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Quality Improvement Using Statistical Process Control in

Automotive Ancillary: A Case Study


Chandandeep Grewal∗and A.D. Gupta∗∗

ABSTRACT

Objectives: As competitive pressure has been steadily rising, manufacturing organizations need to improve
quality while decreasing costs and increasing production volumes with fewer resources. Statistical process
control (SPC) is now fashionable buzzword in manufacturing industry. It involves measurements of process
performance that aim to identify common and assignable causes of quality variation and maintain process
performance within specified limits.
The objective of this paper is to explain the concept of statistical process control and its application in
a manufacturing industry to improve the quality levels. The underlying goal of the study is to reduce the
variations and rejections in a critical process.
Methodology: A case study was undertaken in an automotive ancillary to implement SPC. A model was first
defined by identifying various input and output parameters and the techniques for quality improvements. These
parameters are process capability indices, defective parts per million (PPM) and percentage yield. A critical
component was selected on the basis of the cost of rejections as explained in the paper. After selecting the
component, its critical parameters were identified using Pareto Analysis and these parameters were monitored
on-line to control the defects or rejections.
Implications: Significant improvements are achieved in terms of process capability indices, defective parts per
million (PPM) and percentage yield. PPM level in each case has reduced drastically which is a step to achieve
the six sigma concept.

Keywords: Statistical processes control, Process capability index, Quality improvement

INTRODUCTION

During recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on improving the quality of products sold in today’s
domestic and international markets. This emphasis has been driven by growing competition and by greater
customer awareness and demand for quality products at competitive price. As competitive pressure has been
steadily rising, manufacturing organizations need to improve quality while decreasing costs and increasing
production volumes with fewer resources. Statistical process control (SPC) is now fashionable buzzword in
manufacturing industry. SPC is an optimization philosophy concerned with continuous process improvements,
using a collection of (statistical) tools for data and process analysis making inferences about process behavior.
SPC is a key component of total quality control program.
Interest in SPC has witnessed resurgence in recent years. The 1980s have seen a considerable amount of
papers and books written about the technique and its application, and a wide range of courses and packages are
now offered on SPC by a variety of organizations. The trend is such that it would appear to a causal observer that
the entire industry has emerged to provide a myriad of consultation services on SPC. Wince K.C. Yung (1996)
suggested an integrated model for manufacturing process improvement in PCB manufacturing. In this, the
statistical process control and seven basic tools have been integrated for valuable and effecting benefits in
process improvement. H. Ipek, H. Ankara and H.Ozdag (1999) have given a technical note on the applications of
statistical process control in mining industry. Victor E Kane (1986) carried out a study on capability indices and
examined uses of capability indices along with their estimation procedure. When properly applied, statistical
tools are an effective way for improving process quality. Nelson (2003) described the situation when one
should not adjust the process so that over or frequent adjustments can be avoided. He described that
due to lack of control charts, the technicians have a tendency to continuously adjust the process to
keep it on target value. Rieberio and Cabral (1999) clarified the use and misuse of statistical tools with a case
study from ferrous casting foundary. Jaju, et.al (2002) conducted a process capability study for bought
out components for tractor manufacturing industry. The methodology used consists of component
selection, specification review, data collection and analysis using cause and effect diagram, control


Lecturer, Department of Mech. & Prod. Engg., Guru Nanak Dev Engg. College Ludhiana, E-mail: cdsg@rediffmail.com
∗∗
Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hauz Khas New Delhi,
E-mail: adgupta@rediffmail.com
11th International Conference on Productivity and Quality Research

charts and process capability study. Jiju Antony and Tolga Taner (2003) compare the existing frameworks
for SPC implementation in terms of their merits and demerits and then illustrate a conceptual framework for the
effective application of SPC. $OL 5Õ]D 0RWRUFX DQG $EGXO .DGLU   KDYH FRQGXFWHG D VWXG\ ZKHUH VRPH
statistical analysis has been made to eliminate quality problems such as undesirable tolerance limits and out of
circularity of spheroid cast iron parts during machining. X bar and R control charts have been constructed on the
data obtained from the process to discover and correct assignable causes, and to determine process capability
indices.
This paper presents an approach for successful implementation of SPC using different tools and
techniques. The underlying goal of the study is to reduce the variations and rejections to achieve process quality
improvement. The case study conducted in an automotive ancillary is presented and significant improvements
are highlighted in terms of some defined quality indicators.

