Understanding the Alarm Review Process
This chapter provides an overview of the alarm review process and discusses how to:
View alarms.
View alarms using Workflow.
Review control plan performance.
Understanding the Alarm Review Process
When quality control violations occur, it is important to route the information to those responsible for assessing causes and taking corrective actions. The process of dispersing, recalling, and responding to these control violations is called alarm review.
Quality provides these alarm-review mechanisms:
Operator viewing alarms.
As operators enter data against a control plan, Quality analyzes sample readings online and immediately displays alarm conditions on the same page. You can log probable causes and corrective actions during the same session.
Receiving alarm notifications using Workflow.
Alarms generated by manual data entry and automated data collection through the Quality enterprise integration point (EIP) are directed as they occur to various worklists. The lists are populated and managed by Workflow on a role-user basis. From the worklist, the system provides a detail page that displays relevant process and subgroup information, as well as the working control chart for the data encapsulated by the alarm. You can note probable cause and corrective actions.
Recalling alarms selectively.
You can query alarms by process, age, or type using alarm access profiles. The profiles serve as templates, allowing quick recall of alarms, regardless of the data-collection method, meeting extraction criteria that is specific to the job function or area of responsibility. The system recalls alarms and presents them in a summarized page. A detail page is linked to each alarm so that you can view relevant process and subgroup information and the working control chart for the data encapsulated by the alarm. You can note probable cause and corrective actions.
See Also
Entering, Maintaining, and Editing Quality Data
Viewing Alarms Using PeopleSoft Workflow
Viewing Alarms from the Worklist
Common Elements Used in This Chapter
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Alarm Access ID |
The identifier or name given to an alarm review profile. |
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Alarm Types |
Defines which alarms the system displays for inquiries. Values include: All Alarms: Displays all alarms regardless of probable cause or corrective action status. Closed - Actions Logged: Displays only alarms with probable cause or corrective action logged against them. Open - No Actions Logged: Displays only alarms with probable cause or corrective action not logged against them. |
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Return to Main Page |
Click this link to display the originating (alarm listing) page. |
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View Instructions |
Click this link to display the instructions associated with the measurement plan where the alarm occurred. |
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Display Graph |
Select this option to display the default control chart associated with a characteristic. Note. Data filling the graph is the N points (subgroups) leading up to the alarm condition, as defined by the control procedure assigned to this characteristic. |
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Click the Enter Probable Cause button to access the Probable Causes page where you can enter the probable causes against any subgroup selected. |
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Click the Log Actions button to access the Corrective Actions page where you log any corrective actions taken to correct the alarm condition. |
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This button indicates an alarm associated with a subgroup of a characteristic. This button appears on various data entry, data analysis, and alarm review pages. |
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Sample Detail |
Click this link to access the Sample Detail page that contains individual sample values and trace field entries for the subgroup. You can apply causes and actions against any subgroup in the list not just the most current subgroup. |
Viewing Alarms
To define alarm access profiles, use the Define Alarm Review Criteria component (QS_ALM_ACCLIST). This section provides an overview of alarm access profiles and discusses how to:
Define alarm access profiles.
View alarms using an access profile.
View alarm details.
View instructions.
View sample details.
Understanding Alarm Access Profiles
Quality analyzes data that you enter online and generates alarms if a control violation occurs for the process. When an alarm occurs, operators can take immediate action to correct the problem, or a quality analyst can review and monitor the alarms at a later date, enter causes for the alarms, and log corrective actions.
To facilitate alarm review and reduce review time for multiple alarms, create an alarm-access profile where you specify the processes or control plans that you want to view on an ongoing basis. You can also:
View alarms of a relative age for which causes or corrective actions have not been taken.
View only alarms where some action has been taken.
View both types of alarms.
