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Industrial Engineering & Manufacturing vocabulary · Six Sigma and Statistics

Variation

Meaning in industrial engineering & manufacturing, with examples

/ˌveriˈeɪʃən/nounCommon term

In industrial engineering & manufacturing, variation means: The natural differences between the results of the same process, for example small changes in the diameter of parts made on the same machine.

In Turkish: değişkenlik, varyasyon, sapma

How it is used

The main enemy in Six Sigma and SPC. Engineers measure, reduce and control variation, and separate common-cause variation (always present, part of the system) from special-cause variation (from a specific event, like a broken tool).

Example sentences

  1. There is too much variation between the two shifts; the night shift's parts are always thicker.

  2. Reducing variation in the oven temperature solved most of the color problems.

Common collocations

  • reduce variation
  • process variation
  • common-cause variation
  • special-cause variation
  • source of variation
  • standard deviationA number that shows how widely values are spread around their average; a small standard deviation means the results are close together. Its symbol is σ (sigma).
  • Six SigmaA data-driven method for improving processes by reducing variation and defects, aiming for no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities.
  • control chartA graph that shows measurements of a process over time, with a center line and upper and lower control limits, so you can see whether the process is stable.
  • process capabilityHow well a stable process can produce parts within the specification limits, usually expressed with indices such as Cp and Cpk.

More terms: Six Sigma and Statistics

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