What is Process Capability

Process Capability (PC) is the range of natural variation in a process, essentially what has been measured using control charts. It is sometimes also referred to as the natural tolerances of a process. PC is used to determine how well a process will fall within design specifications. Design specifications, sometimes referred to as specification limits or design tolerances have no statistical relationship to the control chart limits. If the natural variation of an existing process is greater than the specification limits, the process is not capable of meeting these specification limits. This situation will result in a large proportion of defective parts or product. Once production processes are in place that have the capability of producing products within the specification limits, controllable factors must be managed. /p>