Pages Used to View Alarms|
Page Name |
Definition Name |
Navigation |
Usage |
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QS_ALM_ACCLIST |
Quality, Prepare Analysis, Define Alarm Review Criteria, Define Alarm Review Criteria |
Define an alarm access ID that specifies the selection criteria for alarm review. |
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QS_ALM_RVW_INQ |
Quality, Analyze Quality Results, Review Alarm Conditions, Review Alarms, Review Alarms |
View alarms that match the selection criteria that you specified on the alarm access profile. |
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QS_ALM_RVW_DET |
Click a Characteristic (Display Detail) link on the Review Alarms page. |
View the detailed information associated with the alarm. From this page you can access other pages, where you can review a chart, enter probable causes for the alarms, or log corrective actions. |
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QS_ANLZ_ALMSUM_SPG |
Click the Summary Analysis link on the Review Alarms page. |
Select the attribute that you want to analyze and then have the system create a Pareto chart of that attribute. |
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QS_INSTRUCT_PNL |
Select the View Instruction option for the Go To Page field on the Alarm Detail page. |
View the control plan instructions where an alarm occurred. |
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QS_TRCDET_PNL |
Select the Sample Detail option for the Go To Page field on the Alarm Detail page. |
View the actual sample values for the subgroup and trace fields that were entered for the subgroup. |
Defining Alarm Access Profiles
Access the Define Alarm Review Criteria page (Quality, Prepare Analysis, Define Alarm Review Criteria, Define Alarm Review Criteria).
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Recall Alarms of Type |
Select a type of alarm to recall. |
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Review Period Days |
Enter the relative age of alarms that you want to review. The system returns alarms based on the number of days specified subtracted from the current date. |
Selection Criteria
These fields are the hierarchy fields associated with the quality function that you select. Select one of the following qualifiers next to each hierarchy field, and enter the appropriate data expression that goes with the qualifier.
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<> |
Select alarms where the hierarchy field is not equal to the value. |
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= |
Select alarms where the hierarchy field is equal to the value. |
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ALL |
All entries are returned. There is no qualification on this field. |
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BETWEEN |
Select alarms between two hierarchy values that you enter. |
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LIKE |
Select alarms where the field is like or similar to the value. The % sign is used as the wildcard. |
For example, if you specify item ID as a hierarchy field, and you enter an item ID of LIKE and 30%, then with this expression, the system retrieves all alarms associated with items starting with the number 30. The % character denotes the wildcard position and is used anywhere in the value string. The system uses the % character to form the search pattern for the item.
When using the BETWEEN qualifier, you must separate the expression by commas. For example, if you want to retrieve alarms associated with a particular set of work centers, you enter BETWEEN WC10001, WC20001. With this expression, the system retrieves alarms associated with the work centers between those two values.
Viewing Alarms Using an Access Profile
Access the Review Alarms page (Quality, Analyze Quality Results, Review Alarm Conditions, Review Alarms).
Make sure that an alarm access profile has been defined and alarms have been generated against control plans to populate the page.
Note. To enhance security, the Alarm Access ID field does not provide a prompt list.
The first columns to appear depend on the quality function that you select. The columns are the hierarchy fields associated with the quality function.
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Date Submitted |
Displays the date and time that the alarm occurred. |
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Characteristic |
Displays the characteristic where the alarm was generated. Click the Characteristic (Display Detail) link to access the Alarm Detail page. |
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Summary Analysis |
Click this link to view a Pareto chart of various alarm-related attributes. |
Select the Alarm Status tab.
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Test Violations |
Displays the number of test violations that caused the alarm to trigger. The alarm is tagged to a specific subgroup, where up to three test violations can be detected for each subgroup: means and variance charts and specification violation. |
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Cause Count |
Displays the number of probable causes previously entered against this alarm. |
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Action Count |
Displays the number of corrective actions previously logged against this alarm. |
Viewing Alarm Details
Access the Alarm Detail page (Click a Characteristic (Display Detail) link on the Review Alarms page).
This page displays all the relevant subgroup information associated with a specific alarm.
Stream Hierarchy
The system displays the hierarchy fields associated with the quality function.
Alarm Detail
The system displays the basic information about the alarm, including the session ID associated with the alarm.
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Graph Data for This Period |
Select the type of graph that you want. Values are Control Chart, Histogram, Pareto of Alarms, Pareto of Comments, Pareto of Corrective Actions, Pareto of Defects, and Pareto of Probable Causes. |
Control Test Violations
Displays the control-test violations associated with the alarm. There can be up to three test violations per alarm.
Additional Links
You can link to other pages using the Go To Page field to enter corrective and probable cause actions and sample details.
Viewing Instructions
Access the Instructions page (Select the View Instruction option for the Go To Page field on the Alarm Detail page).
The system displays the measurement plan instructions that are associated with the control plan.
Viewing Sample Details
Access the Sample Values / Traceability Detail page (Select the Sample Detail option for the Go To Page field on the Alarm Detail page).
