Statistical Process Control

Brief Description:

This course will will go beyond the basics of SPC and present some improved control chart methods, with better ways of determining control limits.

Instructor(s):
Level: Intermediate

Who Should Take This Course:

This course will benefit anyone who has received an introduction to SPC and is ready to learn some finer points that can be very important in enabling the proper and most efficient use of control charts. This includes Six Sigma black belts and, in general, everyone who uses control charts at a comparable level, as well as those people who are responsible for Six Sigma training programs.

Dates:
To be scheduled.
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Registration:
Please read the syllabus tab, noting the prerequisites, text and software requirements.

Register Online -$499
Register Online -$399 (you must be affiliated with a college, university or high school)

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Statistical Process Control

Aim of Course:

Statistical Process Control (SPC) is an integral part of Six Sigma training programs. It can fail, though, if it is implemented mechanistically, without a thorough understanding of the methodology. This includes understanding the assumptions on which control charts are based.

This course will go beyond the basics of SPC and present some improved control chart methods, some of which are just slight variations of the standard charts, with better ways of determining the control limits of standard charts such as an R-chart, p-chart, np-chart, c-chart and u-chart. These refinements were developed by the course instructor and by others. The course will also address the following questions. Are control chart assumptions important? If so, which ones are especially critical? What is the effect on control chart properties if the assumptions are not met? How should the assumptions be checked? What action(s) should be taken if the assumptions are not met?

Prerequisite(s):

The equivalent of Introduction to Statistics 1: Inference for a Single Variable, and Introduction to Statistics 2: Working with Bivariate Data (and, if necessary before these courses, Introduction to Statistics for Beginners or Survey of Statistics for Beginners).

Participants should also be familiar with basic statistical process control (SPC) procedures and control charts.

Course Program:

SESSION 1: Review of Standard Shewhart Control Charts

• X-bar chart
• R-chart
• X chart
• p chart
• np-chart
• c chart
• u chart

SESSION 2: Testing Shewhart Measurement Control Chart Assumptions and Corrective Action

• The importance of adequate sample sizes. How large is adequate?
• Is normality really assumed for an X-bar chart? Is there any distributional assumption? What should be tested, if anything?
• Are there any R chart distributional assumptions? In particular, are ranges assumed to have a normal distribution?
• Is normality assumed for an X chart? Is the X-chart distributional assumption the same as the X-bar chart distributional assumption?

SESSION 3: Testing Shewhart Attributes Control Charts Assumptions and Corrective Action

• Distributional assumption for p-chart and np-chart? Same assumption?
• Same distributional assumption for the c-chart and u-chart?
• Testing distributional assumptions? Sensitivity of control chart properties to distributional assumptions.
• Corrective action if assumptions are not met. Advantages and disadvantages of transformations. Assumptions other than distributional assumptions. How to test them.

SESSION 4: Control Limit Modifications of Shewhart Control Charts

• The importance of lower control limits on certain charts.
• Improved R-chart limits.
• Why standard control limit expressions for attributes charts should not be used.
• Review of proposed alternative methods for attributes charts control limits.
• The Ryan-Schwertman method of determining control limits for a p-chart np-chart, c-chart, and u-chart.

Organization of the Course:

This course takes place over the internet, at statistics.com for 4 weeks. During each course week, you participate at times of your own choosing - there are no set times when you must be online. Course participants will be given access to a private discussion board. In class discussions led by the instructor, you can post questions, seek clarification, and interact with your fellow students and the instructor.

The course typically requires 15 hours per week. At the beginning of each week, you receive the relevant material, in addition to answers to exercises from the previous session. During the week, you are expected to go over the course materials, work through exercises, and submit answers. Discussion among participants is encouraged. The instructor will provide answers and comments, and you will receive individual feedback on your homework answers.

Credit:
Students come to The Institute for a variety of reasons:

1. You may be interested only in learning the material presented, and not be concerned with grades or a record of completion.
2. You may be enrolled in PASS (Program in Advanced Statistical Studies) that requires demonstration of proficiency in the subject, in which case your work will be assessed for a grade.
3. You may require a "Record of Course Completion," along with professional development credit in the form of Continuing Education Units (CEU's).

As you begin the class, you will be asked to specify your category.

This course offers continuing education units (CEU's). For those successfully completing the course (generally this means marks of 50% or better on the homework), 5.0 CEU's and a record of course completion will be issued by Statistics.com, upon request.

Course Text:

The text for this course will be Statistical Methods for Quality Improvement, 3rd Edition, by Thomas P. Ryan. You can get it from the publisher, Wiley here. Wiley typically offers statistics.com customers up to 15% discount on this book (and all other statistics titles): enter the code aff15 in the Promotion Code field when prompted during checkout and click the Apply Discount button. (If you are located in Asia, the web procedure for your location may not accept this discount -- try calling your regional Wiley representative.)

Software:

Virtually all of the computations for the course can be handled using Microsoft Excel, as well as general purpose statistical software. This course does not require the use of specialized SPC software capabilities such as those found in Minitab, JMP and Statgraphics, though it does afford a useful opportunity to familiarize yourself with those features and understand them in the context of the underlying concepts behind SPC.

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Yes, I want to register for:

Statistical Process Control

Instructor(s):
Dates:
To be scheduled.
Course Fee: $499
Academic Discounted Rate: $399

Before registering, please read the syllabus tab, noting the prerequisites, text and software requirements. When you click the register button, you will be taken to our secure transaction page.

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