MODULE 4.

2
QUALITY CONTROL & ACCEPTANCE SAMPLING
STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL
MANY ORGANISAIONS ATTEMPT TO DESIGN QUALITY INTO
THEIR PROCESS THROUGH CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
METHODS. QUALITY IMPROVEMENT RELIES ON CONTINUAL
MONITORING OF THE INPUTS AND OUTPUTS OF THE
PROCESSES PRODUCING PRODUCTS AND SERVICE.

WHEN INPUTS AND OUTPUTS CAN BE MEASURED OR
COMPARED, TQM STATISTICAL TOOLS SUCH AS CONTROL
CHARTS CAN BE USEFUL TO EVALUATE THE DEGREE OF
CONFORMANCE TO SPECIFICATIONS.

`SPC IS THE APPLICATION OF STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES TO
DETERMINE WHETHER THE OUTPUT OF THE PROCESS
CONFORMS TO THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE DESIGN.
IN SPC, CONTROL CHARTS ARE USED TO DETECT
DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES AND ALSO INDICATE
THAT PRODUCTION PROCESSES HAVE CHANGED AND THE
PRODUCTS WILL DEVIATE FROM THEIR DESIGN
SPECIFICATIONS UNLESS SOMETHING IS DONE TO
CORRECT THE SITUATION.

SOURCES OF VARIATION: ALL PROCESSES ARE SUBJECT
TO CERTAIN DEGREE OF VARIABILITY.

NO TWO PRODUCTS ARE EXACTLY ALIKE BECAUSE THE
PROCESS USED MAY CONTAIN SOURCE OF VARIATIONS. IT
IS VERY DIFFICULT TO ELIMINATE VARIATION IN PROCESS
COMPLETELY.
THE PROCESS OWNERS CAN INVESTIGATE THE CAUSE OF
VARIATION TO MINIMISE IT.

NATURAL VARIATIONS: THEY ARE INHERENT OF ANY
PROCESS. THEY ARE DUE TO COMMON OR CHANCE
ERRORS/CAUSES. WHICH ARE PURELY

RANDOM, UNIDENTIFIABLE SOURCES OF VARIATION.

THESE CAUSES ARE UNAVOIDABLE WITH THE CURRENT
PROCESS WHICH IS STATISTICAL CONTROL.
NATURAL VARIATIONS BEHAVE LIKE A CONSTANT SYSTEM OF
CHANCE CAUSES ALTHOUGH INDIVIDUAL VALUES ARE ALL
DIFFERENT, AS A GROUP, THEY FORM A PATTERN THAT CAN BE
DESCRIBED AS A DISTRIBUTION. WHEN THESE DISTRIBUTIONS
ARE NORMAL, THEY ARE CHARACTERIZED BY TWO PARAMETERS
MEAN & STANDARD DEVIATION.

MEAN : : n/z xi

i = 1 / n

x : OBSERVATION OF A QUALITY CHARACTERISTIC
n : NUMBER OF OBSERVATION
: MEAN OR AVERAGE VALUE.

(MEAN IS THE MEASURE OF CENTRAL TENDENCY OR THE
AVERAGE VALUE).
STANDARD DEVIATION:

IT IS THE MEASURE OF DISPERSION ABOUT THE MEAN
KNOWN AS SPREAD

ANOTHER MEASURE OF DISPERSION IS THE RANGE WHICH
IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE LARGEST AND THE
SMALLEST IN A SAMPLE.

Range R : X - X

AS LONG AS THE OUTPUT MEASUREMENT (DISTRIBUTION)
REMAINS WITHIN SPECIFIED LIMITS THE PROCESS IS SAID
TO BE IN CONTROL AND NATURAL VARIATIONS ARE
TOLERATED.

ASSIGNABLE VARIATION : ASSIGNABLE VARIATION IN A
PROCESS CAN BE TRACED TO A SPECIFIC REASON KNOWN
AS ASSIGNABLE CAUSE OF VARIATION.