The page displays the sample details and trace field information associated with the subgroup when the alarm occurred.
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Sample |
Displays the sample number. |
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Reading |
Displays the sample or measurement value. |
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User ID |
Displays the user ID of the operator who performed the data collection (applies only to manual data entry). |
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Any/all traceable fields |
Displays the trace field values that are tagged to samples for this subgroup. |
Viewing Alarms Using PeopleSoft Workflow
This section discusses how to:
Start the Alarm Workflow process.
View alarms from the worklist.
See Also
Delivered Workflow for PeopleSoft Quality
Pages Used to View Alarms Using Workflow|
Page Name |
Definition Name |
Navigation |
Usage |
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QS_START_WF |
Quality, Prepare Analysis, Start Alarm Workflow Process, Start Alarm WorkFlow |
Initiate the Start Alarm Workflow Application Engine process (QS_ALM_WF) that takes generated alarms and posts alarm entries to the worklist or generates emails to notify appropriate individuals of the alarms. |
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QS_ALM_WF_DET |
Quality, Analyze Quality Results, Review Alarm Workflow Detail, Alarm Detail WF |
View alarms that were generated from the Start Alarm Workflow process. |
Starting the Alarm Workflow Process
Access the Start Alarm WorkFlow page (Quality, Prepare Analysis, Start Alarm Workflow Process, Start Alarm WorkFlow).
You must have previously entered data against a subgroup and generated alarms before starting the process. The process takes previously generated alarms and posts them to appropriate individual worklists or notifies them using email.
Note. You should schedule this process as a recurring process to ensure uninterrupted dispatch of alarms to the worklists.
Viewing Alarms from the Worklist
Access the Alarm Detail page (Quality, Analyze Quality Results, Review Alarm Workflow Detail, Alarm Detail WF).
You must have previously entered data against a subgroup and generated alarms. You can use this page only if you incorporated Workflow into Quality. To review a session, click an alarm entry on the worklist.
This page is similar to the Review Alarms - Alarm Detail page.
Note. Access this page only through worklist.
See Also
Viewing Alarms Using an Access Profile
Reviewing Control Plan Performance
This section provides an overview of the Control Plan Performance component and discusses how to:
Select control plans.
Review process streams.
Review subgroup details.
Review basic statistics.
Review capability indices.
Review attribute statistics.
Understanding the Control Plan Performance
Component
You can monitor process performance using the Review Control Plan Performance component. For example, you can assess key statistics, perform graphical analysis, and, if needed, post probable causes and corrective actions. The inquiry is similar to creating a quality data extraction, but does not require the SQL-like qualification of plan hierarchy fields. Instead, you enter the specific hierarchy field values related to the control plan. These pages produce a quick snapshot of the process data over a specified period of time.
In addition, the process information on these pages can be downloaded in the form of a quality application client dataset and used for exploratory analysis off-line.
Note. This option is available if the Quality application client is installed.
See Also
Defining Data Extractions and Loading Datasets
Using the PeopleSoft Quality Application Client
Pages Used to Review Control Plan Performance|
Page Name |
Definition Name |
Navigation |
Usage |
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QS_STRMRVW_SEL |
Quality, Analyze Quality Results, Review Ctrl Plan Performance, Selection Criteria |
Select a control plan and specify the timeframe from which you want to extract information. |
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QS_STRMRVW_GEN |
Quality, Analyze Quality Results, Review Ctrl Plan Performance, Stream Review |
View summary information for all process streams in the control plan. |
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QS_ANLZ_STSSUM_SPG |
Click the Comparative Analysis link on the Stream Review page. |
Select the statistic for comparison. |
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QS_BARGRAPH_RVW |
Click the Graph Results button on the Compare Dataset Statistics page. |
View a bar graph comparing the selected statistics for all characteristics in the control plan. |
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QS_SGRP_DET_PNL |
Click the Characteristic (Display Detail) link on the Stream Review page. |
View subgroup results associated with a selected process stream. |
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QS_STRMRVW_STS |
Quality, Analyze Quality Results, Review Ctrl Plan Performance, Basic Statistics |
View basic statistics by stream. |
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QS_STRMRVW_STS2 |
Quality, Analyze Quality Results, Review Ctrl Plan Performance, Capability Indices |
Display capability indices by stream. |
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QS_STRMRVW_STS4 |
Quality, Analyze Quality Results, Review Ctrl Plan Performance, Attributes Statistics |
View attribute statistics associated with the defects or defectives characteristics for the control plan. |
Selecting Control Plans
Access the Selection Criteria page (Quality, Analyze Quality Results, Review Ctrl Plan Performance, Selection Criteria).
