Control chart systems are commonly used in quality management systems to keep production processes stable. The most efficient control chart systems are cumulated sums (cusum), which look at the deviations from a target value. Cusum charts react more rapidly on systematic changes in processes than other charts such as Shewhart charts, which look at the process values. The cusum method is often applied for compressive strength but it is particularly suitable if counteractions be taken immediately, like in the case of fresh concrete properties.
The present study shows that regardless of the manipulation, a steady slump flow can be achieved only by adding supplementary superplasticizer in case of loss of flow and adding stabilising agent (ST) in case of increased flow if the V-mask indicates a systematic change. A reference SCC was artificially manipulated in order to achieve either increased or reduced flowability. Arithmetic mean values and standard deviations were determined experimentally without and after taking counteractions. These parameters were used for case studies of steady SCC productions based on normally distributed random values. For the indication of a systematic change, a standard V-mask was used.
The results point out that productions with applied cusum methods were capable of keeping the slump flow deviation from the target in the order of magnitude of about 1% despite drastic manipulations, while productions without applied cusum method deviated up to 14% and more from the target slump flow value.
Im Hinblick auf die Konformitätsbewertung der Druckfestigkeit von Beton wird es in der für 2014 geplanten Fassung der EN 206 signifikante Änderungen geben. Neben den bisher bekannten Verfahren werden auch sogenannte Kontrollkartensysteme als Konformitätsnachweis zugelassen. Dabei können beliebige Kontrollkartensysteme verwendet werden, sofern nachgewiesen werden kann, dass der maximale Durchschlupf (Average Outgoing Quality Limit, AOQL) 5 % beträgt. Im informativen Normenanhang werden zwei grundlegende Verfahren, das sogenannte Shewhart-Verfahren sowie das CUSUM-Verfahren (Cumulative Sum) beschrieben, welche beide die Forderung an das AOQL erfüllen.
Kontrollkartensysteme sind eigentlich Werkzeuge zur Prozesssteuerung. Sie können effektiv dabei helfen, die Produktion technisch, ökonomisch und ökologisch zu optimieren. Allerdings sind Kontrollkarten deutlich komplexer in der Anwendung als die bisher normativ erfassten Methoden. Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt die neuen Verfahren und deren Besonderheiten anhand von Beispielen vor. Darüber hinaus werden der Zusatznutzen bei sachgerechter Anwendung im Vergleich und Vor- und Nachteile zu den bisherigen Verfahren dargestellt und diskutiert.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With regard to the conformity assessment of the compressive strength of concrete, there will be significant changes in the EN 206, which is scheduled for publication in 2014. So called control chart systems will be approved supplementary to the existing methods. Any control chart can be used as long as the system can grant an average outgoing quality limit (AOQL) of 5 %. The informative appendix of the standard presents two fundamental control chart methods, the so called Shewhart method and the CUSUM method (cumulative sum), both of which fulfill the required AOQL.
Control card systems are actually tools for process control. They can effectively help to optimise production processes technically, economically, and ecologically. However, control charts are much more complex to use than the methods known from the recently applied standard. This paper presents these new methods and their characteristics using examples. Furthermore, the additional benefit of these systems is illustrated and advantages and disadvantages are discussed in comparison to existing methods.
African cement infrastructure is quite complex. Apart from Northern Africa and South Africa in particular, cement plants are scarce resulting in highly unstable cement pricing. Clinker and cement are imported from overseas, e.g. from Portugal, Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, and China. Imports are typically determined by the lowest price, and as a result the countries of origin of products vary regularly yielding large scatter of properties. Quality control and a good quality infrastructure are thus of utmost importance for the safety of the populace, an issue, which is actually often neglected. With funding of the German Metrology Institute (PTB) and support of the SPIN project, a proficiency testing scheme for cement testing according to EN 196 was set up for African laboratories. Proficiency testing schemes, also called round robins, are inter-laboratory performance comparisons allowing participants to evaluate themselves against pre-established criteria. They are a powerful tool to help laboratories improve their performance as well as demonstrate their competences to accreditation bodies or customers. 26 laboratories from 20 nations, 18 of which from Africa, participated. The BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing acted as coordinator and provider of the scheme. The aim of the round robin was to interpret the submitted data further beyond the pure statistic analyses. The data provided a positive picture of the performance of the participants in general, but it also exhibited a number of technical fields that need improvement. The paper provides the general results of the scheme and analyses identified strengths and weak points based on the submitted and non submitted data as well as on discrepancies from the EN 196 procedures during measurements. The application of EN standards for material testing is critically discussed and since quality infrastructure is also always an issue between industrial and political stakeholders, suggestions for the mitigation of the identified shared problems are given.