Characteristics
A Characteristic is a variable dimension or property of a Part, such as length, weight, density, or force. Multiple Characteristics of the same Part are typically measured during an Inspection using SPC Tests.
Changes to Characteristics can be managed with Revisions.
Settings
| Field | Revision-Specific | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Name | No | Name of the Characteristic. Each Characteristic in a Part must have a unique name. |
| Part | No | The containing Part. |
| Description | No | Notes about the Characteristic. This is only displayed on the Characteristic's page. |
| Tag | No | Identifier for the type of measurement. Tags are used with SPC Tests to create no-code dynamic Inspections. |
| Subgroup Size | Yes | The number of physical parts measured at one time and displayed as one point on a Control Chart. The recommended value is 1. |
| Real-Time Failure Groups | No | The set of real-time checks used in Inspections. |
| Range Type | Yes | The calculation method for ranges of this Characteristic, both in charts and when determining real-time failures. The Range Type also affects how control limits are calculated. |
| Display Format | Yes | How measurements are displayed. If the preset options are not appropriate, the Custom option can be used to create a new one. See display formats. |
| Data Entry Constant | Yes | If values for this Characteristic will be entered manually with a keyboard and start with the same few characters, those characters can be entered as the Data Entry Constant. Any SPC Test for this Characteristic will be automatically populated with this value. The Data Entry Constant cannot end with a decimal point. |
| Unit of Measure | Yes | The Unit of measure |
| Locations | No | The Locations that have access to this Characteristic. If no Locations are selected, the Characteristic will be available to all Locations. |
| Hide in Lists | No | Whether the Characteristic appears in lists. Hiding does not affect any previously-stored data. |
| Control Limit Bounds | Yes | If Control limits cannot be less than zero is selected, the minimum value for Lower Control Limit X in charts and statistics is zero. Otherwise, control limits and statistics will be calculated normally. Use Control limits cannot be less than zero if it is impossible for values to be less than zero, such as a distance. |
| Lower and Upper Spec | Yes | The specification limits. Specs are used in real-time checks and to calculate capability-related stats, like Cpk. Specs and Targets are also used in short run analysis. |
| X Target | Yes | The ideal value. The Target is used in real-time checks and as the midpoint for Fixed Control Limits. Specs and Targets are also used in short run analysis. |
| Lower and Upper X Reasonable Limit | Yes | Resonable limits are used to prevent obvious keyboard entry errors. SPC Tests will not allow the user to continue if a value is entered outside of these limits. |
| Lower and Upper X Fixed Control Limit | Yes | The known, previously-calculated control limits for this Characteristic. See the Global Setting for Control Limits to use these limits instead of the limits that GS dynamically calcuates. |
| Lower and Upper X Individual Limit | Yes | Individual Limits can be used like Spec limits, but do not affect any statistics. Individual Limits are only used in real-time checks. |
| R Target | Yes | The typical range value. The Target is used in real-time checks and as the midpoint for Fixed Control Limits. The R Target is also used in short run analysis. |
| Lower and Upper R Fixed Control Limit | Yes | The known, previously-calculated range control limits for this Characteristic. See the Global Setting for Control Limits to use these limits instead of the limits that GS dynamically calcuates. |
| Traceability | No | The Contextual Traceability for data submitted for this Characteristic. |
Display Formats
0 and # are used to determine how many decimals places are displayed. 0 is used for a mandatory decimal place and # is used for an optional decimal place.
Use the Try It box to view how the Display Format will format different numbers.
Examples
| Value | Display Format | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 0.1369 | 0.### | 0.137 |
| 0.13 | 0.#### | 0.13 |
| 0.13 | 0.0000 | 0.1300 |
| 6.3 | 00.00 | 06.30 |
| 0.0532 | 00.0% | 05.3% |
| 69532 | 0.000E | 6.953E4 |
Revisions
Each Characteristic can have multiple Revisions to manage changes over time, such as updated specification limits, control limits, or measurement requirements. When a new Characteristic Revision is created, it does not retroactively affect data collected under previous Revisions. This ensures that real-time checks and trends remain accurate even as the Characteristic changes.
When editing a Characteristic, the Save New Revision button is enabled whenever a Revision-specific field is changed. If a Revision-specific field is updated during a CSV import, a new Revision is automatically created.
Use the dropdown at the top of the page to change which Revision is being viewed. To ensure data integrity, only the most recent Revision can be edited.
When data is entered in an Inspection for a Characteristic, it is always entered under the most recent Revision. If data is retrieved from more than one Revision, each Revision is analyzed separately on its own graph.
Import/Export
Characteristics can be imported and exported using the following CSV structure. If a Revision-specific field is updated during a CSV import, a new Revision is automatically created.
| Column Header | Create | Update | Allows Multiple | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ID | Not Allowed | Required | No | Characteristic's Internal ID |
| Name | Required | Optional | No | String |
| Hidden | Optional | Optional | No | True | False |
| Description | Optional | Optional | No | String |
| Part | Required | Not Allowed | No | Part's name |
| Subgroup Size | Required | Optional | No | Integer |
| Range Type | Required | Optional | No | range | movingRange | sigma |
| Display Format Preset | Required | Optional | No | decimal | int | currency | exponential | percent | custom |
| Display Format Custom | Optional | Optional | No | If the Display Format Preset is custom, the custom format string |
| Data Entry Constant | Optional | Optional | No | String |
| Unit | Required | Optional | No | Unit's name |
| Entity Tag | Optional | Optional | No | Tag's name |
| Add RTF Group | Optional | Optional | Yes | Real-Time Failure Group's name |
| Remove RTF Group | Not Allowed | Optional | Yes | Real-Time Failure Group's name |
| Add Location | Optional | Optional | Yes | Location's name |
| Remove Location | Not Allowed | Optional | Yes | Location's name |
| Control Limit Not Less Than Zero | Required | Optional | No | True | False |
| Upper Spec | Optional | Optional | No | Decimal |
| Lower Spec | Optional | Optional | No | Decimal |
| Upper Fixed Control Limit X | Optional | Optional | No | Decimal |
| Lower Fixed Control Limit X | Optional | Optional | No | Decimal |
| Target X | Optional | Optional | No | Decimal |
| Target R | Optional | Optional | No | Decimal |
| Upper Fixed Control Limit R | Optional | Optional | No | Decimal |
| Lower Fixed Control Limit R | Optional | Optional | No | Decimal |
| Upper Individual Limit | Optional | Optional | No | Decimal |
| Lower Individual Limit | Optional | Optional | No | Decimal |
| Upper Reasonable Limit | Optional | Optional | No | Decimal |
| Lower Reasonable Limit | Optional | Optional | No | Decimal |
| Traceability - {Name} | Optional | Optional | Yes, one per Traceability | Traceability value |