Practice - Quality Management

1. A quality characteristic is normally distributed having specification limits at 40 ± 5.0

is measured, and x and R values are calculated for each sample. Samples of 4 items
each are taken from a process at regular intervals. After 50 samples, we have
50 50

∑ x i=2000∧∑ Ri =200
i=1 i=1

a. Is the process capable?

Assuming that the process is under control,
b. Compute the control limits of x chart.
c. Compute the control limits of R chart.
d. If the process mean is shifted to 35, what is the probability that after the shift,
the first immediate sample mean falls within the control limits?
e. What is ARL?

2. x and s charts are constructed for a quality characteristic based on sample size n = 4
and the process has shown statistical control:
x chart: UCL = 713; Center line = 700; LCL = 687
s−chart :UCL = 18.08; Center line = 7.979; LCL = 0
(a) If the specifications are at 700 ± 28, and the process output is normally
distributed, estimate the fraction nonconforming.
(b) For the chart, find the probability of a type I error, assuming σ is constant.
(c) Find the ARL when the process is under control
(d) Suppose the process mean shifts to 693. Find the probability of detecting this shift
on the chart on the first subsequent sample.
(e) For the shift to 693, find the average run length.
3. A total of 550 items are nonconforming in the first 30 lots of a part while inspecting
700 from each lot.
a. Compute 3 sigma control limits for np-chart
b. Compute 3 sigma control limits for p-chart
c. What is the type I error for the above 3 sigma control limits?
d. If the process average remains the same, what is the probability that the 31 st lot
contains more than 15 non-conforming items?
e. If the process average increases by 5, what is the probability that the 31 st lot
inspected will exceed UCL? What is the type II error?

4. The diameter of a metal disc is normally distributed with a mean of 4.8 cm and a
standard deviation of 0.35. The quality manager uses x chart and s-chart to monitor
this critical quality characteristic. What will he conclude about the process if the last 6
samples of size 10 he collected are as follows:
Sample number 1 2 3 4 5 6
Sample mean 4.80 4.62 4.81 4.55 4.92 4.65
Sample standard deviation 0.35 0.33 0.31 0.35 0.37 0.39

X bar chart

1 2 3 4 5 6

UCL LCL CL
 S chart

1 2 3 4 5 6

UCL LCL CL

5. The time to replace vehicle wiper blades at a service center is normally distributed
with a mean of 3 months and a standard deviation of 0.12. It was monitored using a
mean X and R chart. The last six samples of n=20 observations are shown below:

Sample 1 2 3 4 5 6
Mean 3.06 3.15 3.11 3.13 3.06 3.09
Range 0.42 0.5 0.41 0.46 0.46 0.45
What will be the conclusion about the process?

X bar chart

1 2 3 4 5 6

UCL LCL CL
 R chart

1 2 3 4 5 6

UCL LCL CL