Select the specific hierarchy fields in the upper portion of the page associated with the control plan for which you want to review performance. The hierarchy fields vary depending on the quality function that you select.
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Select Sessions By |
Select the time frame for which you want to view the control plan performance. Values include: All Subgroups: Retrieves all subgroups for the process. Note. Selecting All Subgroups against high-volume processes may cause longer processing times. Daily Window: Retrieves data starting from a specified number of days from the current date and time. Enter the number of days to subtract from the current date in the Review Period Days field. Specific Date Range: Selects data within a specific date range. Enter the date from and from time, as well as the date to and to time. Subgroup Window: Selects the most current N subgroups completed. Enter the number of subgroups that you want in the Number of Subgroups field. |
Reviewing Process Streams
Access the Stream Review page (Quality, Analyze Quality Results, Review Ctrl Plan Performance, Stream Review).
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Comparative Analysis |
Click this link to view a bar graph comparing selected statistics for all characteristics in the control plan. |
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Characteristic (Display Detail) |
Click this link to access the Subgroup Detail page for that characteristic. The Subgroup Detail page lists the subgroup values that you selected and used to calculate the summary display. |
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Stream ID |
Displays a unique process stream that was defined by the system. |
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LSL (lower specification limit) |
Displays the current lower specification limit. |
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USL (upper specification limit) |
Displays the current upper specification limit. |
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Subgroups |
Displays the number of subgroups the system retrieves and uses for performance estimates. |
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Alarms |
Displays the number of alarms occurring for the subgroup during the time period. |
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Display Graph |
Select the type of graph that you would like to review for this characteristic. Values are Control Chart, Histogram, Pareto of Alarms, Pareto of Comments, Pareto of Corrective Actions, Pareto of Defects, and Pareto of Probable Causes. |
See Also
Reviewing Subgroup Details
Access the Subgroup Detail page (Click the Characteristic (Display Detail) link on the Stream Review page).
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Date Submitted |
Displays the date and time that the subgroup was entered. |
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Subgroup Size |
Displays the subgroup sample size. |
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Chart 1 Result |
Displays the calculated subchart 1 plot value. |
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Chart 2 Result |
Displays the calculated subchart 2 plot value. |
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Test Violations |
Displays the number of test violations detected for this subgroup. |
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Action Count |
Displays the number of corrective actions logged against this subgroup. |
Reviewing Basic Statistics
Access the Basic Statistics page (Quality, Analyze Quality Results, Review Ctrl Plan Performance, Basic Statistics).
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Observations |
Displays the number of discrete observations used to in the statistical calculations. |
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Mean |
Displays the statistical mean. |
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Range |
Displays the range. |
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Sigma |
Displays the standard deviation. |
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Skewness |
Displays the skewness. |
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Kurtosis |
Displays the kurtosis. |
See Also
Reviewing Capability Indices
Access the Capability Indices page (Quality, Analyze Quality Results, Review Ctrl Plan Performance, Capability Indices).
The system displays the process capabilities that are industry-accepted estimates calculated for each characteristic in the control plan.
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Cp |
Process potential. |
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Cpk |
Process capability. |
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Cpl |
Lower process capability. |
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Cpu |
Upper process capability. |
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Cr |
Capability ratio. |
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Est % Total (estimated percent total), Est % Below (estimated percent below), and Est % Above (estimated percent above) |
Displays the estimated total percentage of units predicted to be out of specification. |
See Also
Reviewing Attribute Statistics
Access the Attributes Statistics page (Quality, Analyze Quality Results, Review Ctrl Plan Performance, Attributes Statistics).
Note. The statistics are only calculated for characteristics that have a data type of defects or defectives—count data.
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Sum Subgroup Size (sum subgroup size) |
Displays a tally of all subgroup sizes entered for each subgroup retrieved by the inquiry. |
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Sum Defects |
Sum total of all defects. |
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Defects/Unit, Defects/100, Defects/1000, and Defects/Million |
Statistics include defects per unit, hundred, thousand, and million. |
See Also