NEED OF STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL


Statistical process control (SPC) is meant to control the product quality on-line so that the product conforming to
specifications is produced. To be truly effective, SPC must become an important segment of corporate life as a
part of total quality control program. SPC is strongly needed due to following reasons:

a) To discover when a process is out of control so that corrective action is taken well in time.
b) To reduce the cost of internal failures, i.e. scrap and rework.
c) To ensure that operators are paid only for good quality production.
d) To eliminate frequent readjustments and interruptions in the process which would otherwise
result in production loss and greater variability in product quality?
e) Better utilization of labor, facilities and material.
f) Data obtained from SPC can be used to determine whether the given process has the potential or capability
of meeting the specifications on various quality parameters. If not, we can undertake a number of remedial
actions to minimize the production of non-conforming product.

A CASE STUDY
A study was conducted in a company which is a leading manufacturer of mechanical locking systems, door
handles and security systems for automotives. The company is accredited with ISO 9001 and QS 9000 quality
standards. The company has more than 200 employees and it is located in NOIDA. Major customers of the
company in four wheeler segments are Ford, Telco, Fiat, Maruti, General Motors etc., and in two wheeler
segments are Bajaj Auto, Kinetic Motors, LML, Yamaha, Hero Motors etc. The company has separate quality
assurance department.

Methodology: The approach for quality improvement in this study was to use statistical process control
(SPC) as a monitoring tool. The objective of this study was to control the variations in the process, reduce the
rejections and improve the process capability. The quality performance indicators of the system before and after
implementation of SPC were assessed.
In this case study, degree of process improvement was assessed by using quality indicators such as yield,
process capability indices and defective parts per million. Capability indices (Cp and Cpk) are simplified
measures to quickly describe the relationship between the variability of a process and the spread of the
specification limits. The process potential index, Cp is used to assess the ability (or the potential) of the process
to satisfy engineering or manufacturing specifications.

USL − LSL
Cp =

The process capability index Cpk , assesses the actual performance of the process relative to engineering
or manufacturing specifications.

 USL − µ µ − LSL 
Cpk = min and 
 3σ 3σ 
ZKHUHDQGDUHPHDQDQGVWDQGDUGGHYLDWLRQRITXDOLW\SDUDPHWHU7KHLGHD is to shrink the variation around
the target value of a quality parameter. This quantitative data were used as the baseline for improvement. The
figure 1 illustrates the framework for process improvement.
11th International Conference on Productivity and Quality Research

Selection of Critical Parameters: Selection of critical parameters is essential to concentrate on the


major problem areas rather than concentrating on all areas which is economically not feasible. The housing body
of steering lock was selected for study because it contributes 76 % of the total rejection cost. The flow diagram
of manufacturing process of steering lock was drawn and analyzed to find out critical check points. This detailed
analysis was helpful to know exactly the stages of manufacturing and scope of improvement.

Pareto analysis: Steering lock housing body has a number of quality characteristics. Pareto analysis was
carried out to find out the critical quality parameters which require more attention. The data for defective parts
was collected from check sheets already used by the company and it was compiled as per the requirement of the
study. The following quality characteristics/defects were found critical because they contribute about 80 % of
total rejections:
a) Variations in groove location i.e. height
b) Variations in diameter
c) Hole location
d) Centre distance

Application of Control Charts: It is been observed that all the selected parameters are measurable and
therefore, variables control charts are most suitable tool to monitor the variations. The X bar and R charts were
selected and applied for all the four critical quality characteristics. Initial control limits were set by taking
samples after every half an hour. After the process control stabilized, the future control limits were set and
frequency of sampling was set twice a shift. The process capability on these parameters was also examined. The
control limits used for control charts are calculated by using given equations:

