THE 7 BASIC QUALITY TOOLS FOR PROCESS

IMPROVEMENT
 CONTENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• SEVEN BASIC QUALITY TOOLS
a) Cause and effect diagram  
b) Check sheet
c) Control charts 
d) Histogram 
e) Pareto Chart
f) Scatter diagram
g) Stratification
 INTRODUCTION
 First emphasized by Kaoru Ishikawa, a
professor of engineering at Tokyo
University.
 Quality pros have many names for these
seven basic tools of quality
 “The Old Seven.”
 “The First Seven.”
 “The Basic Seven.”
 SEVEN BASIC "INDISPENSABLE“
QUALITY TOOLS.

1. 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.
2. Check sheet: A structured, prepared form
for collecting and analyzing data; a generic
tool that can be adapted for a wide variety
of purposes.
3. Control charts: Graphs used to study how a
process changes over time.
 SEVEN BASIC "INDISPENSABLE“
QUALITY TOOLS.

4. Histogram: The most commonly used

graph for showing frequency
distributions, or how often each
different value in a set of data occurs.
5. Pareto chart: Shows on a bar graph
which factors are more significant.
6. Scatter diagram: Graphs pairs of
numerical data, one variable on each axis,
to look for a relationship.
 SEVEN BASIC "INDISPENSABLE“
QUALITY TOOLS.

7. 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”).
 FISHBONE (ISHIKAWA) DIAGRAM

• Also Called: Cause–and–Effect Diagram,

Ishikawa Diagram
• The fishbone diagram identifies many
possible causes for an effect or problem.
• It can be used to structure a brainstorming
session.
• It immediately sorts ideas into useful
categories.
 FISHBONE (ISHIKAWA) DIAGRAM

When to Use a Fishbone Diagram?

 When identifying possible causes for a
problem.
 Especially when a team’s thinking
tends to fall into ruts.
Advantages
 The resulting diagram illustrates the
main causes and sub causes leading to
an effect (symptom)
 FISHBONE DIAGRAM PROCEDURE

• Materials needed: flipchart or whiteboard,

marking pens.
• Agree on a problem statement (effect).
Write it at the center right of the flipchart
or whiteboard. Draw a box around it
and draw a horizontal arrow running to it.
• Brainstorm the major categories of causes
of the problem. If this is difficult use generic
headings:
1. Methods
2. Machines
(equipment)
3. People (manpower)
4. Materials
5. Measurement
6. Environment
 FISHBONE DIAGRAM PROCEDURE

• Write the categories of causes as branches

from the main arrow.
• Brainstorm all the possible causes of the
problem. Ask: “Why does this happen?” As
each idea is given, the facilitator writes it as a
branch from the appropriate category. Causes
can be written in several places if they relate
to several categories.
 FISHBONE DIAGRAM PROCEDURE

• Again ask “why does this happen?”

about each cause. Write sub–causes
branching off the causes. Continue to
ask “Why?” and generate deeper levels
of causes. Layers of branches indicate
causal relationships.
• When the group runs out of ideas, focus
attention to places on the chart where
ideas are few.
 FISHBONE DIAGRAM EXAMPLE

This fishbone diagram was drawn by a

manufacturing team to try to understand
the source of periodic iron contamination.

The team used the six generic headings to

prompt ideas.

Layers of branches show thorough

thinking about the causes of the problem.
FISHBONE DIAGRAM EXAMPLE
 CHECK SHEET
A check sheet is a structured, prepared
form for collecting and analyzing data. This
is a generic tool that can be adapted for a
wide variety of purposes. It is also called
defect concentration diagram.
 CHECK SHEET
When to Use a Check Sheet?
 When data can be observed and
collected repeatedly by the same person
or at the same location.
 When collecting data on the frequency
or patterns of events, problems, defects,
defect location, defect causes, etc.
 When collecting data from a production
process.
 CHECK SHEET PROCEDURE
• Decide what event or problem will be
observed. Develop operational definitions.
• Decide when data will be collected and for
how long.
• Design the form. Set it up so that data can be
recorded simply by making check marks or Xs
or similar symbols and so that data do not
have to be recopied for analysis.
 CHECK SHEET PROCEDURE (Contd...)
• Label all spaces on the form.
• Test the check sheet for a short trial period to
be sure it collects the appropriate data and is
easy to use.
• Each time the targeted event or problem
occurs, record data on the check sheet.
 CHECK SHEET EXAMPLE

