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October 16, 2013 by Cody Steele in Six Sigma

Process Capability Statistics: Cp and Cpk,

Working Together
Capability statistics are wonderful things. These statistics tell
you how well your process is meeting the specifications that
you have. But there are so many capability statistics that it's
worth taking some time to understand how theyre useful
together.
Two capability statistics that are hard to keep straight are Cp
and Cpk. Their names are different by only a single letter. A
single letter that, by the way, doesnt really explain anything
about how these two statistics are different.

Definition of Cp
The equation for Cp is often written ET / NT. ET stands for Engineering Tolerance, which is
the width between the specification limits. NT stands for Natural Tolerance, which is the

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width that should contain almost all of the data from the process. Traditionally, NT is 6 times
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centered between the specification limits.

Definition of Cpk
The equation for Cpk is more complicated: [minimum(mean - LSL, USL - mean)] /
(0.5*NT). LSL stands for Lower Specification Limit and USL stands for Upper Specification
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Often we describe Cpk as the capability the process is achieving when the mean is not
centered between the specification limits.

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Cp and Cpk
The two statistics have a lot in common. The smaller the standard deviation, the greater
both statistics are. In fact, under the right conditions, Cp and Cpk have exactly the same
value.
Here's some data about the volume of ethanol in E85 fuel, which I've manipulated so that Cp
and Cpk are the same. Minitab's capability analysis output shows both statistics together.

http://blog.minitab.com/blog/statistics-and-quality-improvement/process-capability-st... 2013/10/17

Process Capability Statistics: Cp and Cpk, Working Together - Statistics and Quality I... Page 2 of 3

The specification limits here are 68 and 83, which are the limits that were in place for the
volume of ethanol in E85 fuel in 2010. Halfway in between the specification limits is 75.5.
The sample mean of this data is also 75.5 When the sample mean is halfway between the
specification limits, Cp and Cpk are the same.
If the only goal is to have the greatest number of units inside of the specification limits,
having the process centered between the specification limits is great. But for some products,
other goals compete with having the greatest number of units inside of the specification
limits. In the case of the volume of ethanol in E85 fuel, high ethanol content should reduce
the use of non-renewable fuels and reduce certain emissions. Plus, most people who buy E85
fuel think that they're buying fuel with volumes of ethanol close to 85.
Heres some real data collected in 2010 by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory on
the ethanol volume in E85 fuel. (Ive removed one outlier where the supplier minimized the
volume of ethanol.)

The sample mean is about 80.5. This mean is about 5 units higher than the midpoint of the
specification limits. The further the sample mean is from the center of the specification
limits, the lower Cpk becomes. Also, the further the mean moves away from the middle of
the specification limits, the more different Cp and Cpk become.
So this is how Cp and Cpk work together: When the values are similar, the mean is close to
the middle of the specification limits. When Cp is greater than Cpk, the mean is nearer to
one specification limit or the other. Once you understand your process, you can make a good
decision about how to prioritize your process improvement efforts.

Ready for More?

Now that you know how to use Cp and Cpk together, check out what it means when Ppk
and Cpk are the same or different.

http://blog.minitab.com/blog/statistics-and-quality-improvement/process-capability-st... 2013/10/17

Process Capability Statistics: Cp and Cpk, Working Together - Statistics and Quality I... Page 3 of 3

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