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Create MSA Template How-To

This walkthrough builds a blank data collection sheet for a study of three operators, ten parts and two trials, then runs the analysis straight from it.

There is no data to paste. The point of a template is that it is empty: you print it or fill it in on screen as the measurements are taken, and the analysis reads it directly afterwards.

Steps

  1. Start on an empty worksheet

    From the Excel ribbon: QXL Stat Tools > MSA / Gage R&R > Create MSA Template.

    Unlike the analysis tools, this one does not read a selection, so there is nothing to select first.

  2. Choose the data format

    Under Data Format, choose Quantitative (Variable). That is the format the Crossed, Nested and Extended analyses read.

    Qualitative (Attribute) builds a sheet for pass and fail ratings instead, which is read by the attribute MSA tools further down the menu rather than by the three analyses this walkthrough is for.

  3. Say whether you have reference values

    Under Reference Values, choose I do not have reference values.

    Choose I have reference values for the parts instead if the true value of each part is known, for example from a calibration lab. That adds a reference column to the sheet and turns on the bias and linearity part of the analysis, which is the only part that can say whether the system reads correctly rather than merely consistently.

  4. Set the size

    Under Template Size:

    • Number of operators: 3
    • Number of replications: 2
    • Number of parts: 10

    The sheet you get holds 3 times 2, or six, measurement columns and ten part rows, so sixty measurement cells.

  5. Choose Finish

    The template is written onto the worksheet.

What the template looks like

The block is laid out for a person with a gage in their hand, not for a spreadsheet formula.

A two-row header. The first row holds Part and then one heading per operator, Operator 1, Operator 2 and Operator 3, each merged across that operator's trial columns. The second row holds Trial 1 and Trial 2 under each operator. Then one row per part, numbered down the Part column.

So the grid is wide: one column per operator and trial combination, which for this study is six columns of measurements beside the part numbers.

A gage and part information area, with labelled cells to fill in: Gage name:, Gage No.:, Gage type:, Part name:, Part No.:, Characteristics: and Specifications:.

A limits and signoff area to the side, holding USL:, LSL:, Date: and Performed by:. The date is filled in with today's date. Enter the limits here if you know them: the analysis reads them back off the sheet, so they do not have to be typed again.

Printed instructions beside the table, in these words:

  1. Enter the gage and part information.
  2. Enter the USL and LSL if known (needed for %Tolerance).
  3. Have each operator measure each part in random order; type each result under that operator's trial column.
  4. When the table is full, run the MSA analysis on this template.

Filling it in

Work down each operator's pair of columns, one measurement per cell. Leave a cell empty if a measurement was not taken; an empty cell is carried through as a missing measurement rather than being silently treated as a zero or dropped.

You can put more than one template on the same sheet. Add Template adds another to the list before anything is written, and each block is written below the previous one.

Running the analysis from the template

  1. With the filled-in template on screen, choose QXL Stat Tools > MSA / Gage R&R > Crossed.

  2. Quantum XL finds the template and offers the estimation method directly, rather than asking you to assign columns. The choices are:

    • Automatic (balanced: EMS; unbalanced: REML)
    • Restricted Maximum Likelihood (REML)
    • Expected Mean Squares (EMS) - Equivalent to ANOVA when balanced
    • Xbar and Range (XbarR)

    Choose Automatic and press OK.

  3. The report appears on its own worksheet, exactly as it would from data you had arranged yourself.

The Data tab is skipped because the reshaping is done for you

The analyses read one row per measurement, with the part and the operator in their own columns. The template's grid is the other shape: one column per operator and trial.

Running the analysis from a template reshapes the grid into that row-per-measurement form automatically, which is why there are no columns to assign. Each operator is labelled Operator 1, Operator 2 and so on, taken from its position in the grid rather than from anything you type.

The specification limits and the gage information are read back off the sheet at the same time.

Choosing between a template and your own layout

Both work, and neither is preferred.

A template Your own layout
shape wide: one column per operator and trial one row per measurement
filling it in designed for a person recording measurements designed for data you already have
starting the analysis method dialog only, no columns to assign the Data tab, assigning each role column
limits and gage info read back off the sheet typed into the dialog

Use a template when you are about to collect data. Use your own layout when the data already exists in some other shape, which is what the Crossed How-To walks through.

See Also