Modified Shewhart Charts for High Yield Processes

The conventional Shewhart p or np chart is not effective for monitoring a high yield process, a process in which the defect level is close to zero. An improved Shewhart np chart for monitoring high yield processes is proposed. A review of control charts for monitoring high yield processes is first given. The run length performance of the proposed Shewhart chart is then compared with other high yield control charts. A simple procedure for designing the chart for processes subjected to sampling or 100% continuous inspection is provided and this allows the chart to be implemented easily on the factory floor. The practical aspects of implementation of the Shewhart chart are discussed. An application of the Shewhart chart based on a real data set is demonstrated.     

An NP Control Chart Using Double Inspections

The np control chart is used widely in Statistical Process Control (SPC) for attributes. It is difficult to design an np chart that simultaneously satisfies a requirement on false alarm rate and has high detection effectiveness. This is mainly because one is often unable to make the in-control Average Run Length ARL₀ of an np chart close to a specified or desired value. This article proposes a new np control chart which is able to overcome the problems suffered by the conventional np chart. It is called the Double Inspection (DI) np chart, because it uses a double inspection scheme to decide the process status (in control or out of control). The first inspection decides the process status according to the number of non-conforming units found in a sample; and the second inspection makes a decision based on the location of a particular non-conforming unit in the sample. The double inspection scheme makes the in-control ARL₀ very close to a specified value and the out-of-control Average Run Length ARL₁ quite small. As a result, the requirement on a false alarm rate is satisfied and the detection effectiveness also achieves a high level. Moreover, the DI np chart retains the operational simplicity of the np chart to a large degree and achieves the performance improvement without requiring extra inspection (testing whether a unit is conforming or not).     

Properties and performance of the c-chart for attributes data

The effects of parameter estimation are examined for the well-known c-chart for attributes data. The exact run length distribution is obtained for Phase II applications, when the true average number of non-conformities, c, is unknown, by conditioning on the observed number of non-conformities in a set of reference data (from Phase I). Expressions for various chart performance characteristics, such as the average run length (ARL), the standard deviation of the run length (SDRL) and the median run length (MDRL) are also obtained. Examples show that the actual performance of the chart, both in terms of the false alarm rate (FAR) and the in-control ARL, can be substantially different from what might be expected when c is known, in that an exceedingly large number of false alarms are observed, unless the number of inspection units (the size of the reference dataset) used to estimate c is very large, much larger than is commonly used or recommended in practice. In addition, the actual FAR and the in-control ARL values can be very different from the nominally expected values such as 0.0027 (or ARL₀=370), particularly when c is small, even with large amounts of reference data. A summary and conclusions are offered.     

Optimal design of synthetic np control chart based on median run length

The synthetic np chart is a combination of the np sub-chart and the conforming run length sub-chart. A procedure for the optimal design of the synthetic np chart is provided by minimizing the out-of-control median run length (MRL). The comparative results show that the synthetic np chart performs better than the corresponding standard np chart for detecting process shifts in the fraction non conforming, in terms of the MRL. An example is given to illustrate the operation of the synthetic np chart.     

A synthetic control chart for the coefficient of variation

The coefficient of variation (CV) control chart has recently been introduced in the literature. Here, the salient features of this chart and the conforming run length chart are integrated to produce a synthetic coefficient of variation (SynCV) chart. The run length profile of the SynCV chart is numerically compared with the originally proposed chart and the upward EWMA-γ² chart. The SynCV chart outperforms the original CV chart, while the EWMA-γ² outperforms the SynCV chart for small increases in the CV. However, for large increases in the CV, the SynCV chart outperforms the EWMA-γ² chart.     

An investigation of the effects of inspection errors on the run-length control charts

For continuous inspection schemes in an automated manufacturing environment, a useful alternative to the traditional p or np chart is the Run-Length control chart, which is based on plotting the run lengths (the number of conforming items) between successive nonconforming items. However, its establishment relies on the error-free inspection assumption, which can seldom be met in practice. In this paper, the effects of inspection errors on the Run-Length chart are investigated based on that these errors are assumed known. The actual false alarm probability and the average number inspected (ANI) in the presence of inspection errors are studied. This paper also presents the adjusted control limits for the Run-Length chart, which can provide much closer ANI curves to the ones obtained under error-free inspection.     

Optimal designs of multivariate synthetic |S| control chart based on median run length

The multivariate synthetic generalized sample variance |S| (synthetic |S|) chart is a combination of the |S| sub-chart and the conforming run length sub-chart. A procedure for optimal designs of the synthetic |S| chart, based on the median run length (MRL), for both zero and steady-state modes are provided by minimizing the out-of-control MRL. The comparative results show that the synthetic |S| chart performs better than the standard |S| chart for detecting shifts in the covariance matrix of a multivariate normally distributed process, in terms of the MRL. An example is given to illustrate the operation of the synthetic |S| chart.     

