Creating a COA Report

A Certificate of Analysis (COA) Report is a standardized report format used to display inspection data and summary statistics. In this guide, you will create a Report that includes:

• A header with a company logo.
• Raw data.
• Summary statistics.
• A footer with page numbers.
• Parameters to dynamically change the Report's contents.

Prerequisites

This guide assumes that you have:

• At least one Part with one Characteristic.
• SPC data entered for that Part, with:
  • Multiple data entries across different days.
  • Multiple values of at least one Traceability field (such as different lines or work orders).

If you do not have these prerequisites, first complete the guides on Collecting SPC Data and Collecting Traceability.

In this guide, the Part will be 3" Bolt, the Characteristics will be Length and Width, and the Traceability will be Work Order.

Create the Report

1. Navigate to the Report list.
2. Press the Add button.
3. Select the Settings action and name the report Certificate of Analysis.
4. Click Confirm.
5. Click the Save action.

Tip

Save your Report frequently by clicking Save or pressing Ctrl+S.

Create a Retrieval

Retrievals define the data displayed in a Report. Create a Retrieval for the 3" Bolt:

1. Click Add Retrieval.
2. Name it 3" Bolt Today.
3. For the Part, select 3" Bolt.
4. Click Confirm.

You will then be prompted to set the Retrieval's Report Settings:

1. In the SPC section:
   1. Set Include Dataset for Raw Data to Yes.
   2. In the Statistics dropdown, select CPK, Mean, Lower Spec, and Upper Spec.
2. Click Confirm.

Add a Header

Next, you will add a header with your company logo and a title.

1. Right-click on the Report canvas and select Add Header.
2. Drag an Image control from the toolbox to the header.
3. In the property window, under Appearance, click the dropdown in the Image property:
   1. Change the view to Embed....
   2. Click + Load... to upload your company logo.
   3. Select the image. The image will appear in the Image control.
4. Improve the appearance of the image:
   1. Change the Image Sizing property to FitProportional. This will prevent the image from stretching.
   2. Drag the corners or sides of the Image control to resize it to fit the logo.
5. Drag a Textbox control from the toolbox to the header.
6. Double-click in the Textbox or use the Value property in the property window to enter the content 3" Bolt COA.
   1. Use the font controls in the top toolbar to change the font and increase the font size.
   2. Use the drag handles to resize the box so the full title is visible.
7. Click Save. Your Report should look like the following.

Add a Footer

Next, you will add a footer with page numbers.

1. Right-click the canvas and select Add Footer.
2. Drag a Textbox control from the toolbox to the footer.
3. In the Value property in the property window, click the square Data Binding button, then select Expression....
   1. This opens the Expression Editor, where you can create dynamic content.
   2. In the left pane, select Common Values, then double-click Page N of M. This inserts the expression Page {&PageNumber} of {&TotalPages}.
4. Click Save to return to the Report.

Tip

At any time, click the Preview action to preview the Report.

Add Data and Statistics Tables

Next, you will add two Tables to the Report to display raw data and summary statistics.

1. Drag a Table control from the toolbox to the Report's body.
2. Hover on the first cell in the middle row, select the ... button, and then select Part.
3. Repeat to add columns for Characteristic and Date.
   1. Make sure to click in the center row when selecting the field to display.
4. Right-click on the table and add additional column by clicking Column > Right.
5. In this new column, select Mean.
6. Repeat this process to add a new column for Work Order.
7. Increase the size of the Date column by dragging the right side of the column.

Following a similar workflow, add another table to display the statistics.

1. Drag another Table control from the toolbox to the Report's body.
2. Hover on the first cell in the middle row, select the ... button, and select Characteristic (Group) under the 3" Bolt - SPC Stats header.
   1. Warning: do not select the field named Characteristic under the SPC Data header. You must select the Characteristic (Group) field under the SPC Stats header.
3. Add columns for CPK, Mean, Lower Spec, and Upper Spec.
4. Increase the width of the Characteristic (Group) column so the entire title fits.

Tip

Enable Snap to Grid in the bottom toolbar for easier alignment.

View and Export the Report

You are now ready to view the first revision of your Report.

1. Select the Preview action (or press Ctrl+Shift+V).
2. Use the buttons in the Viewer's toolbar to change the zoom, scroll behavior, currently-viewed page, and print the Report.
3. To export the Report as a PDF:
   1. Click Export in the sidebar.
   2. Set the Format to PDF document.
   3. Click the Export button at the bottom of the sidebar.
4. Select the Close action (or press Ctrl+Shift+B) to return to the Report Designer.

Add Parameters

COAs commonly need to be restricted by fields like Work Order or Date Range. Reports in GS use parameters to dynamically filter their content.

To add a parameter from the Report Designer:

1. Click Parameters.
2. In the overlay, click Add Parameter and configure the new parameter:
   1. Change the Type to Traceability.
   2. Set the Traceability to Work Order.
   3. Change the Label to Work Order.
3. Click Confirm.

Now when you view or preview this Report, you will be prompted enter a Work Order and a date range. Click Confirm to display the Report, filtered by the entered values.

Use the Parameters button in the Report Viewer to change the parameter values. The Report will be rerendered whenever parameter values are changed.

See Also

• Reports
• Report Parameters
• In-Depth Guide: Creating a Weekly Shift Report