Seven basic quality tools

Most of the organizations use quality tools for various purposes related to controlling and
assuring quality. These are powerful and simple tools used to solve most quality-related issues in
industries.These tools can provide much information about problems in the organization
assisting to derive solutions for the same.

Ishikawa developed seven basic visual tools of quality so that the average person could analyze
and interpret data and also these tools are made statistical analysis less complicated.

Seven basic quality tools in brief.

➢ Cause-and-effect diagram (also called Ishikawa or fishbone chart): Identifies many

possible causes for an effect or problem and sorts ideas into useful categories.
➢ Check sheet: A structured, prepared form for collecting and analyzing data .It is a generic
tool that can be adapted for a wide variety of purposes.
➢ Control charts: Graphs used to study how a process changes over time.
➢ Histogram: The most commonly used graph for showing frequency distributions, or how
often each different value in a set of data occurs.
➢ Pareto chart: Shows on a bar graph which factors are more significant.
➢ Scatter diagram: Graphs pairs of numerical data, one variable on each axis, to look for a
relationship.
➢ Stratification: A technique that separates data gathered from a variety of sources so that
patterns can be seen (some lists replace “stratification” with “flowchart” or “run chart”).

Cause and Effect Diagrams

– The cause and effect diagram is also called the Ishikawa diagram or the fishbone
diagram.

– It is a tool for discovering all the possible causes for a particular effect.

– The major purpose of this diagram is to act as a first step in problem solving by creating
a list of possible causes.

Organizations face problems everyday and it is required to understand the causes of these
problems in order to solve them effectively. Cause and effect diagrams exercise is usually
teamwork.

All the main components of a problem area are listed and possible causes from each area is listed
in the following diagram.
Pareto Charts

– Pareto charts are used to identify and prioritize problems to be solved.

– This way you can figure out the parameters that have the highest impact on the specific
concern.

– Remember the 80/20 rule states that approximately 80% of the problems are created by
approximately 20% of the causes.

80% of problems are due to 20% of the root causes. It is like prioritizing the defects. Search for
the main reason and try to reduce the maximum problems. This is frequently used when you are
in hurry and you have to reduce the defects. you should know by which factors you are getting
more problems and document it and try to find out a way to remove these defects as by removing
the same defects you will be able to reduce maximum problems. It is based on the Joseph Juran’s
80/20 principle.
Pareto recommends that this tool can be very useful if you are getting many errors frequently.

Histogram

– A histogram is a bar graph that shows frequency data.

– Histograms provide the easiest way to evaluate the distribution of data.

It is a graphical representation showing a visual impression of the distribution of data. It displays

data in the form of bars and columns. It shows what problems are in project.

Histogram is used for illustrating the frequency and the extent in the context of two variables. In
other word histogram can be used to measure something against another thing. Always, it should
be two variables.

Consider the following example: The following histogram shows morning attendance of a class.
The Y-axis is the number of students and the X-axis the time of the day.

Scatter Diagrams

– Scatter Diagrams are used to study and identify the possible relationship between the
changes observed in two different sets of variables.

– It is common that the “cause” variable is labeled on the X axis and the “effect” variable be
labeled on the Y axis.
 When it comes to the values of two variables, scatter diagrams are the best way to present.
Scatter diagrams present the relationship between two variables and illustrate the results
on a Cartesian plane.

Then, further analysis, such as trend analysis can be performed on the values.

Control Charts

– Control charts are used to determine whether a process will produce a product or
service with consistent measurable properties.
– Control chart is the best tool for monitoring the performance of a process. These
types of charts can be used for monitoring any processes related to function of
the organization.

These charts allow you to identify the following conditions related to the process that has been
monitored.

• Stability of the process

• Predictability of the process

• Identification of common cause of variation

• Special conditions where the monitoring party needs to react

Flow Charts

– A flow chart is a pictorial representation showing all of the steps of a process.

– This is one of the basic quality tool that can be used for analyzing a sequence of
events.
– Flow charts are one of the best process improvement tools that can use to analyze
a series of events.

The tool maps out a sequence of events that take place sequentially or in parallel. The flow chart
can be used to understand a complex process in order to find the relationships and dependencies
between events.

You can also get a brief idea about the critical path of the process and the events involved in the
critical path.

Flow charts can be used for any field and to illustrate events involving processes of any
complexity. There are specific software tools developed for drawing flow charts, such as MS Visio.

Check Sheet
 – A check sheet can be introduced as the most basic tool for quality.
– A check sheet is basically used for gathering and organizing data.

The check sheet is a form (document) used to collect data in real time at the location where the
data is generated. The data it captures can be quantitative or qualitative. When the information
is quantitative, the check sheet is sometimes called a tally sheet.

When this is done with the help of software packages such as Microsoft Excel, you can derive
further analysis graphs and automate through macros available.

Therefore, it is always a good idea to use a software check sheet for information gathering and
organizing needs.

One can always use a paper-based check sheet when the information gathered is only used for
backup or storing purposes other than further processing.

Above seven basic quality tools help you to address different concerns in an organization.

Therefore, use of such tools should be a basic practice in the organization in order to enhance
the efficiency.

Trainings on these tools should be included in the organizational orientation program, so all the
staff members get to learn these basic tools.