• The figure below shows a check sheet used to

collect data on telephone interruptions. The
tick marks were added as data was collected
over several weeks.
 CONTROL CHARTS
• Also called: statistical process control
• The control chart is a graph used to
study how a process changes over time.
Data are plotted in time order.
• A control chart always has a central line
for the average, an upper line for the
upper control limit and a lower line for
the lower control limit. These lines are
determined from historical data.
 CONTROL CHARTS
By comparing current data to these
lines, you can draw conclusions about
whether the process variation is
consistent (in control) or is
unpredictable (out of control, affected
by special causes of variation).
 CONTROL CHARTS(Contd..)
• Control charts for variable data are used in
pairs.
• The top chart monitors the average, or the
cantering of the distribution of data from the
process.
• The bottom chart monitors the range, or the
width of the distribution.
• If your data were shots in target practice, the
average is where the shots are clustering, and
the range is how tightly they are clustered.
• Control charts for attribute data are used
singly.
 WHEN TO USE A CONTROL CHART

• When controlling ongoing processes by

finding and correcting problems as they
occur.
• When predicting the expected range of
outcomes from a process.
• When determining whether a process is
stable (in statistical control).
 WHEN TO USE A CONTROL CHART

• When analyzing patterns of process

variation from special causes (non-
routine events) or common causes
(built into the process).
• When determining whether your quality
improvement project should aim to
prevent specific problems or to make
fundamental changes to the process.
 CONTROL CHART BASIC PROCEDURE

• Choose the appropriate control chart for

your data.
• Determine the appropriate time period
for collecting and plotting data.
• Collect data, construct your chart and
analyze the data.
• Look for “out-of-control signals” on the
control chart. When one is identified,
mark it on the chart and investigate the
cause.
 CONTROL CHART BASIC PROCEDURE

• Document how you investigated, what

you learned, the cause and how it was
corrected.
Out-of-control signals
1. A single point outside the control limits. In
Figure 1, point sixteen is above the UCL
(upper control limit).
2. Two out of three successive points are on
the same side of the centerline and farther
than 2 σ from it. In Figure 1, point 4 sends
that signal.
 CONTROL CHART BASIC PROCEDURE(Contd...)

Out-of-control signals
3. Four out of five successive points are on
the same side of the centerline and
farther than 1 σ from it. In Figure 1, point
11 sends that signal.
4. A run of eight in a row are on the same
side of the centerline. Or 10 out of 11, 12
out of 14 or 16 out of 20. In Figure 1, point
21 is eighth in a row above the centerline.
5. Obvious consistent or persistent patterns
that suggest something unusual about
your data and your process
CONTROL CHART BASIC PROCEDURE(Contd..)
• Continue to plot data as they are generated.
As each new data point is plotted, check for
new out-of-control signals.
• When you start a new control chart, the
process may be out of control. If so, the
control limits calculated from the first 20
points are conditional limits. When you have
at least 20 sequential points from a period
when the process is operating in control,
recalculate control limits.
CONTROL CHART FIGURE  
OUT-OF-CONTROL SIGNALS 
 HISTOGRAM ANALYSIS
 A frequency distribution shows how
often each different value in a set of
data occurs.
 A histogram is the most commonly used
graph to show frequency distributions.
 It looks very much like a bar chart, but
there are important differences
between them.
 WHEN TO USE A HISTOGRAM

• When the data are numerical.

• When you want to see the shape of the
data’s distribution, especially when
determining whether the output of a
process is distributed approximately
normally.
• When analyzing whether a process can
meet the customer’s requirements.
• When analyzing what the output from a
supplier’s process looks like.
 WHEN TO USE A HISTOGRAM

• When seeing whether a process change

has occurred from one time period to
another.
• When determining whether the outputs
of two or more processes are different.
• When you wish to communicate the
distribution of data quickly and easily to
others.
 HISTOGRAM CONSTRUCTION

• Collect at least 50 consecutive data points

from a process.
• Use the histogram worksheet to set up the
histogram. It will help you determine the
number of bars, the range of numbers that go
into each bar and the labels for the bar
edges. After calculating W in step 2 of the
worksheet, use your judgment to adjust it to
a convenient number. For example, you might
decide to round 0.9 to an even 1.0. The value
for W must not have more decimal places
than the numbers you will be graphing.
 HISTOGRAM CONSTRUCTION

• Draw x- and y-axes on graph paper. Mark

and label the y-axis for counting data values.
Mark and label the x-axis with the L values
from the worksheet. The spaces between
these numbers will be the bars of the
histogram. Do not allow for spaces between
bars.
• For each data point, mark off one count
above the appropriate bar with an X or by
shading that portion of the bar.
 HISTOGRAM ANALYSIS

• Before drawing any conclusions from your

histogram, satisfy yourself that the process
was operating normally during the time
period being studied. If any unusual events
affected the process during the time period
of the histogram, your analysis of the
histogram shape probably cannot be
generalized to all time periods.
• Analyze the meaning of your histogram’s
shape
TYPICAL HISTOGRAM SHAPES AND WHAT THEY MEAN
TYPICAL HISTOGRAM SHAPES AND WHAT THEY MEAN
TYPICAL HISTOGRAM SHAPES AND WHAT THEY MEAN
TYPICAL HISTOGRAM SHAPES AND WHAT THEY MEAN
 PARETO CHART

