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Using The Number of Distinct Categories

This document discusses the number of distinct categories, a metric used in measurement system analysis to evaluate a system's ability to distinguish between measured items. It provides guidelines that recommend 5 or more categories for an acceptable system. Fewer than 2 categories means the system cannot control the process, while 2 allows distinguishing only two groups and 3 allows three groups. The number of categories depends on the ratio between part and measurement variability.

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Meriem Bencheikh Mzali
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152 views

Using The Number of Distinct Categories

This document discusses the number of distinct categories, a metric used in measurement system analysis to evaluate a system's ability to distinguish between measured items. It provides guidelines that recommend 5 or more categories for an acceptable system. Fewer than 2 categories means the system cannot control the process, while 2 allows distinguishing only two groups and 3 allows three groups. The number of categories depends on the ratio between part and measurement variability.

Uploaded by

Meriem Bencheikh Mzali
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Using the number of distinct categories

Learn more about Minitab 18 

In This Topic

 What is the number of distinct categories?


 Guidelines for the number of distinct categories

What is the number of distinct categories?


The number of distinct categories is a metric that is used in gage R&R studies to identify
a measurement system's ability to detect a difference in the measured characteristic. The
number of distinct categories represents the number of non-overlapping confidence
intervals that span the range of product variation. The number of distinct categories also
represents the number of groups within your process data that your measurement
system can discern.

Minitab calculates the number of distinct categories by dividing the standard deviation
for Parts by the standard deviation for Gage, then multiplies by 1.41 (which is equal to 
). Minitab then truncates this value. When the value is less than 1, Minitab sets the
number of distinct categories equal to 1. So the number of categories that are calculated
depends on the ratio of the variability in the measured parts and the variability in the
measurement system.

Guidelines for the number of distinct categories


The Measurement Systems Analysis Manual1 published by the Automobile Industry
Action Group (AIAG) recommends that 5 or more categories indicates an acceptable
measurement system.

Usually, when the number of distinct categories is less than 2, the measurement system is
of no value for controlling the process, because it cannot distinguish between parts.
When the number of distinct categories is 2, you can split the parts into only two groups,
such as high and low. When the number of distinct categories is 3, you can split the parts
into 3 groups, such as low, middle, and high.

Example of not enough distinct categories


Suppose you measure 10 different parts, and Minitab reports the number of distinct
categories as 4. This means that your measurement system cannot detect the difference
between some of the parts. Increasing the precision of the gage will increase the number
of distinct categories.

Example of needing different systems based on the number of distinct


categories
Suppose you weigh different chemicals for your batch process. Your formulation requires
4000 g of Chemical A, 75 g of Chemical B, and 2 g of Chemical C. If you use a scale with
5-gram increments for all the measurements, the scale would be acceptable for Chemical
A, but would not be precise enough for Chemical B and Chemical C. Therefore, the scale
that measures Chemical A has an acceptable number of distinct categories because the
variation in the acceptable weights (3080 g - 4020 g) is much larger than the variation
due to the scale itself.

 Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) (2010). Measurement Systems Analysis


1

Reference Manual, 4th edition. Chrysler, Ford, General Motors Supplier Quality


Requirements Task Force

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