Approaches to Quality Assurance
Inspection of lots before/after production
Acceptance sampling
Inspection and corrective action during production
Process control
Quality built into the process
Continuous Improvement
The least progressive
The most progressive
Inspection
Inspection is an appraisal activity that compares goods or services to a standard. Inspection is a vital, but often unappreciated aspect of quality control. The purpose of inspection is to provide information on the degree to which items conform to a standard. The basic issues are 1. How much to inspect and how often. 2. At what points in the process inspection should occur. 3. Whether to inspect in a centralized or on-site location. 4. Whether to inspect attributes (i.e., count the number of times something occurs) or variables (i.e., measure the value of a characteristic).
Acceptance sampling and process control
Inputs
Transformation
Outputs
Acceptance Sampling
Process control
Acceptance Sampling
Where to Inspect in the Process
In manufacturing, some of the typical inspection points are 1. Raw materials and purchased parts. There is little sense in paying for goods that do not meet quality standards and in expending time and effort on material that is bad to begin with. 2. Finished products. Customer satisfaction and the firms image are at stake here, and repairing or replacing products in the field is usually much more costly than doing it at the factory. 3. Before a costly operation. The point is to not waste costly labor or machine time on items that are already defective. 4. Before an irreversible process. In many cases, items can be reworked up to a certain point; beyond that point they cannot. 5. Before a covering process. Painting, plating, and assemblies often mask defects.
Process Variability
1. Are the variations random? If nonrandom variations are present, the process is considered to be unstable. 2. Given a stable process, is the inherent variability of process output within a range that conforms to performance criteria? This involves assessment of a processs capability to meet standards.
The Control Process
Sampling and corrective action are only a part of the control process. Effective control requires the following steps: Define. The first step means to define in sufficient detail what is to be controlled. Measure. Only those characteristics that can be counted or measured are candidates for control.
Compare. There must be a standard of comparison that can be used to evaluate the measurements. Evaluate. Management must establish a definition of out of control. Correct. When a process is judged out of control, corrective action must be taken. Monitor results. To ensure that corrective action is effective, the output of a process must be monitored for a sufficient period of time to verify that the problem has been eliminated.
Control Charts for Variables
Mean Charts. A mean control chart, sometimes referred to as an x (x-bar) chart, is based on a normal distribution. Upper control limit (UCL): = x + z Lower control limit (LCL): = x - z
x x
Range Charts. Range control charts (R-charts) are used to monitor process dispersion; they are sensitive to changes in process dispersion. UCL = D4 R LCL = D3 R To determine initial control limits, one can use the following procedure: 1. Obtain 20 to 25 samples. Compute the appropriate sample statistic(s) for each sample (e.g., mean). 2. Establish preliminary control limits using the formulas. 3. Determine if any points fall outside the control limits. 4. If you find no out-of-control signals, assume that the process is in control. 5. Plot the data on the control chart and check for out-of-control signals.
Control Charts for Attributes
p-chart. A p-chart is used to monitor the proportion of defective items generated by a process. The theoretical basis for a p-chart is the binomial distribution, although for large sample sizes, the normal distribution provides a good approximation to it. Conceptually, a p-chart is constructed and used in much the same way as a mean chart. The center line on a p-chart is the average fraction defective in the population, p. the standard deviation of the sampling distribution when p is known is
Control limits are computed using the formulas UCL p = p + zo p LCL p = p - zo p c-chart. When the goal is to control the number of occurrences (e.g., defects) per unit, a c-chart is used. The mean number of defects per unit is c and the standard deviation is c . For practical reasons, the normal approximation to the Poisson is used. The control limits are UCL c = c + z c LCL c = c -z c
Managerial Considerations Concerning Control Charts
In those organizations, managers must make a number of important decisions about the use of control charts: 1. At what points in the process to use control charts. 2. What size samples to take. 3. What type of control chart to use (i.e., variables or attribute).
Process Capability
Specifications or tolerance are established by engineering design or customer requirements. They indicate a range of values in which individual units of output must fall in order to be acceptable.
Control limits are statistical limits that reflect the extent to which sample statistics such as means and ranges can vary due to randomness alone. Process variability reflects the natural or inherent (e.g., random) variability in a process . it is measured in term of the process standard deviation.
Limitations of Capability Indexes
There are several risks of using a capability index: 1. The process may not be stable in which case a capability index is meaningless. 2. The process output may not be normally distributed in which case inferences about the fraction of output that isnt acceptable will be incorrect. 3. The process is not centered but the Cp index is used giving a misleading result.
Overview of Quality Control
Quality Control
Appraisal
Prevention
Inspection
Statistical process control
Control charts
Run tests
Variables charts x-chart, R-chart Attributes charts p-chart, c-chart
Median Test
Up/down test
Summary of formulas
Name Mean Range Fraction Defective Number of Defects CONTROL CHARTS Symbol x R c RUN TESTS NUMBER OF RUNS Expected PROCESS PROBABILITY Symbol CP CPK
Control Limits x z or x A2R UCL = D4R, LCL = D3R p z c z
Name Median
Observed r
Standard Deviation
Up/down
Name Capability index for a centered process Capability index for a noncentered process
Formula
Chapter 8
[Link] Control
[Link] Quality Management