Also called: Pareto diagram,

Paretoanalysis
Variations: weighted Pareto chart,
comparative Pareto charts
A Pareto chart is a bar graph.
The lengths of the bars represent
frequency or cost (time or money), and
are arranged with longest bars on the left
and the shortest to the right. In this way
the chart visually depicts which situations
are more significant.
 WHEN TO USE A PARETO CHART

 When analyzing data about the frequency

of problems or causes in a process.
 When there are many problems or causes
and you want to focus on the most
significant.
 When analyzing broad causes by looking
at their specific components.
 When communicating with others about
your data.
 PARETO CHART PROCEDURE

1. Decide what categories you will use to

group items.
2. Decide what measurement is
appropriate. Common measurements
are frequency, quantity, cost and time.
3. Decide what period of time the Pareto
chart will cover: One work cycle? One
full day? A week?
4. Collect the data, recording the category
each time. (Or assemble data that
already exist.)
PARETO CHART PROCEDURE(Contd...)

5. Subtotal the measurements for each

category.
6. Determine the appropriate scale for the
measurements you have collected. The
maximum value will be the largest subtotal
from step 5. (If you will do optional steps 8
and 9 below, the maximum value will be the
sum of all subtotals from step 5.) Mark the
scale on the left side of the chart.
 PARETO CHART PROCEDURE(Contd...)

7. Construct and label bars for each category.

Place the tallest at the far left, then the
next tallest to its right and so on. If there
are many categories with small
measurements, they can be grouped as
“other.”
Steps 8 and 9 are optional but are useful for
analysis and communication.
8. Calculate the percentage for each category:
the subtotal for that category divided by
the total for all categories.
PARETO CHART PROCEDURE(Contd...)

Draw a right vertical axis and label it with

percentages. Be sure the two scales
match: For example, the left measurement
that corresponds to one-half should be
exactly opposite 50% on the right scale.

9.Calculate and draw cumulative sums: Add

the subtotals for the first and second
categories, and place a dot above the
second bar indicating that sum.
PARETO CHART PROCEDURE(Contd...)

To that sum add the subtotal for the

third category, and place a dot above
the third bar for that new sum.
Continue the process for all the bars.
Connect the dots, starting at the top
of the first bar. The last dot should
reach 100 percent on the right scale.
 PARETO CHART EXAMPLES

Example1: shows how many customer

complaints were received in each of five
categories.
Example2 takes the largest category,
“documents,” from Example #1, breaks it
down into six categories of document-
related complaints, and shows cumulative
values.
 PARETO CHART EXAMPLES (Contd...)
CONCLUSION

If all complaints cause equal distress to

the customer, working on eliminating
document-related complaints would have
the most impact, and of those, working on
quality certificates should be most fruitful.
PARETO CHART EXAMPLES
PARETO CHART EXAMPLES
 SCATTER DIAGRAM

Also called: scatter plot, X–Y graph

The scatter diagram graphs pairs of

numerical data, with one variable on each
axis, to look for a relationship between
them. If the variables are correlated, the
points will fall along a line or curve. The
better the correlation, the tighter the points
will hug the line.
 WHEN TO USE A SCATTER DIAGRAM

• When you have paired numerical data.

• When your dependent variable may
have multiple values for each value of
your independent variable.
• When trying to determine whether the
two variables are related, such as…
 SCATTER DIAGRAM PROCEDURE

1. Divide points on the graph into four

quadrants.
2. If there are X points on the graph,
 Count X/2 points from top to
bottom and draw a horizontal line.
 Count X/2 points from left to right
and draw a vertical line.
 If number of points is odd, draw the
line through the middle point.
 SCATTER DIAGRAM PROCEDURE

3. Count the points in each quadrant.

Do not count points on a line.
4. Add the diagonally opposite quadrants.
Find the smaller sum and the total of
points in all quadrants.
A = points in upper left + points in
lower right
B = points in upper right + points in
lower left
Q = the smaller of A and B
N=A+B
 SCATTER DIAGRAM EXAMPLE
The manufacturing team suspects a
relationship between product purity
(percent purity) and the amount of iron
(measured in parts per million or ppm).
Purity and iron are plotted against each
other as a scatter diagram, as shown in
the figure.
There are 24 data points. Median lines are
drawn so that 12 points fall on each side
for both percent purity and ppm iron.
 SCATTER DIAGRAM EXAMPLE
To test for a relationship , Calculate:
A = points in upper left + points in lower right
= 9 + 9 = 18
B = points in upper right + points in lower left
=3+3=6
Q= the smaller of A and B
= the smaller of 18 and 6
=6
N = A + B = 18 + 6 = 24

