GAUGING GAUGES:

MEASUREMENT
SYSTEM ANALYSIS (MSA)
Measurement System Capability Analysis
• Measurement system analysis or MSA:
Quantify how much observed variation is coming from the
measurement system itself
• Measurement is critical as It’s the foundation of
knowledge and of subsequent improvement.
• Nothing is observed outside of the filter of some kind of
measurement system
Looking at variation in a measurement system
Sources of measurement system variation
• Several aspects of a measurement system affect how
much clouding variation it contributes to the observations:
Measurement resolution
• Resolution is a comparison of the smallest increment the
measurement system can provide to the characteristic its
trying to measure
• A good rule of thumb is to use a measurement system
with at least ten increments within the specification width
you’re measuring or within the process variation you’re
trying to observe
• The idea of resolution also applies when measuring
attribute data
Measurement accuracy
• Accuracy describes how centered the measurement
system’s variation is with the actual variation of the
process or characteristic.

• A measurement system can have problems with linearity.

• A stable measurement system is one that stays centered
and free of offset changes.
Measurement precision
• Precision describes how widely spread the variation of the
measurement system is compared to the actual variation
of the process or characteristic you’re measuring

• Measurement system precision is made up of two

components
• Repeatability
• Reproducibility
• Repeatability is the part of measurement variation that
occurs when you repeat measurements with the same
item, the same measurement setup, and the same
equipment under the exact same conditions

• Reproducibility is the part of measurement variation that

occurs when you repeat measurements with the same
items but with different measurement setups, with
different inspectors, or under different environmental
conditions
Measurement System Analysis (MSA)
Typical measurement system analysis (MSA) methods
include
• Audits,
• Attribute studies, and
• Gauge or continuous variable studies
Audit measurement system studies
• An audit is a measurement system study where a
measurement is compared to a a known, correct standard
• A Pareto diagram is a great diagnostic tool for detecting
problems with a measurement system
• Create a bar chart of the observed number of each type of
defect on an item and
• Then sort the order of the bars from most-frequently
observed defects to least-frequently observed
• Only the first few defect categories should have a
significant contribution to the overall defect count.
• A healthy measurement system should show that only a
few defect categories make up the bulk of the observed
defects
Attribute measurement system studies
• In case of attribute data you need to determine whether
your ability to put items into correct categories is
consistent and reliable.
• The risk of a poor attribute measurement system is
twofold:
• Falsely accept bad items
• Falsely reject good items
Continuous variable measurement
system studies
MINING DATA AND
PROCESSES
FOR INSIGHT
• There are many different ways to identify and discover all
the possible variables (the Xs) influencing an important
outcome, process, or characteristic (the Y )
• After Identifying the possible variables it is now important
to start whittling the large list of potential influencers to a
handful of variables on which we need to focus the
improvement efforts
Data Mining:
• The reduction of a large collection of potential factors
down to a smaller area of focus is called data mining,
• It allows to concentrate the limited resources on the items
that really have an impact on improvement.
Let the data do the talking
• Data are used to understand what happened in the past and to
decipher and improve the current situation.
• Data are the basis for predicting how things will perform in the
future
• In case of Six Sigma, all the participants need to be open
minded, withhold judgment regarding what it is that is wrong or
what the solution
• This new way of operating stems from an acquired confidence
in the science and power of Six Sigma
• Gathering and querying data from a process more efficiently
reveals the real, unbiased truth of its performance as well as
the most effective and lasting improvement solution.
• To start your improvement effort by capturing as many potential
Xs as possible
• Allow the Six Sigma tools to naturally weed out the Xs that are
not critical and retain those that in fact are
Mining Data for Insight
Observational studies
• A world of potential data exists all around us
• To immediately tap into this cache of information is to
simply begin to observe all the potential input and output
variables in the improvement project and record them
• Observational studies revolve around analyzing the
variation in the observed critical output or outputs and
investigating which input variables that variation is linked
to.
Identifying potential sources of variation
through graphical analysis
• To study whether an observed input has an effect on an
observed output, create a set of box and whisker plots of
the critical output, with each box and whisker plot
corresponding to a different condition of the input variable.
• The key output (Y) is how many items per hour are
produced
• The department performing the transaction (X1)
• The hour of the day in which the transaction was
processed (X2)
• The processing system used (X3),
• The actual person performing the transaction (X4)
What effect does the processor (X4) have on the items per
hour output (Y)?
• The processor variable (X4) isn’t a key contributor to the
output variation.
Multi-Vari Charts
• Multi-vari stands for “Multiple Variable.”
• It helps to find out which of the previously
identified variables are exerting an influence on
the performance of the process in a short period
of time
• With minimal data gathering requirements
• Without disrupting the normal flow of the process
• sometimes, evidence from multi-vari charts is
strong enough to directly pinpoint a single root
cause, ending the need for more searching or
experiments
Categorizing the variations
The major cause of output variation is isolated into three
categories:
1. Positional
2. Cyclical
3. Temporal
The main objective of the analysis is to find out the
category of variation that dominates the output of the
process. This will help us to concentrate on potential
factors that fall under this category and eliminate factor that
belong to other categories.
Positional variation
• The positional variation category is sometimes called
“within unit variation” because it is defined by the
magnitude of variation coming from within a single unit
• Definition of “unit” may be different for different situation
• The basic requirement for a unit is that the output
characteristic must be measureable multiple times at
different points on the unit.
• Measuring the same characteristic at different locations on the unit
• Measuring the performance of the process at three different times
during a shift
Cyclical variation
• The cyclical variation category is sometimes called
between unit variation
• It’s defined by the magnitude of variation that occurs
between consecutive units drawn from the process

