A Gage Repeatability and Reproducibility Study (known as a GR&R study) is a
method of determining the suitability of a gage or gaging system for measuring
a particular process. Every measurement taken has some error associated with
it, and if this error is large compared to the allowable range of values (the
tolerance band), the measuring device will frequently accept bad parts and
reject good ones. It will also cause control limits to be incorrectly set
because the variability of the measurement device is added to the variability
of the process under study.
A GR&R study gives the following benefits:
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Help choose the proper type of gage for a quality control program
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Show when gages are beginning to wear
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Pinpoint sources of error in a quality control program
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Allow faster detection of an "out of statistical control" condition