FACTORS SUCH AS TOOL WEAR, MISADJUSTED EQUIPMENT,
FATIGUED OR UNTRAINED WORKERS, NEW BATCHES OF
RAW MATERIALS, NOT FOLLOWING PROCESS
SPECIFICATION ARE ALL POTENTIAL SOURCES OF
ASSIGNABLE CAUSES.

WALTER SHEWHART OF BELL LABORATORIES USA MADE
A DISTINCTION BETWEEN COMMON AND SPECIAL CAUSES
OF VARIATION WHICH ARE REFERRED AS NATURAL (OR
CHANCE ) AND ASSIGNABLE CAUSES OF VARIATION.
SHEWHART DEVELOPED CONTROL CHART WHICH ARE
SIMPLE BUT POWERFUL BOOKS TO SEPARATE THE CHANCE
VS. ASSIGNABLE CAUSES.

`SPC IS USED TO MEASURE THE PROCESS
PERFORMANCE

A PROCESS IS SAID TO BE OPERATING IN STATISTICAL
CONTROL WHEN THE ONLY SOURCE OF VARIATION IS
CHANCE OR COMMON OR NATURAL CAUSES.

THE PROCESS IS SAID TO BE OUT OF CONTROL WHEN
ASSIGNABLE CAUSES OF VARIATION ENTER THE PROCESS.

THE PROCESS MUST BE BROUGHT TO STATISTICAL
CONTROL BY DETECTING AND ELIMINATING ASSIGNABLE
CAUSES OF VARIATION.
`SPC IS A PROVEN TECHNIQUE FOR IMPROVING
QUALITY AND PRODUCTIVITY. IT IS A MEANS BY
WHICH A COMPANY MAY DEMONSTRATE ITS
QUALITY CAPABILITY.

`SPC REQUIRES PROCESS TO SHOW
MEASURABLE VARIATIONS WITHIN 3 SIGMA AND
IT IS INEFFECTIVE FOR QUALITY LEVELS
APPROACHING SIX SIGMA.

SPC IS HELPFUL FOR COMPANIES IN THE EARLY
STAGES OF QUALITY EFFORTS.
CONSTRUCTION OF CONTROL CHARTS WHEN STANDARDS
ARE GIVEN:

a) CONTROL CHART FOR MEAN x chart

IF ` AND ` ARE THE MEAN AND STANDARD DEVIATION
OF THE POPULATION OF THE RANDOM SAMPLES OF SIZE n,
THEN

CONTROL LINE CL DENOTES ` VALUE

UCL ( x ) = + 3

LCL ( x ) = - 3
MANUFACTURING ORGANISATIONS GENERALLY ADOPT

1.96 DISTANCE ON EITHER SIDE OF CL AS WARNING LIMITS
(95% CONFIDENCE LEVEL)

UWL (x) =
LWL (X) =

THESE LIMITS INDICATE THAT THE PROCESS MIGHT HAVE
GONE OUT OF LIMITS.

THUS, THE LIMITS ARE DEPENDENT ON THE SAMPLE SIZE
(n) lf AND ARE GIVEN.
b) CONTROL CHART FOR RANGE (R-CHART) FOR
CONSTRUCTION OF R-CHART WHEN IS GIVEN . WE USE
THE RELATIONSHIP

CL=D, , UCL = D, +3D2 , LCL = D, - 3D2

PROBLEM(1):

FOR A PRODUCTION PROCESS, THE GIVEN PARAMETERS
ARE MEAN DIAMETER OF WORK PIECE AS 10CM AND
STANDARD DEVIATION AS 0.7CM. WHILE CHECKING THE
QUALITY OF THE OUTGOING WORK PIECE, THE INSPECTOR
DRAWS THE MEAN SAMPLE OF SIZE 16 AND 25 SHOW THE
WARNING AND CONTROL LIMITS ON THE CONTROL CHART.
SOLUTION:

= 10CM
= 0.7CM
n, = 16 AND NZ = 25

CENTRAL LINE CL WILL BE MARKED AT AVERAGE VALUE OF
THE DIAMETER OF THE WORK PIECE i.e CL = 10 CM

FOR SAMPLE SIZE OF 16, N, - 16

THE CONTROL AND WARNING LIMITS CAN THUS BE DRAWN
ON THE CONTROL CHART AS INDICATED BELOW:
PROBLEM (2)

