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Getting Started with Parts and Characteristics

In GS, Parts are physical items which are produced during a manufacturing process, while Characteristics are the measured properties of those parts. All SPC data records must be tagged with a Characteristic. DMS, OEE, and Task data records may optionally be tagged with a Part, and may not be tagged with Characteristics.

Parts are used in all types of analysis, while Characeristics are only used to analyze SPC data.

Best Practices

  • Use Parts across all data types. Although parts are optional for DMS, OEE, and Task data, including a Part with all relevant data allows for deeper analysis.
  • Create a separate Part for each different unit produced. For example, if the final unit produced comes in three different package sizes, each size should be its own Part.
  • Utilize Tags and dynamic Inspections when possible. This can allow a single Inspection to collect data for a variety of similar parts.

Create a Part

To create a Part, navigate to the Part list page under the Setup menu. Click Add.

Part List

  1. Fill in the Name of the Part.
  2. Click Save.

Part Create

See the reference page for a complete description of all settings.

Create a Characteristic

To add a Characteristic to a Part, press the Add button while on the View page of the Part.

Part Characteristic Create

Alternatively, a Characteristic may be created by navigating to the Characteristic list page under the Setup menu and clicking Add. When creating a Characteristic in this way, the Part will need to be selected.

Part Characteristic Create

  1. (Only when creating from the list) Select the Part.
  2. Fill in the Name of the Characteristic.
  3. Fill in the Subgroup Size of the Characteristic. Characteristic General Create
  4. Select the Unit for this Characteristic. Use the Add button to create a new Unit, if necessary. Characteristic Unit Create
  5. (Optional) Fill in the Lower Spec of the Characteristic.
  6. (Optional) Fill in the Target X of the Characteristic.
  7. (Optional) Fill in the Upper Spec of the Characteristic. Characteristic Spec Create
  8. Click Save.

See the reference page for a complete description of all settings.

Getting Started

  1. Create a Process
  2. Create Traceability
  3. Create Parts and Characteristics
  4. Create Defects and Defect Categories
  5. Create an Inspection
  6. Create a Dashboard

See Also