Statistical quality control | Methods & Facts

statistical quality control, the use of statistical methods in the monitoring and maintaining of the quality of products and services. One method, referred to as acceptance sampling, can be used when a decision must be made to accept or reject a group of parts or items based on the quality found in a sample. A second method, referred to as statistical process control, uses graphical displays known as control charts to determine whether a process should be continued or should be adjusted to achieve the desired quality.

Acceptance sampling

Assume that a consumer receives a shipment of parts, called a lot, from a producer. A sample of parts will be taken and the number of defective items counted. If the number of defective items is low, the entire lot will be accepted. If the number of defective items is high, the entire lot will be rejected. Correct decisions correspond to accepting a good-quality lot and rejecting a poor-quality lot. Because sampling is being used, the probabilities of erroneous decisions need to be considered. The error of rejecting a good-quality lot creates a problem for the producer; the probability of this error is called the producer’s risk. On the other hand, the error of accepting a poor-quality lot creates a problem for the purchaser or consumer; the probability of this error is called the consumer’s risk.

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statistics: Statistical quality control

The design of an acceptance sampling plan consists of determining a sample size n and an acceptance criterion c, where c is the maximum number of defective items that can be found in the sample and the lot still be accepted. The key to understanding both the producer’s risk and the consumer’s risk is to assume that a lot has some known percentage of defective items and compute the probability of accepting the lot for a given sampling plan. By varying the assumed percentage of defective items in a lot, several different sampling plans can be evaluated and a sampling plan selected such that both the producer’s and consumer’s risks are reasonably low.

Statistical process control

Statistical process control uses sampling and statistical methods to monitor the quality of an ongoing process such as a production operation. A graphical display referred to as a control chart provides a basis for deciding whether the variation in the output of a process is due to common causes (randomly occurring variations) or due to out-of-the-ordinary assignable causes. Whenever assignable causes are identified, a decision can be made to adjust the process in order to bring the output back to acceptable quality levels.

Control charts can be classified by the type of data they contain. For instance, an x̄-chart is employed in situations where a sample mean is used to measure the quality of the output. Quantitative data such as length, weight, and temperature can be monitored with an x̄-chart. Process variability can be monitored using a range or R-chart. In cases in which the quality of output is measured in terms of the number of defectives or the proportion of defectives in the sample, an np-chart or a p-chart can be used.

All control charts are constructed in a similar fashion. For example, the centre line of an x̄-chart corresponds to the mean of the process when the process is in control and producing output of acceptable quality. The vertical axis of the control chart identifies the scale of measurement for the variable of interest. The upper horizontal line of the control chart, referred to as the upper control limit, and the lower horizontal line, referred to as the lower control limit, are chosen so that when the process is in control there will be a high probability that the value of a sample mean will fall between the two control limits. Standard practice is to set the control limits at three standard deviations above and below the process mean. The process can be sampled periodically. As each sample is selected, the value of the sample mean is plotted on the control chart. If the value of a sample mean is within the control limits, the process can be continued under the assumption that the quality standards are being maintained. If the value of the sample mean is outside the control limits, an out-of-control conclusion points to the need for corrective action in order to return the process to acceptable quality levels.

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This article was most recently revised and updated by Erik Gregersen