Associating Traceability Fields to a Work Set

The Traceability tab allows selection of the informational data that will be collected for each subgroup. We’ve already seen how this information can be used when querying the data, or to show the effect of changes in traceability items using plotted symbols. This tab in the Work Set definition provides a number of options for applying the informational fields during data entry.

Click on the Traceability tab and review the options associated with the informational data. Use the Help button for detailed information.

In the Work Set view, the items for each Traceability Field may be selected from a list box, or, if their user access privilege permits, users may add new items to the list. Bar code readers may also be used in this case.

The items for each list may be edited and maintained in the Traceability branch from the Explorer view. Items no longer needed, such as older Supplier Lot Numbers or closed job Numbers, can be made Inactive so they no longer appear in the list during data entry.

Most often, the same Traceability items will be applied to all observations in the subgroup. In the example below, the Supplier Lot Number, Work Station, and Job Number would be set for a given subgroup, and applied to all the observations in the subgroup. If we would expect that multiple subgroups would be taken for a given Supplier Lot Number, Work Station, and Job Number, then we would use the Persistent by last values entered option, thus limiting the number of items the operator would need to enter for each subgroup.

In some cases, we may have a field that is applied to a single item in the subgroup, such as Cavity Number in a multiple cavity molding machine. The Traceability fields applied to each sample in a subgroup option is best suited for that data entry, although since this is likely to be an irrational subgroup for a traditional X-Bar chart, you should use the Batch Means option for the control chart. (See the Help System for more details on this option).