Content by Scott A. Hindle
How Analysis of Means Can Help Answer Important QuestionsFor instance: Should I use my new peak flow meter?
Wed, 03/24/2021 - 12:03
A quick Google search returns many instances of the saying, “A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure.” The doubt implied by this saying extends to manufacturing plants: If you measure a product on two (…
Why Use Control Charts?Can they help to do a better job?
Wed, 06/26/2019 - 12:03
In everyday language, “in control” and “under control” are synonymous with “in specification.” Requirements have been met. Things are OK. No trouble. “Out of control,” on the other hand, is synonymous with “out of specification.” Requirements have…
Process Capability: What It Is and How to Ensure It Helps, Part 5Why is it important to keep the process stable?
Wed, 02/13/2019 - 12:03
‘Process Capability: What It Is and How It Helps,” parts one, two, three, and four, discussed Alan’s development in the field of process capability1 He’d learned about the mistakes that can be made and how to avoid them in practice to become better…
Why Did Shewhart Place a Premium on Time Order Sequence?Avoid the unnecessary waste of being misled
Wed, 12/05/2018 - 12:03
Walter Shewhart, father of statistical process control and creator of the control chart, put a premium on the time order sequence of data. Since many statistics and graphs are unaffected by this, you might wonder what the fuss is about. Read on to…
Making Sense of Data: How to Go About It?To make sense of any data set, start an analysis with a process behavior chart
Thu, 06/28/2018 - 12:03
I recently got hold of the set of data shown in figure 1. What can be done to analyze and make sense of these 65 data values is the theme of this article. Read on to see what is exceptional about these data, not only statistically speaking.…
Sustaining Predictable and Economic Operation: What Does It Take?Entropy will make each and every process unpredictable
Mon, 11/06/2017 - 12:03
In theory, a production process is always predictable. In practice, however, predictable operation is an achievement that has to be sustained, which is easier said than done. Predictable operation means that the process is doing the best that it…
What Is the Penalty in Being Wrong?More on the use of C<sub>p</sub> and C<sub>pk</sub>
Wed, 10/19/2016 - 16:10
In all walks of life, being wrong can come with a penalty. It’s also true that, if you’re lucky, you sometimes get away with it without anybody being the wiser. To understand what this means in relation to the capability indexes Cp and Cpk, read on…
Process Capability: What It Is and How It Helps, Part 4Getting to the <em>current</em> capability of the process
Thu, 09/01/2016 - 16:45
A t the end of part three of this four-part series on process capability, Alan was ready to identify a contact at the factory who could assist in providing some context around the collected data and the overall production process. Discussion with…
Process Capability: What It Is and How It Helps, Part 3There’s more to it than Cp and Cpk numbers
Wed, 08/31/2016 - 16:40
Part two of this four-part series on process capability concluded with Alan just about to meet Sarah for a second time. He thought he was making good progress with his analysis of Product 874 data until he was asked to assess process capability,…
Process Capability: What It Is and How It Helps, Part 2Seeing the data differently
Tue, 08/30/2016 - 13:36
In part one of this four-part series, we considered the basics of process capability, as witnessed through the learning curve of Alan in his quest to determine the product characteristics of the powder, Product 874. We pick up with Alan here as he…