Then look up the limit for N on the trend test

table. For N=24, the limit is 6. Q is equal to the
limit.
 SCATTER DIAGRAM EXAMPLE

 Therefore, the pattern could have

occurred from random chance, and no
relationship is demonstrated.
SCATTER DIAGRAM CONSIDERATIONS
Here are some examples of situations in
which you might use a scatter diagram:
 Variable A is the temperature of a
reaction after 15 minutes.
 Variable B measures the color of the
product.
 You suspect higher temperature makes
the product darker.
 Plot temperature and color on a scatter
diagram.
SCATTER DIAGRAM CONSIDERATIONS
(Contd...)
 Variable A is the number of employees
trained on new software, and variable B
is the number of calls to the computer
help line.
 You suspect that more training reduces
the number of calls.
 Plot number of people trained versus
number of calls.
SCATTER DIAGRAM CONSIDERATIONS
(Contd...)
 To test for autocorrelation of a
measurement being monitored on a
control chart, plot this pair of
variables:
 Variable A is the measurement at a
given time.
 Variable B is the same
measurement, but at the previous
time.
SCATTER DIAGRAM CONSIDERATIONS
(Contd...)
 If the scatter diagram shows correlation,
do another diagram where variable B is
the measurement two times previously.
 Keep increasing the separation between
the two times until the scatter diagram
shows no correlation.
Even if the scatter diagram shows a
relationship, do not assume that one
variable caused the other. Both may be
influenced by a third variable.
SCATTER DIAGRAM CONSIDERATIONS
(Contd..)
 When the data are plotted, the more
the diagram resembles a straight line,
the stronger the relationship.

 If a line is not clear, statistics (N and

Q) determine whether there is
reasonable certainty that a
relationship exists.
SCATTER DIAGRAM CONSIDERATIONS
(Contd..)
If the statistics say that no
relationship exists, the pattern could
have occurred by random chance.
 If the scatter diagram shows no
relationship between the variables,
consider whether the data might be
stratified.
SCATTER DIAGRAM CONSIDERATIONS
(Contd...)
 If the diagram shows no relationship,
consider whether the independent (x-
axis) variable has been varied widely.
Sometimes a relationship is not
apparent because the data don’t
cover a wide enough range.
 Think creatively about how to use
scatter diagrams to discover a root
cause.
SCATTER DIAGRAM CONSIDERATIONS
(Contd..)
 Drawing a scatter diagram is the first
step in looking for a relationship
between variables.
 STRATIFICATION
 Stratification is a technique used in
combination with other data analysis
tools.
 When data from a variety of sources
or categories have been lumped
together, the meaning of the data can
be impossible to see.
 This technique separates the data so
that patterns can be seen.
 WHEN TO USE STRATIFICATION
 Before collecting data.
 When data come from several sources
or conditions, such as shifts, days of
the week, suppliers or population
groups.
 When data analysis may require
separating different sources or
conditions.
 STRATIFICATION PROCEDURE
 Before collecting data, consider which
information about the sources of the
data might have an effect on the
results.
 Set up the data collection so that you
collect that information as well.
 STRATIFICATION PROCEDURE

 When plotting or graphing the

collected data on a scatter diagram,
control chart, histogram or other
analysis tool, use different marks or
colors to distinguish data from various
sources. Data that are distinguished in
this way are said to be “stratified.”
STRATIFICATION PROCEDURE (Contd...)

 Analyze the subsets of stratified data

separately. For example, on a scatter
diagram where data are stratified
into data from source 1 and data
from source 2, draw quadrants, count
points and determine the critical
value only for the data from source 1,
then only for the data from source 2.
 STRATIFICATION EXAMPLE

 The manufacturing team drew a

scatter diagram to test whether
product purity and iron contamination
were related, but the plot did not
demonstrate a relationship. Then a
team member realized that the data
came from three different reactors.
The team member redrew the
diagram, using a different symbol for
each reactor’s data:
 STRATIFICATION EXAMPLE
CONCLUSION
 Now patterns can be seen.
 The data from reactor 2 and reactor 3
are circled. Even without doing any
calculations, it is clear that for those
two reactors, purity decreases as iron
increases.
 However, the data from reactor 1, the
solid dots that are not circled, do not
show that relationship. Something is
different about reactor 1.
 STRATIFICATION CONSIDERATIONS

Here are examples of different sources that might

require data to be stratified:
Equipment
Shifts
Departments
Materials
Suppliers
Day of the week
Time of day
Products
 STRATIFICATION CONSIDERATIONS (Contd...)

 Survey data usually benefit from

stratification.
 Always consider before collecting data
whether stratification might be
needed during analysis. Plan to collect
stratification information. After the
data are collected it might be too late.
 On your graph or chart, include a
legend that identifies the marks or
colours used.