SAMPLING

Acceptance sampling still has a place in the entire body of knowledge that constitutes quality
science.
Lot-by-lot acceptance sampling
Predetermined number of units (sample) from each lot is inspected by attributes. If the number
of nonconforming units is less than the prescribed minimum, the lot is accepted if not, the lot is
not accepted.

A single sampling plan is defined by the lot size, N , the sample size, n , and the acceptance
number, c .

means that a lot of 9000 units has 300 units inspected. If two or fewer nonconforming units are
found in the 300-unit sample, the lot is accepted. If three or more nonconforming units are
found in the 300-unit sample, the lot is not accepted.

Acceptance sampling is most likely to be used in one of five situations:

1- When the test is destructive (such as a test on an electrical fuse or a tensile test),
sampling is necessary; otherwise all of the units will be destroyed by testing.
2- When the cost of 100% inspection is high in relation to the cost of passing a
nonconforming unit.
3- When there are many similar units to be inspected, sampling will frequently produce as
good, if not better, results than 100% inspection.
4- When information concerning producer’s quality, such as X and R , p or c charts, and C
pk , is not available.
5- When automated inspection is not available.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Sampling

When sampling is compared with 100% inspection, it has the following advantages:
1. It places responsibility for quality in the appropriate place rather than on inspection,
thereby encouraging rapid improvement.
2. It is more economical, owing to fewer inspections (fewer inspectors) and less handling
damage during inspection.
3. It upgrades the inspection job from monotonous piece by- piece decisions to lot-by-lot
decisions.
4. It applies to destructive testing.
5. Entire lots are not accepted, rather than the return of a few nonconforming units, thereby
giving stronger motivation for improvement.
Inherent disadvantages of acceptance sampling are that
1- There are certain risks of not accepting conforming lots and accepting nonconforming
lots.
2- More time and effort is devoted to planning and documentation.
3- Less information is provided about the product although there is usually enough.
4- There is no assurance that the entire lot conforms to specifications.

Types of Sampling Plans

There are four types of sampling plans:
1. Single
2. Double
3. Multiple
4. Sequential

In the single sampling plan, one sample is taken from the lot and a decision to accept or not
accept the lot is made based on the inspection results of that sample.

Double sampling plans are somewhat more complicated. On the initial sample, a decision,
based on the inspection results, is made whether (1) to accept the lot, (2) not to accept the lot, or
(3) to take another sample. If the quality is very good, the lot is accepted on the first sample and
a second sample is not taken; if the quality is very poor, the lot is not accepted on the first
sample and a second sample is not taken. Only when the quality level is neither very good nor
very bad is a second sample taken.

If a second sample is required, the results of that inspection and the first inspection are used to
make a decision. A double sampling plan is defined by
N = lot size
n1 = sample size of first sample
c1 = acceptance number for the first sample (sometimes the symbol Ac is used)
r1 = nonacceptance number for the first sample (sometimes the symbol Re is used)
n2 = sample size of second sample
c2 = acceptance number for both samples
r2 = nonacceptance number for both samples

If values are not given for r1 and r2, they are equal to c2 + 1.
An illustrative example to clarify the double sampling plan:
N = 9000, n1 = 60, c1 = 1, r1 = 5 n2 = 150, c2 = 6, and r2 = 7.

An initial sample (n1) of 60 is selected from the lot (N) of 9000 and inspected.
One of the following judgments is made:
1- If there is 1 or fewer nonconforming unit (c1), the lot is accepted.
2- If there are 5 or more nonconforming units (r1), the lot is not accepted.
3- If there are 2, 3, or 4 nonconforming units, no decision is made and a second sample is
taken.
A second sample of 150 (n2) from the lot (N) is inspected, and one of the following judgments
is made:
1- If there are 6 or fewer nonconforming units (c2) in both samples, the lot is accepted. This
number (6 or fewer) is obtained by 2 in the first sample and 4 or fewer in the second
sample, by 3 in the first sample and 3 or fewer in the second sample, or by 4 in the first
sample and 2 or fewer in the second sample.
2- If there are 7 or more nonconforming units (r2) in both samples, the lot is not accepted.
This number (7 or more) is obtained by 2 in the first sample and 5 or more in the second
sample, by 3 in the first sample and 4 or more in the second sample, or by 4 in the first
sample and 3 or more in the second sample.

