SOURCES OF VARIATION

Variation there will always be, between

people, in output, in service, in product. What
is the variation trying to tell us? (Deming)
Of all the issues that an Engineer has to
resolve, dealing with variation is the most
difficult. (T. Davies, Ford)

TYPICAL LOSSES RESULTING FROM
MISINTERPRETATION
Blaming people for problems beyond their
control
Spending money for new equipment that is
not needed
Wasting time looking for explanations of a
perceived trend when nothing has changed
Taking other actions when it would have
been better to do nothing
The concept of sources of variation can be
used to help minimize these and other losses
resulting from misinterpretation of variation.
SOURCES OF VARIATION
The variety of goods or services being
offered.
Structural variation in demand.
Random variation.
Assignable variation.

RANDOM VARIATION
Common Cause variation is created by many
factors that are commonly part of the
process, and are acting totally at random and
independent of each other
For instance, older machines generally
exhibit a higher degree of natural variability
than newer machines.
COMMON CAUSES:

Inappropriate procedures
Poor design
Poor maintenance of machines
Lack of clearly defined standard
operating procedures
Poor working conditions, e.g.
lighting, noise, dirt, temperature,
ventilation

ASSIGNABLE VARIATION
Special Cause variation is created by a non-
random event leading to an unexpected
change in the process output.
For example, the attentiveness of 50 people
at a presentation is a affected by causes that
are common to all of them. There are also
causes that affect attentiveness that are
special to individuals, such as lack of sleep,
family problems, and health.
A process (or a system) that has only
common causes affecting the outcomes is
called stable process or said to be in state of
statistical control.
A process whose outcomes are affected by
both common causes and special causes is
called an unstable process.
Interpretations of variation
Variation that
indicates good or
bad performance
Variation that results
from common or
special causes
Focus


Aim

Basis

Methods
Outcomes of the
process (product or
service)
Classify outcomes as
acceptance or not
What the customer
wants or needs
Specifications,
budgets, forecasts,
numerical goals
Causes of variation in
the process
Provide a basis for
action on the
process
What the process is
actually delivering
Control charts
IN ANALYSING VARIATION THERE ARE TWO
KINDS OF MISTAKES WE COULD
We could mistake the cause of variation as
being special in nature, when in fact it is
random and caused by the system (common
cause)
We could mistake the source of variation as
being systemic in nature (common causes),
when in fact it is special in nature (special
cause) and can and should be identified and,
if possible eliminated

Confusion between common causes and
special causes leads to frustration of
everyone, and leads to greater variability and
to higher costs, exactly contrary to what is
needed. Denim