DRAW R-CHART FOR THE DATA GIVEN IN PROBLEM No: (1)

SOLUTION :
TAKING THE DATA FROM THE PREVIOUS PROBLEMS
VARIOUS VALUES ARE OBTAINED FROM SQC TABLES FOR
D, AND D2
FROM TABLES (17.1) VALUES OF D1=3.532
D2=0.749
CL = D1
= 3.532 X 0.7 = 2.472 CM
UCL =

THE CONTROL CHART FOR SAMPLE SIZE 25 CAN BE DRAWN
TYPES OF ACCEPTANCE
SAMPLING PLANS

100 PERCENT INSPECTION OF ITEMS INVOLVE HUGE COSTS
AND TIME CONSUMING. ACCEPTANCE SAMPLING IS A
TECHNIQUE USED FOR INSPECTING BATCHES GENERALLY
KNOWN AS LOTS

THE IDEA OF SAMPLING INSPECTION IS TO INSPECT ONLY A
SMALL PORTION OF THE LOT BASED ON THE QUALITY OF
THE SAMPLE.

THE SAMPLE MUST BE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE LOT.
SELECTION OF SAMPLE SHALL BE AT RANDOM SO THAT
EVERY PORTION OF THE LOT HAS EQUAL REPRESENTATION
IN THE SAMPLE.
A SAMPLE IS ONLY REPRESENTATIVE AND NOT IDENTICAL
WITH THE LOT

RANDOM SAMPLING PROVIDES EACH ELEMENT WITH AN
EQUAL CHANCE OF BEING SELECTED AND PERMIT LOGICAL
INFERENCE TO BE MADE ABOUT THE LOT ( POPULATION OR
UNIVERSE IN STATISTICAL TERMS) QUALITY ON THE BASIS
ON SAMPLE EVIDENCE.

SAMPLING PLANS FOR ATTRIBUTES OR VARIABLES

QUALITY CONTROL INSPECTORS ARE NORMALLY FORCED
TO RESORT TO SAMPLING INSPECTION OF LOTS BECAUSE
OF THE COST OF 100 PERCENT INSPECTION OR THE
DESTRUCTIVE NATURE OF INSPECTION OR TESTING, WHICH
RULES OUT 100 PERCENT INSPECTION.
1. SINGLE SAMPLING PLAN

WHEN THE DECISION TO ACCEPT A LOT OR REJECT A LOT IS
MADE ON THE BASIS OF ONLY ONE SAMPLE, THE
ACCEPTANCE PLAN IS DESCRIBED AS A SINGLE SAMPLING
PLAN. THIS IS THE SIMPLEST TYPE OF SAMPLING PLAN.

IN ANY SYSTEMATIC PLAN FOR SINGLE SAMPLING, THREE
THINGS ARE SPECIFIED:

NUMBER OF ITEMS `N IN THE LOT FROM WHICH THE
SAMPLE IS TO BE DRAWN
NUMBER OF ARTICLES `n IN THE RANDOM SAMPLE DRAWN
FROM THE LOT.
THE ACCEPTANCE NUMBER `c WHICH IS THE MAXIMUM
ALLOWABLE NUMBER OF DEFECTIVE ARTICLES IN THE
SAMPLE.
MORE THAN THIS NUMBER, THE LOT IS REJECTED. THUS A
SAMPLING PLANNING BE SPECIFIED IN THIS WAY:

N=200, n-20, C=1

INTERPRETATION: TAKE A SAMPLE OF 20 NOS. FROM A LOT
OF 200 NOS. IF THE SAMPLE CONTAINS MORE THAN 1
DEFECTIVE, REJECT THE LOT, OTHERWISE ACCEPT THE
LOT.

