Process Capability

Process Capability
❖ Process Capability

➢ Definition

➢ Control Limits and Specification Limits

➢ Process Capability and Tolerance

➢ Process Capability Measures

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Process Capability
❖ Process Capability

➢ Definition

➢ Control Limits and Specification Limits

➢ Process Capability and Tolerance

➢ Process Capability Measures

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Definition
➢ Process capability is a measure of the ability of a
process to perform or produce relative to acceptable
limits (specification limits).

➢ Applications of the process capability studies:

• Predicting how well the process performs against the

specification limits.

• Selecting between competing vendors.

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Process Capability
❖ Process Capability

➢ Definition

➢ Control Limits and Specification Limits

➢ Process Capability and Tolerance

➢ Process Capability Measures

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Process Capability and Tolerance
➢ Control Limits (UCL & LCL) are used to indicate the
status of the process (in control or out of control).

➢ Specification Limits are used to decide whether or not

the results of the process (the products) are acceptable
or not (i.e., conforming or nonconforming).
Upper specification limit: USL
Lower specification limit: LSL

➢ Specification Limits are determined by the design

engineer based on the functional requirements.
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Process Capability
❖ Process Capability

➢ Definition

➢ Control Limits and Specification Limits

➢ Process Capability and Tolerance

➢ Process Capability Measures

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Process Capability and Tolerance
➢ Process capability refers to the actual spread of the
process and is equal to 6σ when the process is stable
(in statistical control).

➢ Tolerance is the allowable spread of the process and is

equal to USL – LSL.

➢ An individual part is classified as a defective, if its

quality characteristic x is smaller than LSL or larger
than USL.

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Process Capability and Tolerance
➢ For example, the design specifications of the diameter x
of a shaft is decided by the design engineer as 74 
0.05 mm. Then, the nominal or target value, T, of the
diameter is 74 mm, and
USL = 74 + 0.05 = 74.05 mm
LSL = 74 – 0.05 = 73.95 mm

➢ Tolerance = USL – LSL = 74.05 – 73.95 = 0.1 mm

➢ An individual shaft is classified as a defective, if the

diameter x is smaller than 73.95 mm or larger than
74.05 mm.
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Process Capability and Tolerance
➢ In order to achieve a high process capability (the value
of x falls between LSL and USL) with a high probability,
we may:

• Make the mean  of x close to the target T (usually, T

is set at the center between LSL and USL).
Compare Fig. 28 (a) and (b).

• Make the standard deviation  of x small.

Compare Fig. 28 (a) and (c).

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Process Capability and Tolerance

Fig. 28: Control Limits & Specification Limits

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Process Capability
❖ Process Capability

➢ Definition

➢ Control Limits and Specification Limits

➢ Process Capability and Tolerance

➢ Process Capability Measures

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Process Capability Measures

➢ Process Capability Measures

❑ Estimating 

❑ Capability Index Cp

❑ Capability Index Cpk

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Process Capability Measures
➢ The process capability is usually measured by one of
the two process capability indices: Cp and Cpk.

➢ For any of Cp and Cpk, the larger its value is, the higher
the process capability, and the lower the defective rate.

➢ For calculating any of the two measures (Cp or Cpk),

estimating  is required.

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Process Capability Measures

➢ Process Capability Measures

❑ Estimating 

❑ Capability Index Cp

❑ Capability Index Cpk

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Estimating 
➢ Using the range: OR Using the standard deviation:
R S
= =
d2 c4

where:
R … Average of the ranges of samples

S … Average of the standard deviations of samples

d2 and c4 … Constants depend on the sample size (Table 2)

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Process Capability Measures

➢ Process Capability Measures

❑ Estimating 

❑ Capability Index Cp

❑ Capability Index Cpk

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Capability Index Cp
➢ Cp is a measure of the actual spread of the process
(6) with respect to the design tolerance (USL – LSL).
USL − LSL
Cp =
6

➢ Example:
x =740.05 mm is the diameter of a shaft. Also suppose
 = 0.0099 mm.

USL = 74.05 mm, LSL = 73.95 mm

USL − LSL 74.05 − 73.95

Cp = = = 1.68
6 6  0.0099
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Capability Index Cp
➢ If Cp is large, the distribution of the quality characteristic
x is relatively small compared to the design tolerance
(USL – LSL), or x is less likely to fall beyond the
specification limits and is more likely to conform to the
design tolerance requirement.

➢ The larger the Cp, the better the product quality. The
minimum requirement is Cp = 1, otherwise, a substantial
amount of products will fail to meet the design
specifications (indicated by the shaded area in Fig. 29
(c)).