A Remark on the Zhang Omnibus Test for Normality

Zhang (1999) proposed a novel test statistic Q for testing normality based on the ratio of two unbiased standard deviation estimators, q₁ and q₂, for the true population standard deviation σ. Mingoti & Neves (2003) discussed some properties of q₁ and q₂ and showed that the variance of q₁ increases as the true population variance increases. In this paper, we show that the distribution of q₁ is not normal. As a result, normality percentage points for Q are not appropriate. In this paper, percentage points of Q are obtained using simulations. Monte Carlo simulations are provided to evaluate the performance of the new method and Zhang's method.     

The geometric CUSUM chart with sampling inspection for monitoring fraction defective

The detection of an upward shift in the fraction defective of a repetitive process is considered using the geometric CUSUM. This CUSUM makes use of the information provided by the run-lengths of non-defective items between successive defective items, and was initially developed for the case of 100% inspection. This paper considers the geometric CUSUM under sampling inspection, and emphasizes that the pattern of sampling inspection can be quite haphazard without causing any difficulty for the operation of the CUSUM. Two separate mechanisms for the occurrence of a shift are considered. Methods for evaluating zero-state and steady-state ARL are presented for both 100% inspection and sampling inspection. Parameter choice is also considered, and recommendations made. Comparisons with some np -charts are provided.     

Combined double sampling and variable sampling interval np chart

A combined double sampling and variable sampling interval (DSVSI) np chart is investigated in this study. The optimal design of the DSVSI np chart is based on minimizing the out-of-control average time to signal. From the numerical results, the DSVSI np chart performs reasonably well in comparison with the standard np chart, double sampling np chart, synthetic double sampling np chart, and other existing np type control charts for detecting increases in the process of fraction non conforming, based on the zero-state case. An example is provided to illustrate the application of the DSVSI np chart.     

A new nonparametric synthetic EWMA control chart for monitoring process mean

The exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control charts are widely used in chemical and process industries because of their excellent speed in catching small to moderate shifts in the process target. In usual practice, many data come from a process where the monitoring statistic is non-normally distributed or it follows an unknown probability distribution. This necessitates the use of distribution-free/nonparametric control charts for monitoring the deviations from the process target. In this paper, we integrate the existing EWMA sign chart with the conforming run length chart to propose a new synthetic EWMA (SynEWMA) sign chart for monitoring the process mean. The SynEWMA sign chart encompasses the synthetic sign and EWMA sign charts. Monte Carlo simulations are used to compute the run length profiles of the SynEWMA sign chart. Based on a comprehensive comparison, it turns out that the SynEWMA sign chart is able to perform substantially better than the existing EWMA sign chart. Both real and simulated data sets are used to explain the working and implementation of existing and proposed control charts.     

Synthetic double sampling s chart

This study proposes a synthetic double sampling s chart that integrates the double sampling (DS) s chart and the conforming run length chart. An optimization procedure is proposed to compute the optimal parameters of the synthetic DS s chart. The performance of the synthetic DS s chart is compared with other existing control charts for monitoring process standard deviation. The results show that the synthetic DS s chart is more effective for detecting increases in the process standard deviation for a wide range of shifts. An example is provided to illustrate the operation procedure of the synthetic DS s chart.     

The Steady-State Performance of Cumulative Count of a Conforming Control Chart Based On Runs Rules

Cumulative count of conforming control chart is usually used to monitor fraction nonconforming in high-yield processes. In this article, we propose m-of-m control chart based on cumulative count of conforming units for high-yield processes. The steady-state properties of the m-of-m control chart are investigated. We compare performance of the m-of-m control chart with control chart based on cumulative count of conforming units. We present Markov chain model of the m-of-m control chart to evaluate average run length, standard deviation of run length and quartiles.     

Multi-attribute unit and group runs control chart to identify the process deterioration

Gadre and Rattihalli [Gadre, M.P. and Rattihalli, R.N., 2005a, A unit and group runs based chart to identify increases in fraction nonconforming. Journal of Quality Technology, 37, 199–209.] proposed a control chart called the unit and group runs (UGR) control chart to identify increases in fraction non-conforming. In this article, the concept of UGR chart is extended to the multi-attribute case to detect the process deterioration. It is illustrated that in multi-attribute cases also, the UGR chart gives a remarkable reduction in out-of-control average time to signal when compared with the multi-attribute np chart, the multi-attribute synthetic chart and the multi-attribute group runs chart recently developed by Gadre and Rattihalli [Gadre, M.P. and Rattihalli, R.N., 2005b, Some group inspection based multi-attribute control charts. Economic Quality Control, 20, 191–204.]. The steady state performance of the multi-attribute UGR chart is also excellent. The procedure of identifying the attributes causing signal is also described and illustrated.     

