By: Gerline Mae Ocampo Pableo

TOPIC: Quality Control

Part 1: Introduction

Quality is an important factor when it comes to any product or service. With the high

market competition, quality has become the market differentiator for almost all

products and services. Quality control is essential to building a successful business

that delivers products that meet or exceed customers’ expectations. It also forms the

basis of an efficient business that minimizes waste and operates at high levels of

productivity. A quality control system based on a recognized standard, such as ISO

9001 published by the International Organization for Standardization, provides a

strong foundation for achieving a wide range of marketing and operational benefits.

Therefore, all manufacturers and service providers out there constantly look for ways

to enhance their product or the service quality.

Part 2: Summary of the topics/Topics Digest

The purpose of quality control is to assure that processes are performing in an

acceptable manner. Quality control is the process that measures output relative to a

standard and takes corrective action when output does not meet standards. It is

used to decide when corrective action is needed. Acceptance sampling is a quality

assurance that relies primarily on inspection of lots (batches) of previously produced

items. Statistical process control is a quality control effort that occurs during

production. Inspection is an appraisal activity that compares goods/services to a

standard. Inspection can occur at three points: before, during or after production.

Process control is the monitoring during the production process. The basic issues of

inspection are on how much to inspect, how often, at what point(s) in the process

should inspection occur, whether to inspect in a centralized or on-site location and

whether to inspect attributes or variables. The amount of inspection can range from
By: Gerline Mae Ocampo Pableo

no inspection to multiple inspections per item. In high-volume systems, automated

inspection is one option that may be used. Inspection efforts should be restricted to

where they can do the most good. In manufacturing, some typical inspection points

are: raw materials/parts, finished product, before a costly operation, before an

irreversible process and before a covering process. The central issue in the decision

concerning on-site or lab inspections is whether the advantages of specialized lab

tests are worth the time and interruption needed to obtain the results. Quality of

conformance does the output of a process conform to the intent of design. Statistical

process control (SPC) is used to evaluate process output to decide if a process is ‘in

control’ or if corrective action is needed. All processes generate output that exhibits

some degree of variability. The issue is whether the output variations are within an

acceptable range. This can be answered by two basic questions of: are the

variations random? and given a stable process, is the inherent variability of process

output within a range that conforms to performance criteria? Random variations are

the natural/inherent process variations in process output. Assignable variations are

the main sources that can usually be identified and eliminated. A sampling

distribution is a theoretical distribution that describes the random variability of sample

statistics. The central limit theorem says that as the sample size increases, the

distribution of sample averages approaches a normal distribution regardless of the

shape of the sampled population. Effective control requires the following steps:

define what is to be controlled, measure is how measurement will be done, compare

is the standard of comparison, evaluate, correct is when a process is out of control

corrective action must be taken and lastly, monitor results, the output must be

monitored to make sure the problem was eliminated. Control chart is the time

ordered plot of sample statistics. This is used to monitor sample statistics to

determine if the variability exhibited reflects random variation. Control limits are the

dividing lines between what will be designated as random deviations from the mean

of the distribution and what will be designated as nonrandom deviations from the

mean of the distribution. A sample statistic that falls between the upper and lower

control limits suggests randomness while a value outside or on either limit suggests

nonrandomness. The type I error or alpha risk is when the error is concluding that

nonrandomness is present when only randomness is actually present. The Type II

error is concluding that a process is in control when it is really out of control. Control

charts for variables are measured data, usually on a continuous scale. The mean

and range charts are used. Mean control chart monitors the central tendency of a

process, based on a normal distribution, can be constructed in two ways using upper

control limit or using average of sample means. The range control chart monitors the

dispersion of a process and is sensitive to changes in process dispersion. Control

charts for attributes for counted data are of two types: the p-chart (fraction of

defective items in a sample) and a c-chart (number of defects per unit). In some

organizations, a process is so good that the desired level of quality could be

achieved without the use of any control charts. In those organizations, managers

must make a number of important decisions about the use of control charts

including: at what points in the process to use control charts, what size samples to

take, what type of control chart to use, how often should samples be taken. The

decisions about where to use control charts should focus on those aspects of the

process that have a tendency to go out of control and are critical to the success.

The run test supplement with control charts. This checks for patterns in a sequence

of observations. This enables an analyst to do a better job of detecting abnormalities

in a process and provides insights into correcting a process that is out of control.
By: Gerline Mae Ocampo Pableo

When a process is stable or in statistical control, the output it generates will exhibit

random variability over a period of time. Run is a sequence of observations with a

certain characteristic, followed by one or more observations with a different

characteristic. Ideally, both control chart and run tests should be used to analyze

process output, along with a plot of the data. The procedure involves three steps:

compute control limits for the process output, conduct median and up/down run tests

and plot sample data and visually check for patterns. Managers should have

response plans in place to investigate the cause of a nonrandom variation. Check if it

is a false alarm, monitor it, address any assignable cause. Specifications are

established by engineering design or customer requirements. This will indicate a

range of values in which individual units of output must fall in order to be acceptable.

The control limits are the 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 variability in a process, measured in terms

of the process standard deviation. Control limits and process variability are directly

related. There is no direct link between specifications and either control limits or

process variability. Process capability is the inherent variability of process output

relative to the variation allowed by the design specifications. Capability analysis is

performed on a process that is in control for the purpose of determining if the range

of variation is within design specifications that would make the output acceptable for

its intended use. Managers must specifically check whether a process is capable of

meeting specifications and not simply set up a control chart to monitor it. Improving

process capability requires reducing the process variability that is inherent in a

process, this can involve simplifying, standardizing, making the process mistake-

proof, upgrading equipment, or automating. Improved process capability means less

need for inspection, lower warranty costs, fewer complaints about service, and

higher productivity. Taguchi believes that any deviation from the target value

represents poor quality, and the farther away from the target a deviation is, the

greater the cost. The limits of capability indexes are: process may not be stable,

process output may not be normally distributed and process is not centered.

Part 3: Recommendations

Every organization that practices QC needs to have a Quality Manual. The quality

manual outlines the quality focus and the objectives in the organization. The quality

manual gives the quality guidance to different departments and functions. Therefore,

everyone in the organization needs to be aware of his or her responsibilities

mentioned in the quality manual. The programs and efforts are far from being the last

word in quality control. They have taken much time and brought many good results,

but they must be regarded only as steps along the way. The programs that kept our

employees happy yesterday are not necessarily the ones that will work tomorrow.

Part 4: Conclusions

Quality control inspectors protect the consumer from defective products and the

company from damage to its reputation due to inferior manufacturing processes. If

the testing process reveals issues with the product, the inspector can fix the problem

himself, return the product for repairs, or tag the product for rejection. When issues

arise, the inspector notifies supervisors and works with them to correct the problem.

Implementing quality control procedures ensures that the company is selling the best

products to customers. In addition, practicing quality control has a positive impact on

employee conduct. Quality control can inspire employees to create high-quality

goods leading to greater customer satisfaction. Quality control protocols may also

help lower your inspection costs and use resources in a more cost-effective manner,
By: Gerline Mae Ocampo Pableo

too. Having quality control in place within a business can only help ensure product

quality and the overall success of a business. The environment of quality control

influences employees' attitudes about the workplace and creates a sense of

ownership in the products and company as a whole. Quality control can be done in

various ways, from training personnel to creating data-driven tools to test products

and set standards. Quality control methods help create a safe work environment and

product safety that benefits customers and the company alike.