A control chart based on sample ranges for monitoring the covariance matrix of the multivariate processes

For the univariate case, the R chart and the S2 chart are the most common charts used for monitoring the process dispersion. With the usual sample size of 4 and 5, the R chart is slightly inferior to the S2 chart in terms of efficiency in detecting process shifts. In this article, we show that for the multivariate case, the chart based on the standardized sample ranges, we call the RMAX chart, is substantially inferior in terms of efficiency in detecting shifts in the covariance matrix than theVMAX chart, which is based on the standardized sample variances. The user’s familiarity with sample ranges is a point in favor of the RMAX chart. An example is presented to illustrate the application of the proposed chart.