For X charts: UCL = X + A 2 R Where X is average of sample averages & R is average of ranges
LCL = X − A 2 R
For R charts: UCL = D 4 R Where D3, D4 and A2 are constants
LCL = D 3 R

Process Improvement: After monitoring the process for three months, significant quality improvement
was observed. These improvements were quantified in terms of Cp and Cpk values, defective parts per million
(PPM) and percentage yield. Table 1 shows significant reduction in defective parts per million (PPM) for all
critical quality parameters. The percentage yield also improved in all the parameters.
Increased values of process capability indices (Cp and Cpk) as shown in fig. 3 and fig. 4 indicate the reduction in
variations. These express changes of sigma levels to achieve the six sigma status.

CONCLUSIONS

It is found that statistical process control is an effective means for controlling and improving the process quality.
Four critical variables i.e centre distance, hole location, groove location and diameter were selected on the basis
of rejections due to them. With the application of variable control charts, significant improvement has been
experienced in terms of process capability indices and defective parts per million. PPM level in each case has
reduced drastically which is a step to achieve the six sigma level.

REFERENCES

Grant, E. L and Leavenworth, R. S. (1996), “Statistical Quality Control”, McGraw Hill, New York.

Ipek H., Ankara H. and Ozdag H. (1999), “Technical note on Application of Statistical Process Control” Journal
of Quality Technology, Vol. 26, pp 79-83.

Jaju, S. B., et al (2002), “Process Capability Study of Bought-out Components for Tractor Manufacturing
Industry,” Industrial Engineering Journal, Vol. XXXI, No. 4, pp 13-19.

Jiju Antony and Tolga Taner, (2003), “A Conceptual Framework for the Effective Implementation of Statistical
Process Control” Business Process Management Journal, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 473-489.

Juran, J.M., et al (1974), “Quality Control Hand-book”, McGraw Hill, New York.
11th International Conference on Productivity and Quality Research

Kane E. Victor (1986), “Process Capability Indices”, Journal of Quality Technology, Vol 18, No.1, pp 41-51.

Riberio Lura M.M. and Sarsfield Cadral J.A. (1999), “The Use and Misuse of Statistical Tools” Journal of
Material Processing, Vol 92, pp 288-292.

Singh Chandandeep (2001), “Statistical Process Control of Mechanical Locking Systems for Automobiles”
Unpublished M.Tech. Thesis submitted to IIT Delhi.

Wince K.C. Yung, (1996), “An Integrated Model for Manufacturing Process Improvement” Journal of Material
Processing Technology, Vol 61, pp 39-43.

Before SPC Quality Improvement


through: After SPC

Baseline ¾ Flow Chart Improved


¾ Check sheet
¾ Histogram
¾ Pareto analysis
¾ Cp & Cpk ¾ Control Chart ¾ Cp & Cpk
¾ Yield ¾ Yield
¾ Defective ¾ Defective
parts parts

Fig. 1 Methodology for Quality Improvement


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Fig 2 Pareto analysis of quality parameters or defects


11th International Conference on Productivity and Quality Research

Table 1. Improvement in PPM and % Yield for critical quality parameters

MONTH Center Distance Groove Location Diameter Hole Location

PPM % Yield PPM % Yield PPM % Yield PPM % Yield

August 14.3 99.9983 1582 99.8418 3351 99.66488 1740 99.8260

September 2.3 99.9996 836 99.9115 1113 99.88869 207 99.9792


October 0.57 99.9999 569 99.9422 221 99.97797 33.4 99.9966

2
August August

1.8 September
September 1.8
October
1.6
October 1.6
1.4
1.4

1.2
1.2
Cp values

1
Cpk values

1
0.8
0.8
0.6
0.6
0.4
0.4
0.2
0.2
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CENTER GROOVE DIAMETER HOLE 0
DISTANCE LOCATION LOCATION CENTER GROOVE DIAMETER HOLE
DISTANCE LOCATION LOCATION

Fig. 3 Improvement in Cp Values of Critical Parameters Fig. 4 Improvement in Cpk Values of Critical Parameters

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