UNIT – 5

SAMPLING INSPECTION

Acceptance sampling is concerned with inspection and decision making regarding products, one
of the oldest aspects of quality assurance. In the 1930s and 1940s, acceptance sampling was one
of the major components of the field of statistical quality control, and was used primarily for
incoming or receiving inspection. In more recent years, it has become typical to work with
suppliers to improve their process performance through the use of SPC and designed
experiments, and not to rely as much on acceptance sampling as a primary quality assurance tool.

A typical application of acceptance sampling is as follows: A company receives a shipment of

product from a supplier. This product is often a component or raw material used in the
company’s manufacturing process. A sample is taken from the lot, and some quality
characteristic of the units in the sample is inspected. On the basis of the information in this
sample, a decision is made regarding lot disposition. Usually, this decision is either to accept or
to reject the lot. Sometimes we refer to this decision as lot sentencing. Accepted lots are put into
production; rejected lots may be returned to the supplier or may be subjected to some other lot
disposition action.

Although it is customary to think of acceptance sampling as a receiving inspection activity, there

are other uses of sampling methods. For example, frequently a manufacturer will sample and
inspect its own product at various stages of production. Lots that are accepted are sent forward
for further processing, and rejected lots may be reworked or scrapped.

Three aspects of sampling are important:

1. It is the purpose of acceptance sampling to sentence lots, not to estimate the lot quality.
Most acceptance-sampling plans are not designed for estimation purposes.

2. Acceptance-sampling plans do not provide any direct form of quality control. Acceptance
sampling simply accepts and rejects lots. Even if all lots are of the same quality, sampling will
accept some lots and reject others, the accepted lots being no better than the rejected ones.
Process controls are used to control and systematically improve quality, but acceptance sampling
is not.

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3. The most effective use of acceptance sampling is not to “inspect quality into the product,” but
rather as an audit tool to ensure that the output of a process conforms to requirements.

Generally, there are three approaches to lot sentencing: (1) accept with no inspection; (2) 100%
inspection—that is, inspect every item in the lot, removing all defective1 units found (defectives
may be returned to the supplier, reworked, replaced with known good items, or discarded); and
(3) acceptance sampling.

Acceptance sampling is most likely to be useful in the following situations:

1. When testing is destructive
2. When the cost of 100% inspection is extremely high
3. When 100% inspection is not technologically feasible or would require so much calendar time
that production scheduling would be seriously impacted
4. When there are many items to be inspected and the inspection error rate is sufficiently high
that 100% inspection might cause a higher percentage of defective units to be passed than would
occur with the use of a sampling plan
5. When the supplier has an excellent quality history, and some reduction in inspection from
100% is desired, but the supplier’s process capability is sufficiently low as to make no inspection
an unsatisfactory alternative
6. When there are potentially serious product liability risks, and although the supplier’s process
is satisfactory, a program for continuously monitoring the product is necessary.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Sampling

When acceptance sampling is contrasted with 100% inspection, it has the following advantages:
1. It is usually less expensive because there is less inspection.
2. There is less handling of the product, hence reduced damage.
3. It is applicable to destructive testing.
4. Fewer personnel are involved in inspection activities.
5. It often greatly reduces the amount of inspection error.
6. The rejection of entire lots as opposed to the simple return of defectives often provides a
stronger motivation to the supplier for quality improvements.

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Acceptance sampling also has several disadvantages, however. These include the following:
1. There are risks of accepting “bad” lots and rejecting “good” lots.
2. Less information is usually generated about the product or about the process that
manufactured the product.
3. Acceptance sampling requires planning and documentation of the acceptance-sampling
procedure whereas 100% inspection does not.

Types of Sampling Plans:

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There are a number of different ways to classify acceptance-sampling plans. One major
classification is by variables and attributes. Variables, of course, are quality characteristics that
are measured on a numerical scale. Attributes are quality characteristics that are expressed on a
“go, no-go” basis. Different attribute sampling plans are:
1. Single sampling plan
2. Double sampling plan
3. Multiple sampling plan
4. Sequential sampling plan

1. A single-sampling plan is a lot-sentencing procedure in which one sample of n units is

selected at random from the lot, and the disposition of the lot is determined based on the
information contained in that sample. For example, a single-sampling plan for attributes
would consist of a sample size n and an acceptance number c. The procedure would
operate as follows: Select n items at random from the lot. If there are c or fewer
defectives in the sample, accept the lot, and if there are more than c defective items in the
sample, reject the lot.