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Capability Index Cp

Fig. 29: Different values of Cp

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Capability Index Cp
Table 4: Recommended values of Cp

Existing process 1.33

New process 1.50

Safety, strength, or critical parameter,
1.50
existing process
Safety, strength, or critical parameter,
1.67
new process

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Process Capability Measures

➢ Process Capability Measures

❑ Estimating 

❑ Capability Index Cp

❑ Capability Index Cpk

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Capability Index Cpk
➢ In Fig. 30, USL and LSL are the same for all six
processes.  of all processes is equal to 2.

➢ Therefore, all of the six processes have the same Cp.

USL − LSL 62 − 38
Cp = = =2
6 6 2

➢ That is, if judged by Cp, the six processes will have the
same process capability. It is somewhat misleading.

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Capability Index Cpk

Fig. 30: Relationship between Cp and Cpk

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Capability Index Cpk
➢ The process capability degenerates from top to bottom.

➢ Why can’t Cp tell this difference of the process

capabilities of the six processes? Because, Cp only
considers the ratio between (USL – LSL) and 6, and
does not take into account the centering of process
distribution between the specification limits.

➢ As a conclusion, Cp is a valid measure of process

capability only when  = T.

➢ When   T, other more appropriate measures should

be used for the process capability.
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Capability Index Cpk
➢ Cpk is another process capability index that takes into
account not only the ratio between (USL – LSL) and 6,
but also the location of the process mean  relative to
the specification center T.
CPU if CPU  CPL
C pk = min(CPU , CPL ) = 
CPL if CPU  CPL

USL −   − LSL
where: CPU = and CPL =
3 3

 USL −   − LSL 
C pk = min(CPU , CPL ) = min , 
 3 3 

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Capability Index Cpk
➢ If  > T (Fig. 31(a)),

USL −   − LSL or CPU < CPL


3 3
USL − 
C pk = CPU =
3
➢ When  > T, the upper side is more critical, most of the
defectives will be produced at the upper side. Therefore,
CPU is smaller than CPL. Cpk is equal to CPU.

➢ The more  moves to the upper side, the smaller the

(USL - ) and the smaller the Cpk.

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Capability Index Cpk

Fig. 31: Different cases for Cpk

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Capability Index Cpk
➢ If  < T (Fig. 31(b)),

USL −   − LSL or CPU > CPL


3 3

 − LSL
C pk = CPL =
3
➢ When  < T, the lower side is more critical, most of the
defectives will be produced at the lower side. Therefore,
CPL is smaller than CPU. Cpk is equal to CPL.

➢ The more  moves to the lower side, the smaller the

( - LSL) and the smaller the Cpk.

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Capability Index Cpk
➢ If  = T (Fig. 31(c)),
USL −   − LSL
= or CPU = CPL
3 3

USL −   − LSL
C pk = CPU = or C pk = CPL =
3 3

USL −  2  (USL −  ) USL − LSL

C pk = = = = Cp
3 2  3 6

➢ It indicates that, if  = T, the two process capability

indices, Cpk and Cp, are equivalent.

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Capability Index Cpk
➢ In Fig. 30,

• For process (a)

 62 − 50 50 − 38 
C pk = min ,  = min(2,2 ) = 2
 3 2 3 2 

• For process (b)

 62 − 53 53 − 38 
C pk = min ,  = min(1.5,2.5) = 1.5
 3 2 3 2 

• For process (c)

 62 − 56 56 − 38 
C pk = min ,  = min(1,3) = 1
 3 2 3 2 

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Capability Index Cpk
• For process (d)
 62 − 62 62 − 38 
C pk = min ,  = min(0,4) = 0
 3 2 3 2 

• For process (e)

 62 − 65 65 − 38 
C pk = min ,  = min(− 0.5,4.5) = −0.5
 3 2 3 2 

➢ The Cpk value becomes smaller and smaller from

process (a) to process (e). It exactly indicates the fact
that the process capability degenerates from process
(a) to process (e).

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Capability Index Cpk
➢ The value of Cpk depends on the difference ( - T). It
means that Cpk takes into account the location of the
process mean  relative to the specification center T.

➢ As a conclusion, when   T, Cpk is a more appropriate

measure of process capability than Cp.

➢ It can be shown that Cpk is always smaller than or equal

to Cp.

Cpk < Cp when  ≠ T

Cpk = Cp only when  = T

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Capability Index Cpk
➢ While Cpk is called the actual capability of a process,
Cp is called the potential capability.

➢ Cp is the maximum possible value of the process

capability that may be achieved for a process when
 = T.

➢ When the process mean  is far away from the T ( < T

or  > T), Cpk is very small.

➢ Cpk becomes larger and larger when  is moved

towards T from either side. Finally, when  is coincident
with T, Cpk = Cp.

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Capability Index Cpk

Fig. 32: Increasing Cpk to Cp

➢ How to improve the actual capability (increasing Cpk)?

• Move  towards T.

• Reduce .

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Capability Index Cpk

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