A multiple sampling plan is a continuation of double sampling in that three, four, five, or as
many samples as desired can be established. Sample sizes are much smaller. The technique is
the same as that described for double sampling therefore, a detailed description is not given.

In sequential sampling, items are sampled and inspected one after another. A cumulative
record is maintained, and a decision is made to accept or not accept the lot as soon as there is
sufficient cumulative evidence.

Sample Selection
The sample units selected for inspection should be representative of the entire lot. All sampling
plans are based on the idea that each unit in the lot has an equal probability of being selected.
This is referred to as random sampling.

The basic technique of random sampling is to assign a number to each unit in the lot. Then a
series of random numbers is generated that tells which of the numbered units are to be sampled
and inspected. Random numbers can be generated from a computer, an electronic hand
calculator, a -02sided random-number die, numbered chips in a bowl, and so on. They may be
used to select the sample or to develop a table of random numbers.
 STATISTICAL ASPECTS
An excellent evaluation technique is an operating characteristic (OC) curve
In judging a particular sampling plan, it is desirable to know the probability that a lot submitted
with a certain percent nonconforming, 100p0, will be accepted. The OC curve will provide this
information, and a typical OC curve is shown in Figure.

When the percent nonconforming is low, the probability of the lot being accepted is large and
decreases as the percent nonconforming increases.

OC Curve for the Single Sampling Plan N = 3000, n = 89, and c = 2

The construction of an OC curve can be illustrated by a concrete example. A single sampling

plan has a lot size N = 3000, a sample size n = 89, and an acceptance number c = 2.

Acceptance of the lot is based on the acceptance number c = 2 and is possible when there are 0
nonconforming units in the sample, 1 nonconforming unit in the sample, or 2 nonconforming
units in the sample. Thus,

The Pa value is obtained from Table

OC Curve Properties

1. Sample size as a fixed percentage of lot size.

Prior to the use of statistical concepts for acceptance sampling inspectors were frequently
instructed to sample a fixed percentage of the lot. If this value is, say, 10% of the lot size
plans for lot sizes of 900, 300, and 90 are

The OC curves for the three plans, and it is evident that they offer different levels of protection.
example, for a process that is 5% nonconforming, 100Pa = 2% for lot sizes of 900, 100Pa =
22% for lot sizes of 300, and 100Pa = 63% for lot sizes of 90.
 OC Curves for Sample Sizes that are 10% of OC Curves for Fixed Sample Size (Type A( the
Lot Size

2. Fixed sample size.

When a fixed or constant sample size is used, the OC curves are very similar.

The Figure 10-9 illustrates this property for the type A situation where n = 10% of N. Naturally,
for type B curves or when n 6 10% of N the curves are identical. The sample size has more to
do with the shape of the OC curve and the resulting quality protection than does the lot size.

3. As sample size increases, the curve becomes steeper.

Figure 02-02illustrates the change in the shape of the OC curve. As the sample size increases,
the slope of the curve becomes steeper and approaches a straight vertical line. Sampling plans
with large sample sizes are better able to discriminate between acceptable and unacceptable
quality. Therefore, the consumer has fewer lots of unacceptable quality accepted and the
producer fewer lots of acceptable quality that are not accepted.
 4. As the acceptance number decreases, the curve becomes steeper.
The change in the shape of the OC curve as the acceptance number changes is shown in Figure
10-11. As the acceptance number decreases, the curve becomes steeper. This fact has frequently
been used to justify the use of sampling plans with acceptance numbers of 0. However, the
OC curve for N = 2000, n = 300, and c = 2, which is shown by the dashed line, is steeper than
the plan with c = 0.
 QUALITY CONTROL

Quality control QC is the controlling processes through which we measure actual quality
performance compare it with standards and makes action on the difference.

What is QC Tools?
To make normal decisions using data obtained on the product, or process, or from the
consumer, organizations use certain graphical tools.