2. Double-sampling plans are somewhat more complicated. Following an initial sample, a

decision based on the information in that sample is made to (1) accept the lot, (2) reject

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 the lot, or (3) take a second sample. If the second sample is taken, the information from
both the first and second sample is combined in order to reach a decision whether to
accept or reject the lot.

A double-sampling plan is a procedure in which, under certain circumstances, a second sample is

required before the lot can be sentenced. A double-sampling plan is defined by four parameters:

n1 = sample size on the first sample

c1 = acceptance number of the first sample
n2 = sample size on the second sample
c2 = acceptance number for both sample

As an example, suppose n1 = 50, c1 = 1, n2 = 100, and c2 = 3. Thus, a random sample of n1 = 50

items is selected from the lot, and the number of defectives in the sample, d1, is observed. If
d1 ≤ c1 = 1, the lot is accepted on the first sample. If d1 > c2 = 3, the lot is rejected on the first
sample. If c1 < d1 ≤ c2, a second random sample of size n2 = 100 is drawn from the lot, and the
number of defectives in this second sample, d2, is observed. Now the combined number of
observed defectives from both the first and second sample, d1 + d2, is used to determine the lot
sentence. If d1 + d2 ≤ c2 = 3, the lot is accepted. However, if d1 + d2 > c2 = 3, the lot is rejected.

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3. A multiple-sampling plan is an extension of double-sampling in that more than two
samples can be required to sentence a lot. An example of a multiple-sampling plan with
five stages follows. This plan will operate as follows: If, at the completion of any stage of
sampling, the number of defective items is less than or equal to the acceptance number,
the lot is accepted. If, during any stage, the number of defective items equals or exceeds
the rejection number, the lot is rejected; otherwise the next sample is taken. The multiple-
sampling procedure continues until the fifth sample is taken, at which time a lot
disposition decision must be made. The first sample is usually inspected 100%, although
subsequent samples are usually subject to curtailment.

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 4. Sequential-Sampling Plans

Sequential-sampling is an extension of the double-sampling and multiple-sampling concept. In

sequential-sampling, we take a sequence of samples from the lot and allow the number of
samples to be determined entirely by the results of the sampling process. In practice, sequential-
sampling can theoretically continue indefinitely, until the lot is inspected 100%. In practice,
sequential-sampling plans are usually truncated after the number inspected is equal to three times
the number that would have been inspected using a corresponding single-sampling plan. If the
sample size selected at each stage is greater than one, the process is usually called group
sequential-sampling. If the sample size inspected at each stage is one, the procedure is usually
called item-by-item sequential-sampling.

Item-by-item sequential-sampling is based on the sequential probability ratio test (SPRT),

developed by Wald (1947). The operation of an item-by-item sequential-sampling plan is
illustrated in Fig.

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The cumulative observed number of defectives is plotted on the chart. For each point, the
abscissa is the total number of items selected up to that time, and the ordinate is the total number
of observed defectives. If the plotted points stay within the boundaries of the acceptance and
rejection lines, another sample must be drawn. As soon as a point falls on or above the upper
line, the lot is rejected. When a sample point falls on or below the lower line, the lot is accepted.
The equations for the two limit lines for specified

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Lot Formation:

1. Lots should be homogeneous. The units in the lot should be produced by the same machines,
the same operators, and from common raw materials, at approximately the same time. When lots
are nonhomogeneous, such as when the output of two different production lines is mixed, the
acceptance-sampling scheme may not function as effectively as it could. Nonhomogeneous lots
also make it more difficult to take corrective action to eliminate the source of defective products.
2. Larger lots are preferred over smaller ones. It is usually more economically efficient to
inspect large lots than small ones.

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3. Lots should be conformable to the materials-handling systems used in both the supplier
and consumer facilities. In addition, the items in the lots should be packaged so as to minimize
shipping and handling risks, and so as to make selection of the units in the sample relatively
easy.

