Seven Helpful Charts

Diane Ritter

The ChartsCause-and-Effect

Run (Trend) ChartMeasure

Time

Flow Chart Pareto Chart

Measure

Histogram

Measurement

MeasureControl Chart

Measurement Time

UCL

LCL

xMeasure

Variable 1

Var

iab

le 2

Scatter Diagram

Cause and Effect: “Wrong Hospital Meals”

GOAL, Memory Jogger

Wrong meals served to

patients on both shifts

Equipment

PeopleProcedures

Policies

Lack of funds

Outdated “clothespin”

system

Fear of computers

Unclear menu

Training

Antiquated

Poor set-up

Lack of time

Unmotivated

Overworked“Doctor’s Disease”

Handwritten instructions poor

Lack of awareness

No system

No feedback to person making mistakes

Lack of staff

Lack of attention in dietary

Disciplinary policies

Lack of funds

Hiring policies in dietary

Lack of emphasis

Flow Chart: “From Bed to Work” Sunrise N

o

No

Yes

Start coffee

Sleep late

Wait

No

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Shower

Get Dressed

Eat Breakfast

Drive to Work

Arrive at Work

Iron Clothes

Watch TV

Take Bus

Park & Walk

Yes

Bathroom Available

Clothes Ready

Read Paper

Car Available

Park in Lot

Alarm goes off

Flow Chart 2: “P.C. Board Flow”

Incoming Material:ComponentsP.C. board

Post Assembly Touch-up

Pass

Pass

Pass

Pass

Pass

Ship

Q.C.

Q.C.

Q.C.

Auto Test

Q.C.

Q.C.

Wave Solder and Cleaning

Hand Assembly

Rework/Scrap

Auto Insertion

Vendor Repaired Use as is

Rework/Scrap

Rework/Scrap

Fail

Fail

Fail

Fail

Fail

Fail

Pass

Flow Chart 3: A simple flow diagram

- The mail order process

YES

YES

NO

NO

BEGIN

FILL OUTORDER FORM

RECEIVE ORDER;INSPECT IT

SHIP GOODS TO CUSTOMER

RECEIVE GOODS; INSPECT THEM

PROCESS THE COMPLAINT

COMPLAIN TO SUPPLIER

SUBMIT ORDER

END

GOODS ACCEPT-

ABLE?

INFORMATIONCOMPLETE?

RETURN ORDER FORM TO

CUSTOMERMAIL ORDER

SUPPLIER

CUSTOMER (CLIENT)

CUSTOMER (CLIENT)

Flow Chart 4: Ordering Supplies Yes

Yes

No

No

Item out of stock

Item Delivered!

Notify Sergio (Item and Quantity).

Delivery varies from 4-8 weeks.

Deliver Next Day.

Mail to University Stores.

Fill out Order Form.

Procurement Issues a Purchase Order.

Send to Procurement Office (RICE 501).

Procurement faxes the order to vendor.

Deliver next day.

University Stocked Item?

University Approved Vendor?

Pareto Chart: “Types of Injury” Types of Injury

0

5

10

15

20

25

Eyes Backs Hands

# A

ccid

ents

Causes of Eye Injury

0

5

10

15

20

Clipped

Com

pone

nt L

eads

Solder

Spla

shDust

# A

ccid

ents

Run (Trend) Chart: “Emergency Room Admissions”

Goal, Memory Jogger

0

10

20

30

40

50

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Month

Num

ber

of A

dmis

sion

s/D

ay

Histogram: “Print Density”

Goal, Memory Jogger

0

2

4

6

8

10

Fre

quen

cy

.60 .80 .90 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50.70

Black Density of Print

Scatter diagram: “Drive Time”

Goal, Memory Jogger

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00

Time Leaving House

Tra

vel T

ime

to W

ork

(min

utes

)

Goal, Memory Jogger

Control ChartControl Chart

Measurement Time

UCL

LCL

x

Measure

Seven Helpful ChartsSeven Helpful Chartsa. Control, b. Cause-effect, c. Scatter diagram, d. Flow, e. Pareto, f. Run (trend), g. Histogram1. There is a situation you are unhappy about. It is a complicated situation, so it is difficult to keep track

of all of the variables in your head.2. You have a complicated process you would like to improve. It’s not clear that everyone would identify

the same steps.3. You have identified a number of problems and want to work on the biggest problem first.4. You are often late for work and want to understand why.5. You have identified several reasons for why you are late for work and want to prioritize the list.6. A hospital speculates that it has admissions “bulges” because of holidays.7. You want to determine how frequently something occurs.8. You want to plot a relationship between two variables.9. You want to separate abnormal from normal variation10. You want to determine whether a process is stable.11. A Manufacturer wants to know if there is a correlation between shelf life and the stability of their

product.12. A print shop starts to receive complaints about the density of its print. The shop workers figured the

density was always the same.13. Your company submits many proposals to the federal government. They have identified a number of

problems with the process and want to fix them in order of importance.14. The ordering process takes too long and you want to understand why.15. The rooms listed in the Schedule of Classes are sometimes not the rooms that courses end up

meeting in.