Using On-Line Sensors in Statistical Process Control

Linguo Gong, Wushong Jwo and Kwei Tang
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Linguo Gong: Department of Information Systems and Decision Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803
Wushong Jwo: Department of Business Education, National Chunghwa University of Education, Chunghwa, Taiwan
Kwei Tang: Department of Information Systems and Decision Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803

Management Science, 1997, vol. 43, issue 7, 1017-1028

Abstract: As manufacturing technology moves toward more computerized automation, statistical process control (SPC) techniques must adapt to keep pace with the new environment and take advantage of the development in automated on-line sensors. In this paper, a two-phase procedure is proposed for combining an on-line sensor and a control chart to improve statistical process control decisions. In phase 1 of this procedure, a production process is monitored continually by a sensor. When a sensor warning signal is observed, phase 2 takes place: A sample of items is drawn from the process and inspected. If the sample mean is outside the predetermined control limits, the process is stopped, and a search is initiated to determine the actual process status for possible necessary adjustment. If the sample mean is within the control limits, the process continues. A mathematical model is formulated for jointly determining the sample size and the control limit of the control chart and a decision rule for sending out sensor warning signals. The model is based on the assumption that there is only a weak relationship between the sensor measurement and the process condition. A solution algorithm based on a numerical search is developed. A numerical example is used to show the advantage of the proposed model over the models based separately on the sensor and the control chart, and a sensitivity analysis is used to show the effects of several important model parameters on the optimal solution.

Keywords: statistical process control; on-line sensor; economic models (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1997
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