NPCHART Statement

Syntax

The basic syntax for the NPCHART statement is as follows:

NPCHART process*subgroup-variable ;

The general form of this syntax is as follows:

NPCHART (processes)*subgroup-variable <(block-variables ) >

< =symbol-variable | ='character' > < / options >;

You can use any number of NPCHART statements in the SHEWHART procedure. The components of the NPCHART statement are described as follows.

process

processes

identify one or more processes to be analyzed. The specification of process depends on the input data set specified in the PROC SHEWHART statement.

If numbers of nonconforming items are read from a DATA= data set, process must be the name of the variable containing the numbers. For an example, see "Creating np Charts from Count Data" .
If proportions of nonconforming items are read from a HISTORY= data set, process must be the common prefix of the summary variables in the HISTORY= data set. For an example, see "Creating np Charts from Summary Data" .
If numbers of nonconforming items and control limits are read from a TABLE= data set, process must be the value of the variable _VAR_ in the TABLE= data set. For an example, see "Saving Control Limits" .

A process is required. If you specify more than one process, enclose the list in parentheses. For example, the following statements request distinct np charts for REJECTS and REWORKS:

  proc shewhart data=measures;
     npchart (rejects reworks)*sample / subgroupn=100;
  run;

Note that when data are read from a DATA= data set, the SUBGROUPN= option, which specifies subgroup sample sizes, is required.

subgroup-variable

is the variable that identifies subgroups in the data. The subgroup-variable is required. In the preceding NPCHART statement, SAMPLE is the subgroup variable. For details, see "Subgroup Variables" .

block-variables

are optional variables that group the data into blocks of consecutive subgroups. The blocks are labeled in a legend, and each block-variable provides one level of labels in the legend. See "Displaying Stratification in Blocks of Observations" for an example.

symbol-variable

is an optional variable whose levels (unique values) determine the symbol marker or character used to plot numbers of nonconforming items.

If you produce a chart on a line printer, an `A' is displayed for the points corresponding to the first level of the symbol-variable, a `B' is displayed for the points corresponding to the second level, and so on.
If you produce a chart on a graphics device, distinct symbol markers are displayed for points corresponding to the various levels of the symbol-variable. You can specify the symbol markers with SYMBOLn statements. See "Displaying Stratification in Levels of a Classification Variable" for an example.

character

specifies a plotting character for charts produced on line printers. For example, the following statements create an np chart using an asterisk (*) to plot the points:

   proc shewhart data=values;
      npchart rejects*day='*' / subgroupn=100;
   run;

options

enhance the appearance of the chart, request additional analyses, save results in data sets, and so on. The "Summary of Options" section, which follows, lists all options by function. Chapter 43, "Dictionary of Options,", describes each option in detail.

Summary of Options

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