Graphical methods (basic) are easy to understand and provide comprehensive information they
are a possible tool for the analysis of product and process data.

They are called basic because they are suitable for people with little formal training in statistics
and because they can be used to solve the vast majority of quality-related issues.

7 Basic Tools
1. Pareto Chart
2. Check sheet
3. Cause & Effect Diagram
4. Control Chart
5. Histogram
6. Scatter Diagram
7. Stratification or Flow chart

1. Pareto Chart
Alfredo Pareto (1848–1923) conducted extensive studies of the distribution of wealth in
Europe. He found that there were a few people with a lot of money and many people with little
money. This unequal distribution of wealth became an integral part of economic theory. Joseph
Juran recognized this concept as a universal that could be applied to many fields

A Pareto diagram is a graph that ranks data classifications in descending order from left to
right, as shown in Figure. The data classifications are types of field failures.
Sometimes a Pareto diagram has a cumulative line, as shown in Figure. This line represents the
sum of the data as they are added together from left to right. Two scales are used: The one on
the left is either frequency or dollars, and the one on the right is percent.

Construction of a Pareto diagram is very simple. There are six steps:

1. Determine the method of classifying the data: by problem, cause, type of nonconformity, etc.
2. Decide if dollars (best), weighted frequency, or frequency is to be used to rank the
characteristics.
3. Collect data for an appropriate time interval.
4. Summarize the data and rank-order categories from largest to smallest.
5. Compute the cumulative percentage if it is to be used.
6. Construct the diagram and find the vital few.
The Pareto diagram is a powerful quality improvement tool. It is applicable to problem
identification and the measurement of progress.

2. Check sheets
The check sheet is a form (document) used to collect data in real time at the location where the
data is generated.
• The main purpose of check sheets is to ensure that data are collected carefully and
accurately by operating personnel for process control and problem solving.
• It can be quickly and easily used and analyzed.
• Creativity plays a major role in the design of a check sheet.
• It should be user-friendly and, whenever possible include information on time and
location.

Examples of check sheets

1- check sheet for paint nonconformities for bicycles

2- A maintenance check sheet for the swimming pool of a major motel chain.
Checks are made on a daily and weekly basis, and some checks, such as temperature, are
measured. This type of check sheet ensures that a check or test is made
 3. Cause & Effect (C&E ) Diagram
A cause-and-effect (C&E) diagram is a picture composed of lines and symbols designed to
represent a meaningful relationship between an effect and its causes.
It was developed by Kaoru Ishikawa in 1943 and is sometimes referred to as an Ishikawa
diagram.
• C&E diagrams are used to investigate either a “bad” effect and to take action to correct
the causes or a “good” effect and to learn those causes responsible.
• For every effect there are likely to be numerous causes.

Each cause or reason for imperfection is a source of variation. Causes are usually grouped into
major categories to identify these sources of variation. The Figure illustrates a C&E diagram
with the effect on the right and causes on the left.

C&E diagrams

The effect is the quality characteristic that needs improvement. Causes are usually broken down
into the major causes of work methods, materials, measurement people, and the environment.

4. Control Charts
The control chart is a graph used to study how a process changes over time. Data are plotted in
time order. A control chart always has a central line for the average, an upper line for the upper
control limit and a lower line for the lower control limit.
 5. Histogram

A histogram is a graphical representation of the distribution of numerical data. It is an estimate

of the probability distribution of a continuous variable (quantitative variable) and was first
introduced by Karl Pearson

The histogram graphically shows the process capability and, if desired, the relationship to the
specifications and the nominal. It also suggests the shape of the population and indicates if
there are any gaps in the data.
6- Scatter Diagram
Also called: scatter plot, X–Y graph. The scatter diagram graphs pairs of numerical data, with
one variable on each axis, to look for a relationship between them. If the variables are
correlated, the points will fall along a line or curve. The better the correlation, the tighter the
points will hug the line.

Average and Range charts, showing quality improvement.

7- Flow Chart
A flowchart is a formalized graphic representation of a logic sequence, work or manufacturing
process, organization chart, or similar formalized structure. Flowcharts use simple geometric
symbols and arrows to define relationships.