Learning Objectives

After this class the students should be able to:

• Distinguish between controlled and uncontrolled variation.
• Distinguish between variables and attributes.
• Describe Categories of SQC
• Using statistical tools in measuring quality characteristics
• Identify and describe causes of variation
Dimensions of Quality
?Performance: Will the product perform its intended job
?Reliability: How often does the product fail
?How often does this car require repair
?Durability: How long does the product last
The product should perform satisfactorily over a long period of life
?Serviceability: How easy is it to repair the product
?Aesthetics: What does the product look like
Features: What will the product do beyond the basics? Added features
Perceived Quality: What is the reputation of the company selling
?this product
Conformance to standards: Is the product made exactly as the
?designer intended
Definitions of Quality •
Quality means fitness for use
- quality of design
- quality of conformance

Quality is inversely proportional to variability.

- quality of design
– Materials used in construction
– Specifications of the components
– Reliability of drive train components
– Reliability of accessories
• quality of conformance: How well does the product conform to the
specifications required by the design?
Quality of conformance is influenced by
 Choice of manufacturing processes
 Training of the workers
 Supervision of the workers
 Motivation of the workers
 Quality-assurance procedures that were used
Quality improvement is the reduction of variability in processes and
..products
”.Alternatively, quality improvement is also seen as “waste reduction
Quality Characteristics
• Physical - length, weight, voltage, viscosity
• Sensory - taste, appearance, color
• Time Orientation - reliability, durability, serviceability

Quality engineering is the set of operational, managerial, and

engineering activities that a company uses to ensure that the quality
.characteristics of a product are at the nominal or required levels

Quality Assurance vs. Quality Control

Quality Assurance: An overall management plan to guarantee the

integrity of data (The “system)
True Value vs. Measured Value
True Value: The known, accepted value of a quantifiable property
Measured Value: he result of an individual’s measurement of a
quantifiable property
:Accuracy vs. Precision
Accuracy: How well a measurement agrees with an accepted value
Precision: How well a series of measurements agree with each other
Systematic vs. Random Errors
Systematic Error: Avoidable error due to controllable variables in a
measurement
Random Errors: Unavoidable errors that are always present in any
measurement. Impossible to eliminate error = inaccuracy
 Accuracy: defines the difference between the measured value and the
true value
 Statistics: a body of methods by which useful conclusions can be
drawn from numerical data. (Not simply facts stated as numbers.)
 Process: a systematic series of actions directed to some end.
 SPC: refers to controlling a process (e.g., chemical manufacture)
based on responding to process data with statistical techniques and
tools.
SQC: refers to controlling the quality of a product based on
responding to laboratory data with statistical techniques and tools.
 Specifications
Quality characteristics being measured are often compared to
standards or specifications
• Upper Specification Limit (USL)
• Lower Specification Limit (LSL)
– Largest and smallest allowable values
– One-sided
– Two-sided
• When a component or product does not meet specifications, it is
considered to be nonconforming.
• A nonconforming product is considered defective if it has one or
more nonconformities that may seriously affect the safe or effective
use of the product.
 Variation: like precision, deals with repeatability of data and also
stability of a process, i.e., variation = instability = imprecision
 Inherent variability
 No two products are ever identical
– Slight differences in materials
– Slight differences in machine settings
– Slight differences in operators
– Slight differences in ambient temperature during production
– Categories of Variation
Errors and variation can arise from two kinds of causes:
1. Special Causes: (assignable, bias, local variation), error/variation
results in one direction (either + or -) and can be traced to an
assignable, special cause, e.g., mis-calibrated instrument. It can be
detected by running known standards and recalibrating.
2. Common Cause: (random, system variation) error/variation results
randomly (without bias) in both directions (+ and -) and in varying
magnitude – due to unknown causes. Random variation is chronic
(continual), e.g., normal fluctuations in instruments, natural variation
in raw materials.
Statistics is more applicable to measuring and controlling variation from
common cause (random) than from special causes. (bias).

Statistical Methods for Quality Control and Improvement

Process variation...
 ..What prevents perfection? Process variation
Assignable Causes Natural Causes
Exogenous to process  Inherent to process
Not random  Random
 Cannot be controlled
Controllable  Cannot be prevented
Preventable  Examples
– weather
Examples – accuracy of
tool wear measurements
– capability of machine
“Monday” effect
poor maintenance

Steps in an SPC Program:

1. Identify the cause of variation in order to remedy it. This is not
always obvious; often it is elusive because manufacturing operations
are complex - many interrelated variables. Statistical Control Charts
distinguish between Common causes and Special causes of variation.
2. Remove special causes, e.g., recalibrate the instrument, store standards
to minimize deterioration, etc. Once a process is free of special
causes, it is said to be STABLE even though it still has variation due
to random causes.
3. Estimate the Process Capability.
4. Establish and carry out a plan to monitor, improve and assure the
quality of the process, e.g., charting, maintenance, training and record
keeping, in order to constantly and forever reduce variation.
Usefulness of Control Charting:
1. detects special causes of variation
2. measures and monitors common causes of variation
3. know when to look for problems and adjust or when to keep hands off
4. know when to make a fundamental change.

Definitions
• Variables Measurements on a continuous scale, such as length or weight
• Attributes Integer counts of quality characteristics, such as nbr. good or bad
• Defect A single non-conforming quality characteristic, such as a blemish
• Defective A physical unit that contains one or more defects
Types of control charts
Data monitored Chart name Sample size
• Mean, range of sample variables MR-CHART 2 to 5 units
• Individual variables I-CHART 1 unit
• % of defective units in a sample P-CHART at least 100 units
• Number of defects per unit C/U-CHART 1 or more units

Process Capability (Capability Index):

Process capability (Cp) is simply the ability of a process to meet a
customer's product specification (assuming the process is centered on
target). A process must be in control (random variation only) before Cp
can be calculated.

 = the standard deviation established from previous shipments (the

process history).
6 = the range of concentrations which included 99.7% of all previous
shipments.
If the process is not centered (on target), the process output will be less
than its ‘capability’ indicates. It is possible to have an excellent Cp but
produce 100% NC product.
TOOLS FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT:
Organizational:
1. Flow chart
2. Cause and Effect (fishbone, Ishikawa) diagram
3. Check Sheet
4. Pareto chart

Statistical:
5. Time-ordered plot (run chart)
6. Histogram (dot plot)
7. Statistical control charts (variables & attribute charts)
8. Scatter

Quality Control Measures

 Standards and Calibration
 Blanks
 Recovery Studies
 Precision and Accuracy Studies
 Method Detection Limits
 NJQLs
 Prepared vs. Purchased Standard
 Signals: Peak Area, Beer’s Law
 Calibration Curves
 Continuing Calibration Checks
 Internal Standards
 Performance Testing