2. DOUBLE SAMPLING PLAN:

IN THE SINGLE SAMPLING PLAN, DECISION REGARDING
ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION OF A LOT IS BASED ON THE
EVIDENCE OF ONLY ONE SAMPLE FROM THE LOT.
HOWEVER, DOUBLE SAMPLING INVOLVES THE
POSSIBILITY OF PUTTING OFF THE DECISION ON
THE LOT UNTIL THE SECOND SAMPLE HAS BEEN
TAKEN.

A LOT MAY BE ACCEPTED IF THE FIRST SAMPLE IS
GOOD ENOUGH OR REJECTED IF IT IS BAD.

IF THE FIRST SAMPLE IS NEITHER GOOD ENOUGH
OR BAD ENOUGH, THE DECISION IS BASED ON
THE EVIDENCE OF FIRST AND SECOND SAMPLES
COMBINED.
IN A DOUBLE SAMPLING PLAN 5 THINGS ARE SPECIFIED.

N= LOT SIZE
n1 = No. OF PIECES IN THE FIRST SAMPLE
c1 = ACCEPTANCE No. OF THE FIRST SAMPLE
n2 = No. OF PIECES IN THE SECOND SAMPLE
n1+n2= No. OF PIECES IN THE TWO SAMPLES COMBINED
c2= ACCEPTANCE NUMBER OF THE TWO SAMPLES
COMBINED.

EXAMPLE: DOUBLE SAMPLING PLAN MAY BE

N=500, n1 = 20, c1 = 1, N2 = 60, c2 = 4, INTERPRET THE
PLAN.
INSPECT A FIRST SAMPLE OF 20 NOS. FROM THE LOT OF 500
NOS.

ACCEPT THE LOT ON THE BASIS OF THE FIRST SAMPLE IF
THE SAMPLE CONTAINS MORE THAN 1 DEFECTIVE.

REJECT THE LOT ON THE BASIS OF THE FIRST SAMPLE IF
THE SAMPLE CONTAINS MORE THAN 1 DEFECTIVE.

INSPECT THE SECOND SAMPLE OF 60 IF THE FIRST SAMPLE
CONTAINS 2,3 & 4 DEFECTIVE.

ACCEPT THE LOT ON THE BASIS OF THE COMBINED SAMPLE
OF 80 IF THE COMBINED SAMPLE CONTAINS 4 OR LESS
DEFECTIVES.
REJECT THE LOT ON THE BASIS OF COMBINED SAMPLE IF
THE COMBINED SAMPLE CONTAINS MORE THAN 4
DEFECTIVES.

SINCE UNDER A SAMPLING INSPECTION A DECISION IS
MADE AS TO WHETHER TO ACCEPT A LOT OR REJECT A LOT
ON THE BASIS OF A SAMPLE, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF

REJECTING A LOT AS UNSATISFACTORY WHEN IT IS OF
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY.

ACCEPTING A LOT AS SATISFACTORY WHEN IT IS BELOW
THE QUALITY LEVEL.
IN ANY ACCEPTANCE SAMPLING PLAN, THERE ARE TWO
RISKS VIZ.

PRODUCERS RISK AND
CONSUMERS RISK.

SHEWARTS CONTROL CHART ARE CONCERNED WITH
PROCESS CONTROL. HERE THE PRODUCER HAD COMPLETE
CONTROL OF THE PROCESS, WHICH MADE THE PRODUCT.

WHEN IT COMES TO MARKETING THE PRODUCT, WE HAVE
TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE REQUIREMENTS OF
CUSTOMERS, FIRM OR COMPANIES WHO RECEIVE THE END
PRODUCT FROM THE PROCESS.
THIS REFERS TO PRODUCT CONTROL WHEREIN THE
PRODUCER HAS TO ENSURE THAT THE MANUFACTURED
GOODS ARE ACCORDING TO SPECIFICATIONS WITHOUT
DEFECTS. THIS IS DONE BY RECEIVING INSPECTION AT THE
CUSTOMERS END.

THE BASIC TOOL USED FOR EXAMINATION OF FINISHED
PRODUCT IS CALLED ACCEPTANCE INSPECTION IN WHICH
A DECISION TO ACCEPT OR REJECT IS DRAWN BASED ON
RANDOM SAMPLES.

