PRESENTATION:

Understanding and Resolving Shop-Floor Measurement Variation:

Nearly everyone in the Manufacturing Quality profession has had to deal with the common shop-floor issue of measurement variation. It is often misunderstood as the result of the inaccuracy of the measurement instrument itself. When most parts are measured on the shop-floor, there are 6 elements within the measurement that introduce variation and/or uncertainty within the measured result(s):

The instrument
The measurer
The measuring method
The variation within the part being measured
The environment
The tolerance of the part characteristic being measured

Common methods used to analyze a sample measurement in order to identify and quantify the variation within the separate elements will be explained. Some universal myths and misperceptions about some of the elements will be explained as well as practical ways to lower measurement variation to produce results of a higher level of certainty. Flaws inherent to common instrument types and how to account and correlate for them will also be discussed.

PRESENTER:

Richard Clark has worked in Industrial Precision Measurement, Calibration, and CMM programming for nearly a decade. He has also worked as a consultant helping facilities design, develop, and implement inspection, measurement, and test equipment (IMTE) control systems in order to comply with ISO-9000, QS-9000, and TS-16949.

Richard has experience in conducting and teaching many metrological topics to include: Calibration of Precision Hand Measurement Instruments, Minor Gage repair, Implementation of IMTE software, Measurement Systems Analysis (Gage R&R), and Estimating Measurement Uncertainty.

In August of 2001, Richard began writing about his experiences in the form of magazine articles. These nearly 20 articles have been published in Tooling and Production, Modern Machine Shop, and CMM Monthly. Richard has also completed a book, “Exposing the Myths of Industrial Precision Measurement Control” scheduled for release in June 2006. The book explains the process of establishing an IMTE control system from the ground up as an easy step-by-step process.

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