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Measurement error

The terminology and definitions used in different industries

Roland Caulcutt Caulcutt Associates

Measurement
How do people use measurements? People use measurements to help them: 1. Control a process 2. Assess the capability of a process 3. Improve a process 4. Classify a product or service 5. Settle customer/supplier disputes
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The classification of products and services


When there is no measurement error we can distinguish between good and bad products, with confidence.

Not acceptable

Acceptable LSL USL

Not acceptable Quality

Classification with measurement error


When there is measurement error we may be left in doubt about the acceptability of the product or service.

Uncertainty

Uncertainty

?????
Not acceptable

?????
Acceptable
Not acceptable

LSL

USL

Quality
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Terminology
Accuracy Bias Trueness Precision Repeatability Reproducibility R&R Measurement systems analysis Measurement uncertainty

Unfortunately some of these terms have different meanings in different organisations.


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Measurement in the chemical industry


Lab A
19.5 20.0 20.5 21.0 Viscosity

Lab B
Poor precision
19.5 20.0 20.5 21.0 Viscosity

Lab C
19.5 20.0 20.5 21.0

Bias/Trueness
Viscosity

Lab D
19.5 20.0 20.5 21.0 Viscosity
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True value

Bias and trueness

For centuries scientists spoke of bias and precision. BS5497:1979 used the words bias and precision. BS5725:1994 uses the words trueness and precision.

Repeatability and reproducibility


Precision can be split into two components: Repeatability Reproducibility. Repeatability:

Can the person producing the measurement repeat in the future what he/she did in the past?
Reproducibility: Can a second person reproduce the measurement made by the first person?
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Definitions in the chemical industry C


Repeatability is a number that is unlikely to be exceeded by the difference between two measurements made under repeatability conditions.

(Repeatability = 2.82s) Reproducibility is a number that is unlikely to be exceeded by the difference between two measurements made under reproducibility conditions. (Reproducibility = 2.82s)
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Calculation of repeatability and reproducibility


Repeatability = 2.82(Repeatability sd)

Reproducibility

= 2.82(Reproducibility sd)

Reproducibility sd = [(Repeatability sd)2 + (Between labs sd)2]

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A procedure for the chemical industry C


For each level: send 2 samples to each of 10 laboratories. Use the 20 results to estimate repeatability and reproducibility, at each level.

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Measurement uncertainty

Since about 1993 analytical chemists have increasingly used measurement uncertainty to assess measurement error. Measurement uncertainty is an interval within which the true value is believed to lie. Measurement uncertainty = x + ks x is the measured value, s is a standard deviation k is a coverage factor.

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Measurement in mechanical engineering


Smith
19.5 20.0 20.5 21.0 Diameter

Jones
Poor precision
19.5 20.0 20.5 21.0 Diameter

Brown
19.5 20.0 20.5 21.0

Inaccuracy
Diameter

Lee
19.5 20.0 20.5 21.0 Diameter
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True value

Repeatability in engineering
Repeatability is the measurement variability found when the same item is measured repeatedly with a specific gauge by the same operator.

QS9000

Repeatability is often called Equipment variation


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Reproducibility in engineering
Reproducibility is the additional measurement variability found when the same item is measured repeatedly with a specific gauge by different operators.

QS9000

Reproducibility is often called Appraiser variation


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R&R
R&R is the total measurement variability found when the same item is measured repeatedly with a specific gauge by different operators. R & R depends on equipment variation and appraiser variation.

QS9000

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Measurement variability

Measurement variability is defined as the range within which 99% of the repeat measurements can be expected to lie.

99% of repeat measurements will lie within a band, which has a width of 5.15s.

99%
-2.575s Mean

2.575s
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Calculation of R&R
Repeatability = 5.15sE

sE = SD of repeat measurements by a typical operator.


Reproducibility = 5.15sA sA = SD of operator true mean measurements. R&R = 5.15sT sT = SD of repeat measurements by different operators. QS9000
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R&R and product classification

We can express the R&R as a percentage of the tolerance. %R&R = 100*R&R/(USL-LSL)

%R&R should not be more than 30% of tolerance.


It is desirable that %R&R is less than 10%.

QS9000

If the purpose of measuring is process improvement, we should express the R&R as a percentage of the product variation.
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Can you demonstrate your quality? E


R&R = 100%

LSL
R&R = 30%

USL

LSL
R&R = 10%

USL

LSL
R&R = 0%

USL

LSL

USL
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A procedure for engineering industry E


Select 10 components. Ask assessor A to measure each component twice. Ask assessor B to measure each component twice. You may wish to use a third assessor. Analyse the 40 (60) results, using MINITAB, to estimate repeatability, reproducibility and R&R. Express R&R as a % of: 1. Tolerance 2. Product variation
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Repeatability differences
Engineering definition: Repeatability is the spread of measurements made under repeatability conditions. (Repeatability = 5.15s) Chemical definition: Repeatability is a number that is unlikely to be exceeded by the difference between two measurements made under repeatability conditions. (Repeatability = 2.82s)
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Reproducibility differences
Engineering definition:

The additional spread within measurements made under reproducibility conditions.


Chemical definition:

Reproducibility is a number that is unlikely to be exceeded by the difference between two measurements made under reproducibility conditions.

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R&R
Engineering definition: The total spread of measurements made under reproducibility conditions.

The chemical industry does not use R&R. R&R(Engineering) is similar to Reproducibility(Chemical)

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Variability
To understand the usefulness of your measurement process you need to calculate the total variation and break this down as follows: Total variation Product variation Measurement system variation

Short term

Long term

Repeatability

Reproducibility

Operator

Operator by part interaction

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Summary
Repeatability and reproducibility have different meanings in different industries. R&R should be less than 30% of tolerance, and preferably less than 10%. Using only 2 or 3 assessors can be a weakness of the recommended procedure in QS9000.

Graphing the results may tell you much more about the measurement system than you would learn from the analysis.

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Bibliography
QS 9000 Superseded by: PD ISO/TS 16949: 2009 Quality management systems. Particular requirements for the application of ISO 9001:2008 for automotive production and relevant service part organizations. (Section 8 - Measurement Analysis and Improvement) BS ISO 5725-2: 1994 Accuracy (trueness and precision) of measurement methods and results. Basic methods for the determination of repeatability and reproducibility of a standard measurement method. BS EN ISO 4259: 2006 Petroleum products. Determination and application of precision data in relation to methods of test. Quantifying uncertainty in analytical measurement , Second edition (2000) - Eurachem
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Figure 1 Measurements by four operators Smith


19.5 20.0 20.5 21.0 Diameter

Jones
19.5 20.0 20.5 21.0 Diameter

Brown
19.5 20.0 20.5 21.0 Diameter

Lee
19.5 20.0 20.5 21.0 Diameter

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