The OC Curve:
An important measure of the performance of an acceptance-sampling plan is the operating
characteristic (OC) curve. This curve plots the probability of accepting the lot versus the lot
fraction defective. Thus, the OC curve displays the discriminatory power of the sampling plan.
That is, it shows the probability that a lot submitted with a certain fraction defective will be
either accepted or rejected.
Operating characteristic curve is a plot of submitted lot quality versus the probability of
acceptance. It is an excellent evaluation technique of a sampling plan. It is an excellent
evaluation technique of a sampling plan. In judging a particular sampling plan it is desirable to
know the probability that the lot submitted with a certain percentage defective will be accepted
or rejected. The following figure shows an OC curve.

The figure indicates a 100% probability of acceptance of submitted lot when the quality
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of lot is zero percent defective and a near 0% probability of acceptance for those lots having 12%
defective. Point A and B on the OC curve refer respectively to the acceptable quality level
(AQL) and the lot tolerance percent defective (LTPD). Point A is situated on the OC curve at an
intersection of horizontal drawn through the 97.5% probability point. While point B is at the
intersection of 10% horizontal line and the curve. There probability percentage agrees with AQL
and LTPD acceptance probabilities that are common.
The corresponding quality of lots submitted from inspection of the figure shown in
AQL1% and LTPD is 9.1%. The OC curve permits the determination of the probability of
acceptance for lots of varying quality. The OC curve depicts the graphical relation between
arrangement of lot quality levels and the corresponding probability of acceptance and is based on
the Poisson distribution.

The following two parameters are needed to calculate and plot an OC curve: n=sample size and
C=Acceptance number.

Type-A and Type-B OC Curves.

In the construction of the OC curve it was assumed that the samples came from a large lot or that
we were sampling from a stream of lots selected at random from a process. In this situation, the
binomial distribution is the exact probability distribution for calculating the probability of lot
acceptance. Such an OC curve is referred to as a type-B OC curve.

The type-A OC curve is used to calculate probabilities of acceptance for an isolated lot of finite
size. Suppose that the lot size is N, the sample size is n, and the acceptance number is c. The
exact sampling distribution of the number of defective items in the sample is the
hypergeometric distribution.

Type A Type B

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 1. Lot size is finite. 1. Lot size is infinite.
2. Hyper geometric dist will give 2. Binomial dist will give correct result.
correct result. 3. Poisson’s dist will approx result.
3. Binomial & Poisson will give approx 4. Sample size is greater than 1/10 of
result. lot size.
4. Sample size is 1/10 of lot size. 5. Used to evaluate producer’s risk.
5. Used to evaluate consumer’s risk.

Example:

For a lot of 4000 items, a sample of size 80 is drawn each time. The acceptance number is two
for a single-sampling plan. Draw OC-curve. Find producer’s risk and consumer’s risk at an AQL
and LTPD of 1 and 6 percentage defectives per lot respectively.

Solution :-

To achieve the design of the plan AQL, a, LTPD, and B , specify:

N = Lot Size, n = Sample Size, c = Acceptance.

Percentage Proportion np = Pa = [P(x < 2)] Remark

defectives defectives (p) 80 p Probability of accepting defective

less than 2 (with reference to table

of Poisson’s distribution )

1 (AQL) 0.01 0.8 0.953 α=1–

2 0.02 1.6 0.783 0.953
3 0.03 2.4 0.570 =.047
4 0.04 3.4 0.380
5 0.05 4.0 0.238

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6 (LTPD) 0.06 4.8 0.143
7 0.07 5.6 0.082
8 0.08 6.4 0.046 β = 0.143

Rectifying Inspection

Acceptance-sampling programs usually require corrective action when lots are rejected. This
generally takes the form of 100% inspection or screening of rejected lots, with all discovered
defective items either removed for subsequent rework or return to the supplier, or replaced from
a stock of known good items. Such sampling programs are called rectifying inspection
programs, because the inspection activity affects the final quality of the outgoing product. This
is illustrated in Fig. 15.10. Suppose that incoming lots to the inspection activity have fraction
defective p0. Some of these lots will be accepted, and others will be rejected. The rejected lots
will be screened, and their final fraction defective will be zero. However, accepted lots have
fraction defective p0. Consequently, the outgoing lots from the inspection activity are a mixture
of lots with fraction defective p0 and fraction defective zero, so the average fraction defective in
the stream of outgoing lots is p1, which is less than p0. Thus, a rectifying inspection program
serves to “correct” lot quality

Relation Between The Consumer And Producer:-

When the acceptance sampling is used there is a conflicting interest between the
consumer and the producer.