ACCEPTANCE SAMPLING PLANS PIONEERED BY DODGE.H.F
AND ROMING H.G ARE POWERFUL TOOLS OF PRODUCT
CONTROL.

A LOT OF POOR QUALITY HAS VERY LITTLE CHANCE OF
BEING ACCEPTED.
ACCEPTANCE QUALITY LEVEL AND PRODUCERS RISK

A LOT OF RELATIVELY GOOD QUALITY i.e SMALL NUMBER
OF FRACTION DEFECTIVE (P1) WHICH SHOULD NORMALLY
BE ACCEPTED IS CALLED ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVEL
(AQL)

TYPES OF ACCEPTANCE SAMPLING:

a) ATTRIBUTE ACCEPTANCE SAMPLING
b) VARIABLE ACCEPTANCE SAMPLING

a) HERE DECISION REGARDING ACCEPTANCE OR
REJECTION IS BASED ON NUMBER OF DEFECTIVES FOUND
IN A SAMPLE.
A SAMPLE IS TAKEN FROM A LOT AND GOOD
ITEMS AND DEFECTIVE ITEMS ARE SEPARATED.

THE NUMBER OF DEFECTIVE ITEMS IS COMPARED
WITH THE ALLOWABLE LIMIT STATED IN A
SAMPLING PLAN.

IF THE NUMBER OF DEFECTIVE ITEMS IS LESS
THAN THE ALLOWABLE LIMIT, THE LOT IS
ACCEPTED, OTHERWISE REJECTED.

MIL-STD-105, ISO:2859 ARE REFERENCE
STANDARDS.
VARIABLE ACCEPTANCE SAMPLING:

HERE DECISION REGARDING ACCEPTANCE OR
REJECTION IS BASED ON AVERAGE (MEAN) AND SPREAD
OF A NUMBER OF INDIVIDUAL MEASUREMENT.

THE AVERAGE VALUE IS COMPARED WITH THE
ALLOWABLE VALUE STATED IN A SAMPLING PLAN TO
DECIDE WHETHER TO ACCEPT OR REJECT A LOT.

ISO : 3951 AND MIL-STD-414 REFERS TO SAMPLING
SYSTEM FOR INSPECTION BY VARIABLES.
ACCEPTANCE SAMPLING IS MOSTLY ATTRIBUTE
INSPECTION RATHER THAN VARIABLE INSPECTION. IT HAS
TWO IMPORTANT CONCEPTS AS BACK-GROUND WHEN THE
CHARACTERISTICS BEING MEASURED ARE ATTRIBUTES.
THEY ARE

AVERAGE OUTGOING QUALITY CURVES
OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS CURVES

AVERAGE OUTGOING QUALITY (AOQ) CURVES:

ASP PROVIDES MANAGERS WITH THE ASSURANCE THAT
THE AVERAGE QUALITY LEVEL OR PERCENT DEFECTIVE
ACTUALLY GOING TO CUSTOMER WILL NOT EXCEED A
CERTAIN LIMIT.
THE PROBABILITY OF REJECTING SUCH A LOT IS VERY
SMALL (X) WHICH IS A PRE-ASSIGNED SMALL NUMBER.

SINCE REJECTION OF A GOOD (ACCEPTABLE) LOT IS A
LOSS TO THE PRODUCER, IS USUALLY TERMED AS
PRODUCERS RISK. IN TESTING OF HYPOTHESIS, THIS IS THE
PROBABILITY OF TYPE I ERROR.

REJECTION QUALITY LEVEL AND CONSUMERS RISK

WHEN A BAD LOT IS ACCEPTED AS A GOOD LOT BASED ON
SAMPLE EVIDENCE, THE ERROR IS KNOWN AS TYPE II AND
THE RISK OF ACCEPTING A BAD LOT AS GOOD IS KNOWN AS
CONSUMERS RISK ( ) WHICH AGAIN SHOULD BE KEPT AS
LOW AS POSSIBLE.