9 Cumulative sum (cusum) charts

Objectives
䊉 To introduce the technique of cusum charts for detecting change.
䊉 To show how cusum charts should be used and interpreted.
䊉 To demonstrate the use of cusum charts in product screening and
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䊉 To cover briefly the decision procedures for use with cusum charts,
including V-masks.

9.1 Introduction to cusum charts

In Chapters 5 to 8 we have considered Shewhart control charts for variables
and attributes, named after the man who first described them in the 1920s. The
basic rules for the operation of these charts predominantly concern the
interpretation of each sample plot. Investigative and possibly corrective action
is taken if an individual sample point falls outside the action lines, or if two
consecutive plots appear in the warning zone – between warning and action
lines. A repeat sample is usually taken immediately after a point is plotted in
the warning zone. Guidelines have been set down in Chapter 6 for the
detection of trends and runs above and below the average value but,
essentially, process control by Shewhart charts considers each point as it is
plotted. There are alternative control charts which consider more than one
sample result.
The moving average and moving range charts described in Chapter 7 take
into account part of the previous data, but the technique which uses all the
information available is the Cumulative Sum or CUSUM method. This type of
chart was developed in Britain in the 1950s and is one of the most powerful
management tools available for the detection of trends and slight changes in
data.

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 228 Cumulative sum (cusum) charts

Table 9.1 Number of minor accidents per month in a large organization

Month Number Month Number Month Number Month Number

of of of of
accidents accidents accidents accidents

1 1 11 3 21 2 31 1
2 4 12 4 22 1 32 4
3 3 13 2 23 2 33 1
4 5 14 3 24 3 34 3
5 4 15 7 25 1 35 1
6 3 16 3 26 2 36 5
7 6 17 5 27 6 37 5
8 3 18 1 28 0 38 2
9 2 19 3 29 5 39 3
10 5 20 3 30 2 40 4

The advantage of plotting the cusum chart in highlighting small but

persistent changes may be seen by an examination of some simple accident
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data. Table 9.1 shows the number of minor accidents per month in a large
organization. Looking at the figures alone will not give the reader any clear
picture of the safety performance of the business. Figure 9.1 is a c-chart on
which the results have been plotted. The control limits have been calculated
using the method given in Chapter 8.
The average number of accidents per month is approximately three. The
‘process’ is obviously in statistical control since none of the sample points lie
outside the action line and only one of the 40 results is in the warning zone.
It is difficult to see from this chart any significant changes, but careful
examination will reveal that the level of minor accidents is higher between

Figure 9.1 c-chart of minor accidents per month

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 Cumulative sum (cusum) charts 229

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file from Cumulative sum chart of accident data in Table 9.1

months 2 and 17 than that between months 18 and 40. However, we are still
looking at individual data points on the chart.
In Figure 9.2 the same data are plotted as cumulative sums on a ‘cusum’
chart. The calculations necessary to achieve this are extremely simple and are
shown in Table 9.2. The average number of defectives, 3, has been subtracted
from each sample result and the residues cumulated to give the cusum ‘Score’,
Sr, for each sample. Values of Sr are plotted on the chart. The difference in
accident levels is shown dramatically. It is clear, for example, that from the
beginning of the chart up to and including month 17, the level of minor
accidents is on average higher than 3, since the cusum plot has a positive
slope. Between months 18 and 35 the average accident level has fallen and the
cusum slope becomes negative. Is there an increase in minor accidents
commencing again over the last five months? Recalculation of the average
number of accidents per month over the two main ranges gives:
Months Total number Average number of
(inclusive) of accidents accidents per month
1–17 63 3.7
18–35 41 2.3
This confirms that the signal from the cusum chart was valid. The task
now begins of diagnosing the special cause of this change. It may be, for

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