Method for determining the control limits of nonparametric charts for monitoring location and scale

Abstract

Classic control charts for continuous variables monitor, separately, the central position and dispersion measures, which are also known as lease and scale measures. The monitoring of these parameters presupposes that the data probability distribution is known and follows the normal pattern, which, in practical situations, does not always occur. For this reason, the so-called nonparametric control graphics have been developed. This work aims to develop a method to determine the limits of statistical control of control charts with unknown probabilistic distribution and, simultaneously, monitor the mean and variance parameters. The proposed method is not exact and allows us to estimate the limits of control charts for combinations of values of m and n. Control limits were estimated and the properties of the statistics used were analyzed to determine whether they meet the theoretical assumptions; the empirical models obtained were validated by residual analysis. An empirical application of the method was performed to test different combinations of sample sizes (m, n), respectively in phases I and II, with the goal of identifying the best performing combination for detecting special causes acting in the process. Subsequently, we tested the performance of control charts obtained using simulation methods, estimating the ARL and α and β errors. The results were compared with other designs of control charts.

Keywords:
Statistical process control; Nonparametric control chart; Control chart limits