process is out-of-

(cont...)

Upper
control
limit

Central
Line

Lower
control
limit
1

Sample number

10

(cont...)
Assignable causes likely

UCL

CL

LCL

2
Samples

(cont...)

Where:
w = sample statistic
w = mean of w
=
std.
Dev
of
w
w
L = distance of the control limits
from the CL (expressed in std dev
units)

(cont...)
Example 1
Suppose we have a process that we
assume the true process mean is = 74
and the process standard deviation is
= 0.01. Samples of size n = 5 are taken
giving a standard deviation of the
sample average,
0is.01

0.0045

(cont)
Control limits can be set at 3
standard deviations from the mean
in both directions.
3-Sigma Control Limits
UCL = 74 + 3(0.0045) =
74.0135
CL = 74
LCL = 74 - 3(0.0045) =
73.9865

(cont...)

(cont. ..)
Example 2
Suppose we have a process that we
assume the true process mean is =
1.5 and the process standard deviation
is = 0.15. Samples of size n = x5.
i) Calculate the std dev. of the sample
average
ii) Based on 3-sigma control limits,
calculate the UCL, CL and LCL.

(cont...)
Solution:
Suppose we have a process that we
assume the true process mean is = 1.5
and the process standard deviation is =
x of size n = 5. Calculate the
0.15. Samples
std dev. of the sample
average
.
0.15

0.0671

3-Sigma Control Limits

UCL = 1.5 + 3(0.0671) = 1.7013
CL = 1.5
LCL = 1.5 - 3(0.0671) = 1.2987

Design of Control Chart

Choice of Control Limits
Specifying the control limits is one of the critical

decisions in designing a control chart.

Moving the control limits farther from the CL
increase the type-II error
Widening the control limits increase the type-II
error.
Move the control limits closer to CL increase
the type-I error, decrease the type-II error.
Control limits on a control chart are commonly
drawn at 3-sigma from the center line because
3-sigma limits are a good balance point
between two types of errors:

(cont...)
Type-I error
The risk of point falling beyond the control limits.
Indicating an out-of-control condition when no

assignable cause is presented.

Type-II error
The risk of point falling between the

control limits when the process is really

out-of-control

Control Limits and

Errors

(cont...)

Type I error:
Probability of searching for
a cause when none exists

UCL

Process
average

LCL

(a) Three-sigma limits

Control Limits and

Errors

(cont...)

Type I error:
Probability of searching for
a cause when none exists

UCL

Process
average

LCL

(b) Two-sigma limits

Control Limits and

Errors

(cont...)

Type II error:
Probability of concluding
that nothing has changed

UCL
Shift in process
average
Process
average

LCL

(a) Three-sigma limits

Control Limits and

Errors

(cont...)

Type II error:
Probability of concluding
that nothing has changed

UCL
Shift in process
average
Process
average

LCL

(b) Two-sigma limits

(cont...)
Choice of Control Limit
2 types of control limits
3-sigma limits.
o

The distance between CL and the

UCL/LCL is 3 sigma.

The 0.001 probability limits chart (use

3.09 sigma).
o The distance between CL and the
UCL/LCL is 3.09 sigma.
Note:3-sigma limits popular in US.

(cont...)
Example 3 (3-sigma limits)
Assume that the piston ring diameter is normally distributed,
we find the probability of type I error is 0.0027. An incorrect
out of control signal or false alarm will be generated in 27 out
of 10,000 points. Moreover, the probability that a point taken
when the process in control will exceed the 3-sigma limit in
one
direction is 0.00135. Then the control limits for x chart would
be :
UCL = 1.5 + 3(0.0671) = 1.7013
LCL = 1.5 - 3(0.0671) = 1.2987

(cont...)
Example 3 (0.001
probability limits)

On the other hand if we specified a 0.001

type I error
probability in one direction, then the
appropriate multiple of
the standard deviation would be 3.09. Then
the control limits
for x chart would be:
UCL = 1.5 + 3.09(0.0671) = 1.7073
LCL = 1.5 3.09(0.0671) = 1.2927

(cont...)
Two Limits on Control
Some analysts suggest using two sets of limits
Charts

on control charts
The outer limits 3-sigma are the action limits;
when a point plots outside of this limit, a
search for an assignable cause is made and
corrective action is taken if necessary.
The inner limits 2-sigma are called warning
limits.
When probability limits are used, the action limits

are generally 0.001 limits and the warning limits

are 0.025 limits.

(cont...)
If one or more points fall between the

warning limits and control limits, which

mean that the process may not be
operating properly.
UCL = 1.5 + 2(0.0671) = 1.6342
LCL = 1.5 - 2(0.0671) = 1.3658

(cont...)
One possible action to take when this

occurs is to increase the sampling

frequency and/or the sample size so that
more information about the process can be
obtained quickly.
Process control schemes that change the
sample size and/or the sampling frequency
depending on the position of the current
sample value are called adaptive or
variable sampling interval (or variable
sample size, etc.) schemes.

(cont...)
Sample Size
In designing a control chart, sample

size and the frequency of sampling

must be specify.
When choosing the sample size, we
must keep in mind the size of the
shift that are trying to detect.
Use large sample if the shift of
interest is small
small sample if the shift of interest is
large.

(cont...)
Sampling Frequency
From the point of view of detecting shifts

taken large samples very frequently is not

economic feasible (cost a lot of $$)
General problem is one of allocating
sampling effort
i) either take small samples at short
intervals
ii) larger samples at longer intervals.
Manufacturing with high-volume tends to
favour smaller but frequent samples.

(cont...)
Average run length (ARL) can be use

to evaluate the decisions regarding

sample size & sampling frequency of
the control chart
ARL is the average number of points
that must be plotted before
a topoint
can be used
evaluate the
indicates an out-of-control
condition
performance
of theby
CC
using formula:
ARL = 1/p
where p is the probability that any point

(cont...)
Example 4
Chart with 3-sigma limits, p=0.0027 is the
probability that a single point falls outside the
limits when the process is in control.
x
Therefore the ARL of the chart when the process
is in control (called ARL0) is :
ARL = 1/p = 1/0.0027 = 370
which means an out-of-control signal will be
generated every 370 samples, on the average.

(cont...)
Average time to signal (ATS) can be

use to evaluate the performance of CC.

If the samples are taken at fixed time
intervals at h hours apart, then:
ATS = ARLh
Consider example #4, suppose the

sampling were done every hour, based

on ATS, we will have false alarm about
every 370 hours on average.