Analysis and Application of Selected Control Charts Suitable for Smart Manufacturing Processes

Nonparametric control charts (NPCC) have shown great potential for monitoring processes in conditions of smart manufacturing with complex structures, various monitored characteristics and the need to process big data. Practical applications of NPCCs are very rare. The main reasons for this situation are a deficiency in software support and a lack of simple but complete instructions for their application. The introduction of such manual, which is based on the authors’ own simulations of performance of wide spectrum of NPCCs in conditions of different violations of data prerequisites, leading to recommendations for the selection of the most effective NPCC in various practical situations, is the main goal of this paper. Compared to other similar studies, this approach covers a wider range of control charts, and it was applied to a wider spectrum of data assumption violations. As an integral part of these analyses, an examination of various control chart performance indicators such as ARL, MRL, x5 and x95 was performed using simulations to select the best of them. The designed methodology was verified using real data.