THE BASICS OF GAGE R&R

With todays software, we only need to collect the

data and push a button. With the information in this
article, you will be able to get the right data and
interpret the results.
by GARY PHILLIPS
Sponsored by
www.cybermetrics.com

Calibration alone wont produce quality measurements; even when

perfectly accurate, a gage can be unacceptable for measuring
a product or process. Thats where Gage R&R studies come in.
Nearly every manufacturing company is required to conduct these
studies, the many benefits gleaned from which range from product
acceptance measurements and reliable control charts to objective
equipment selection criteria and identifying the need for operator
training. More importantly, however, this single study may be the
only chance to find measurement quality problems. Todays software
makes Gage R&R data entry and calculation easy, but learning to
effectively interpret the results is imperative.

The Basics
The method is to measure variables of production measuring
processes. The primary variables are repeatability and reproducibility
(R&R). The purpose is to confirm that variation is not excessive or to
take action if variation is found to be excessive. This is required for
each production measuring process, but not for each gage - you might
have 3,000 gages and only 200 production measuring processes.

It doesnt matter who collects the data. A calibration technician

would often be a good choice. He or she would serve as a resource
to answer questions and would have access to gage R&R software.

What do they have to know?

The people who do the measurement have to know how to measure,
of course. They also need to take precautions to make sure they
never know which part they are measuring. The parts have to be
temporarily numbered in a way in which they can avoid knowing
which number is being measured. Operators can often influence
a gage to a considerable extent. Just knowing what to expect will
tend to reduce the variation. This can happen even if an operator is
consciously trying not to do so.

Setting up the Study

Normal sample sizes are 10 parts, 3 operators and 3 trials for a total
of 90 measurements. Smaller sample sizes can be used if there is a
reason. For example, you have only 8 parts and 2 operators or the
trials are very expensive.

Who does it?

Collecting the Data

Choose three people who do the measurements in production.

These might be production people, quality inspectors or lab
technicians, depending on the situation. (During the try-out phase of
a new part, you may have to use substitutes for the people who will
actually do the measurements in the future.)

The person collecting the data should present the parts in random
order, but record the measurements according to the temporary part
number. In Figure 1, data for a typical gage R&R study has been
entered into GAGEtrak software.

Choosing a Calculation Method

There are three ways to calculate gage R&R results. The most familiar
method is not the best. The familiar method is called average and
range, or long AIAG. This method is intended for spread sheets
or pocket calculators, but it is not recommended for professional
software. The average and range method assumes that an error term
called appraiser part interaction equals zero. If this assumption
is not true (and it sometimes isnt), then the calculations will not be
reliable. A second method is called range, or short AIAG. It is
reserved for special situations. This article will use the work-horse
method called ANOVA which stands for analysis of variance. When
using computer software, we should typically choose ANOVA.

Evaluating the Results

Figure 2 evaluates the results in two different ways. The % of Tol
column evaluates the measurement process in terms of capability
to determine whether parts meet tolerance. GRR% of Tol = 13.5%
which is fairly good. GRR is the combined uncertainty (i.e.,
variation) including repeatability on production parts, reproducibility
and appraiser part interaction. GRR is summed by a special
method called RSS (root sum square). The individual variables are
described following Figure 2.

The % of TV column evaluates the measurement process in terms

of capability to detect changes in total variation (TV, an estimate of
process variation). GRR% of TV = 32.2% which is not acceptable.
Therefore, if we need a gage to use for experiments to reduce
process variation we should choose a different gage for that purpose.
If we need a gage only to determine whether parts meet tolerance,
this gage will likely be adequate.

Description of Variables
Repeatability: Variation that is observed when one or more operators
repeat the same measurement, on the same part and characteristic,
using the same gage. This particular measure of variation does not
distinguish between operators. Repeatability is not always influenced
by human (operator) variation. To see whether human variation may
be a repeatability issue, view the softwares repeatability range
control chart.
Reproducibility: Additional variation that is observed when multiple
operators are unable to reproduce the same test-group average
within limits predicted by repeatability.

Appraiser Part Interaction: Additional variation that is observed

when multiple operators are unable to reproduce the same pattern
of part variation within limits predicted by repeatability.
Part-to-part: Either the actual variation (% TV column), or the
allowable variation (% Tol column), in the test parts the gage is trying
to measure.

Interpreting Gage Capability Measures

A few companies prefer to use number of distinct categories
(ndc) instead of GRR%. We can visualize ndc as categories in an
imaginary histogram. As GRR% gets smaller, the categories also get
smaller and there is room for more categories. Using ndc will make
no difference to acceptance decisions, with one potential exception:
Users of ndc may choose to define not acceptable as ndc less
than 5 categories. In that case, the corresponding rejection value
would be GRR% more than 27%.
Figure 4 shows an example of visualizing gage capability measures
with an imaginary histogram. In this example there are 9 categories
associated with the tolerance, and 3 categories associated with TV
(total variation). We can see that we have a pretty good idea whether
the measurements do, or dont, meet tolerance. We can also see
that 3 categories give us only a very crude picture of the process
variation. (But, the gage couldnt reliably support smaller categories.)

We can also represent GRR% of tolerance on our imaginary

histogram as two zones of doubt, each centered on a specification
limit. If the measurements should drift into one of these danger
zones, sometimes the measured value and the true value would
be on opposite sides of the limit, causing a wrong decision. For 9
categories, the corresponding value of GRR% of tolerance is 15.5%
for each zone.

How do Gage Capability Measures Work?

There are three variables. One variable is GRR which, of course, is
a combination of variables. The other two variables are part variation
(PV) and total variation (TV). TV is usually an estimate of process
variation, or tolerance / 6, depending on the purpose of the gauge.
These variables are related by the formula GRR2 + PV2 = TV2.
This relationship can be modeled as three sides of a right triangle:

Gage capability can be measured by the ratio of any two

sides of the triangle, or the ratio of the squares of any two
sides. The most popular ratio is a smaller-is-better ratio:

GRR% = 100 ( GRR / TV )
The second most popular ratio is a larger-is-better ratio:

number of distinct categories = 1.41 ( PV / GRR )
You could use either one, or both, according to preference.

Illustration of Reproducibility
and Appraiser Part Interaction
In Figure 2, appraiser part interaction is 0.0%, meaning the
pattern of part variation, as measured by each operator, is
approximately the same.
Figure 6 shows what this looks like. Reproducibility is also 0.0%,
meaning the three patterns have approximately the same average.
How close the averages have to be is determined by repeatability.

Credits
Software used for this article is GAGEtrak Calibration
Management Software furnished by CyberMetrics,
Phoenix, Arizona.

About The Author

Gary Phillips has been in the quality field for nearly
50 years. Previously with GMs Cadillac division,
Gary has now been a consultant for over 30 years
and has trained well over 20,000 people worldwide,
primarily in technical subjects related to quality and
reliability engineering, such as designed experiments,
engineering testing, statistical process control
and measurement systems analysis. Gary can be
reached through CyberMetrics at 1-800-777-7020
or gphillips@cybermetrics.com.

By contrast, Figure 7 has both variation from interaction and

variation from reproducibility. See Figure 8 for the corresponding
calculated results.

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