Development of a multiattribute synthetic-np chart

Over the last few decades, multiattribute control charts have been widely recommended in practice. They outperform the simultaneous uniattribute charts for monitoring multiattribute processes in many applications. Jolayemi [A statistical model for the design of multiattribute control charts. Indian J Stat. 1999;61:351–365] developed a statistical model for the design of a multiattribute np (Mnp) chart. Based on this model, a multiattribute synthetic (MSyn) chart is proposed in this article. Furthermore, the main features of the MSyn chart and Mnp chart are integrated to build a multiattribute Syn-np (MSyn-np) chart. The results of the comparative studies indicate that the new MSyn-np chart significantly outperforms the Mnp chart and MSyn chart by 83% and 27%, respectively, in terms of the average number of defectives over a wide range of process shifts under different circumstances.     

Continuous single attribute control chart for Markov-dependent processes

Most of the times, the observations related to the quality characteristic of a process do not need to be independent. In such cases, control charts based on the assumption of independence of the observations are not appropriate. When the characteristic under study is qualitative, Markov model serves as a simple model to account for the dependency of the observations. For this purpose, we develop an attribute control chart under 100% inspection for a Markov dependent process by controlling the error probabilities. This chart consists of two sub-charts. For a given sample, depending upon the state of the last observation of previous sample (if any), one of these two will be used. Optimal values of the design parameters of the control chart are obtained. Chart’s performance is studied by using its capability (probability) of detecting a shift in process parameters.     

EWMA Control Charts for Monitoring High Yield Processes

The main objective of this article is to scrutinize the efficiency and verify the performance superiority of the one-sided EWMA control chart on high-yield processes. The proposed control chart is designed to detect both upward and downward shifts of the fraction of non conforming products and is developed based on non transformed geometric counts. Its algorithmic function is theoretically established and numerous performance measures are extracted using analytical methods based on the Markov modeling of the chart. Comparisons with traditional high yield control charts are conducted. Optimality tables and nomograms are included to help graphical determination of the optimal chart parameters.     

A HEWMA-CUSUM control chart for the Weibull distribution

The Weibull distribution is one of the most popular distributions for lifetime modeling. However, there has not been much research on control charts for a Weibull distribution. Shewhart control is known to be inefficient to detect a small shift in the process, while exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) and cumulative sum control chart (CUSUM) charts have the ability to detect small changes in the process. To enhance the performance of a control chart for a Weibull distribution, we introduce a new control chart based on hybrid EWMA and CUSUM statistic, called the HEWMA-CUSUM chart. The performance of the proposed chart is compared with the existing chart in terms of the average run length (ARL). The proposed chart is found to be more sensitive than the existing chart in ARL. A simulation study is provided for illustration purposes. A real data is also applied to the proposed chart for practical use.     

Nonparametric control chart based on change-point model

A change-point control chart for detecting shifts in the mean of a process is developed for the case where the nominal value of the mean is unknown but some historical samples are available. This control chart is a nonparametric chart based on the Mann–Whitney statistic for a change in mean and adapted for repeated sequential use. We do not require any knowledge of the underlying distribution such as the normal assumption. Particularly, this distribution robustness could be a significant advantage in start-up or short-run situations where we usually do not have knowledge of the underlying distribution. The simulated results show that our approach has a good performance across the range of possible shifts and it can be used during the start-up stages of the process.      

A weighted likelihood ratio test-based chart for monitoring process mean and variability

In this paper, a new single exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control chart based on the weighted likelihood ratio test, referred to as the WLRT chart, is proposed for the problem of monitoring the mean and variance of a normally distributed process variable. It is easy to design, fast to compute, and quite effective for diverse cases including the detection of the decrease in variability and individual observation case. The optimal parameters that can be used as a design aid in selecting specific parameter values based on the average run length (ARL) and the sample size are provided. The in-control (IC) and out-of-control (OC) performance properties of the new chart are compared with some other existing EWMA-type charts. Our simulation results show that the IC run length distribution of the proposed chart is similar to that of a geometric distribution, and it provides quite a robust and satisfactory overall performance for detecting a wide range of shifts in the process mean and/or variability.