The producer wants all his good lots to be accepted & the consumer wants all bad lots to be
rejected.
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Only an Ideal Sampling plan which has an OC curve that is a vertical line can satisfy both the
producer and the consumer. An ideal OC curve shown below.

Terminologies:

 Acceptable quality level: The AQL represents the poorest level of quality for the
vendor’s process that the consumer would consider to be acceptable as a process average.
AQL is a property of the vendor’s manufacturing process; it is not a property of the
sampling plan. As an AQL is an acceptable level, the probability of acceptance for an
AQL lot should be high. The customer is always willing to but the lots of AQL quality.

 Lot tolerance percent defective (LTPD): this is a definition of unsatisfactory quality. It

is also called as LQL- limiting quality level or RQL- rejectable quality level. LTPD is the
poorest level of quality that the consumer is willing to accept in an individual lot. But
LTPD is not a characteristic of the sampling plan; instead it is a level of lot quality
specified by the consumer.
As an LTPD is an unacceptable level, the probability of acceptance for an LTPD
lot should be low.

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  Average outgoing level (AOQ): Average outgoing quality is widely used for the
evaluation of a rectifying sampling plan. The average outgoing quality is the quality in
the lot that results from the application of rectifying inspection. It is the average value of
lot quality that would be obtained over a long sequence of lots from a process with
fraction defective p. It is simple to develop a formula for average outgoing quality
(AOQ). Assume that the lot size is N and that all discovered defectives are replaced with
good units. Then in lots of size N, we have
1. n items in the sample that, after inspection, contain no defectives, because all discovered
defectives are replaced
2. N- n items that, if the lot is rejected, also contain no defectives
3. N- n items that, if the lot is accepted, contain p(N- n) defectives
Thus, lots in the outgoing stage of inspection have an expected number of defective units equal
to Pap(N- n), which we may express as an average fraction defective, called the average
outgoing quality or

Average outgoing quality will vary as the fraction defective of the incoming lots varies. The
curve that plots average outgoing quality against incoming lot quality is called an AOQ curve. In
examining the AOQ curve it is noted that when the incoming quality is very good, the average
outgoing quality is also very good. In contrast, when the incoming lot quality is very bad, most
of the lots are rejected and screened, which leads to a very good level of quality in the outgoing
lots. In between these extremes, the AOQ curve rises, passes through a maximum, and descends.

The maximum ordinate on the AOQ curve represents the worst possible average quality that
would result from the rectifying inspection program, and this point is called the average
outgoing quality limit (AOQL).

 Average total inspection (ATI): If the lots contain no defective items, no lots will be
rejected, and the amount of inspection per lot will be the sample size n. If the items are all
defective, every lot will be submitted to 100% inspection, and the amount of inspection

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 per lot will be the lot size N. If the lot quality is 0 < p < 1, the average amount of
inspection per lot will vary between the sample size n and the lot size N. If the lot is of
quality p and the probability of lot acceptance is Pa, then the average total inspection
per lot will be

 Average sample number (ASN): In single sampling plan, the size of the sample
inspected from the lot is always constant whereas in double sampling, the size of the
sample selected depends on whether or not the second sample is necessary. The
probability of drawing a second sample varies with the fraction defective in the incoming
lot. With complete inspection of the second sample, the average sample size in double-
sampling is equal to the size of the first sample times the probability that there will only
be one sample, plus the size of the combined samples times the probability that a second
sample will be necessary. Therefore, a general formula for the average sample number in
double-sampling, if we assume complete inspection of the second sample, is

Producer’s risk

Producer’s risk of an acceptance sampling plan is defined as the probability of rejection of good
lot or of a lot a of AQL quality. The risk should be kept as low as possible.

Consumer’s risk

Consumer’s risk of an acceptance sampling plan is defined as the probability of acceptance of

good lots or a lot of LTPD quality.

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