Temporal variation
• The temporal variation category is sometimes called time-
to-time variation.
• When you look at the magnitude of variation between
segments of the process separated by a significant
amount of time, that is temporal variation.
Putting it all together: Creating
a multi-vari sampling plan
STEP 1: Select or establish a continuous-type data
measurement of process output performance.
STEP 2: Explore the historical values of the
selected output metric to understand what the
magnitude of variation has been in the process.
STEP 3: Define what constitutes a unit in your
multi-vari study.
STEP 4: Collect two to five measurements from
within the unit defined in Step 3 on three to five
consecutive units.
STEP 5: Allow some time to pass — enough that
potential factors have a chance to exert new
influence on the process.
STEP 6: Repeat Steps 4 and 5 in three to five
consecutive-unit intervals until you’ve captured at
least 80 percent of the historical process variation.
STEP 7: Create a multi-vari chart and analyze and
interpret the chart for a primary source of variation.
Constructing a multi-vari chart
• Multi-vari charts can be created incrementally
• A multi-vari chart looks pretty much like any other two-axis
plot with
• Time moving from left to right on the horizontal axis
• The measured process output metric plotted against the vertical
axis
• The multiple measurements of each unit are plotted
together in a grouping
• Consecutive unit groupings move from left to right over
time
• A break in the horizontal progression of the chart indicates
a temporal break in the process sampling
• The multiple measurements taken on each unit are plotted as
circles
• An average point is plotted for each unit grouping
• A long-dashed line is drawn connecting the averages of
consecutive unit groupings measured.
• A mark is plotted to show the overall average of the set of
consecutive units measured.
• Vertical lines are drawn along the horizontal axis to indicate
the end of one temporal set of measurements and the
beginning of the next.
• The sampling pattern repeats itself for three temporal
occurrences.
• Each temporal occurrence contains the measurements of
three consecutive units.
• Each unit consists of three measurements of the same
process characteristic.
Interpreting a multi-vari chart
• We need to find out by observing the multi-vari chart
which of the three types of variations displays the greatest
magnitude of variation in the multi-vari chart separately