7 Quality Control (QC) Tools

QC tools are the means for collecting data, analyzing data, identifying root
causes of any problems and measuring the results. These tools are used to
identify, analyze and resolve problems relating to different domains.

The QC tools have been categorized into the following 7 categories

 Cause and Effect Diagram

 Pareto Diagrams
 Check Sheets
 Control Charts
 Flowchart
 Histograms
 Scatter Diagrams

1. Histogram

A histogram is a tool for summarizing, analyzing, and displaying data. It

provides the user with a graphical representation of the amount of variation
found in a set of data. Histograms sort observations or data points, which are
measurable data, into categories and describe the frequency of the data found
in each category.
2. Pareto Chart

A Pareto chart is a type of chart that contains both bars and a line graph,
where individual values are represented in descending order by bars, and the
cumulative total is represented by the line.

It indicates the frequency of defects, as well as their cumulative impact. Pareto

Charts are useful to find the defects to prioritize in order to observe the
greatest overall improvement.

A Pareto Chart for the defects in shirts.

1) Each bar usually represents a type of defect or problem. The height of the
bar represents any important unit of measure — often the frequency of
occurrence or cost.

2) The bars are presented in descending order (from tallest to shortest).

Therefore, you can see which defects are more frequent at a glance.

3) The line represents the cumulative percentage of defects.

3. Check Sheets

Check sheets is a statistical quality control tool which allow the user to collect
data from a process in an easy, systematic, and organized manner.

Also, data collected using check sheets can be used as input data for other
quality tools such as Pareto diagrams.

There are four main types of check sheets used for data collection (custom
check sheets can also be designed to fit specific needs):

A. Defective Item Check Sheet:

This type of check sheet is used to identify what types of problems or defects
are occurring in the process. Usually these check sheets will have a list of the
defects or problems that may occur in the process. When each sample is
taken, a mark is placed in the appropriate column whenever a defect or a
problem has been identified. The type of data used in the defective item check
sheets is countable data. Table 1 below shows an example of a defective item
check sheet for the wave solder manufacturing process.

Table 1. Wave Solder Defect Count.

Defect Insufficient Solder Excessive

Cold Solder Blow Holes
Type Solder Bridge Solder

Frequency xxxxxxx xx xxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxx xx

Total 7 2 3 14 2

B. Defective Location Check Sheet:

These type of check sheets are used to identify the location of the defect on
the product. They are used when the external appearance of the product is
important. Usually this type of check sheet consists of a picture of the product.
On this picture, marks can be made to indicate were defects are occurring on
the surface of the product.
C. Defective Cause Check Sheet:

This type of check sheet tries to identify causes of a problem or a defect. More
than one variable is monitored when collecting data for this type of check
sheets. For example, we could be collecting data about the type of machine,
operator, date, and time on the same check sheet. Table 2 below is an
example of this type of check sheets. As we can see most of the error is
occurring at machine 2 and at the afternoon shift. This could suggest that
machine 2 has problems when it is run in the afternoon shift.

Table 2. Defect cause check sheet.

Machine 1 Machine 2

Operator A Morning X X

Afternoon XX XXXXXX

Operator B Morning X XX

Afternoon XX XXXXXXXXX

X= Number of times the supervisor is called per day.

D. Checkup Confirmation Check Sheet:

This type of check sheet is used to ensure that proper procedures are being
followed. These check sheets usually will have a list of tasks that need to be
accomplished before the action can be taken. Examples of checkup
confirmation check sheets are final inspection, machine maintenance,
operation checks, and service performance check sheets.
4. Scatter Diagrams

A scatter diagram is a non-mathematical or graphical approach for identifying

relationships or correlations that might exist between two different numeric
variables on horizontal and vertical axis of a graph. This graphical approach is
quick, easy to communicate to others, and generally easy to interpret.

Case-1: Perfect Positive Correlation (r=+1) Case-2 : Perfect Negative Correlation (r=-1)

Case-3: High Degree of Positive Correlation Case – 4: No Correlation

5. Control Charts

Also called as Shewhart chart or statistical process control chart, it can be

defined as 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. 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).
the fish head to the right of the diagram and the bones branching off behind it
to the left.
Six Sigma – Tool of Quality Control

A SIGMA process refers to a process or methodology through which we come

to know at what distance, in terms of standard deviation, the specified limits
are placed from the QUALITY target value or in other words the total number
of defects or defective product allowed per million products manufactured.

The Sigma scale of measure is perfectly correlated to such characteristics as

defects-per-unit, parts-per-million defective, and the probability of a
failure/error.

The concept was introduced in the year 1985-86 by Motorola Company and
was later on popularized by GE and Allied Signals once they started using this
methodology for manufacturing process in 1994-96. At present it is being
practised in almost all the sectors of economy including both Govt and Private
Sector.

In the early period of evolution, all emphasis regarding the statistical process
control, were designed on the basis of 3 Sigma limits. However, with gradual
improvement in technology and the production technique, this concept was
challenged and the organization pushes their boundaries to start looking for
quality levels beyond 3 Sigma.

Sigma PPM (Defect per million % Quality Quality Benchmarks

Rating opportunity)
1 690,000 defects POOR
2 308,537 defects POOR
3 66,807 defects 99.73 AVERAGE
4 6,210 defects 99.9937 AVERAGE
5 233 defects 99.999943 WORLD CLASS
6 3.4 defects 99.9999998 WORLD CLASS

It can be therefore summarized as a culture of continuous improvement where

emphasis on improving business performance through greater customer
satisfaction, profitability & competitiveness by process improvement and also
learning to build processes that delivers flawless quality of output
continuously.
ISO 9001:2015 – Quality Management System

ISO 9001 is defined as the international standard that specifies requirements

for a quality management system (QMS). Organizations use the standard to
demonstrate the ability to consistently provide products and services that
meet customer and regulatory requirements. It is the most popular standard in
the ISO 9000 series and the only standard in the series to which organizations
can certify.

ISO 9001 was first published in 1987 by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO), an international agency composed of the national
standards bodies of more than 160 countries. The current version of ISO
9001 was released in September 2015.

Scope of ISO 9001:2015 QMS

ISO 9001 is based on the plan-do-check-act methodology (PDCA cycle) and

provides a process-oriented approach to documenting and reviewing the
structure, responsibilities, and procedures required to achieve effective quality
management in an organization. Specific sections of the standard contain
information on many topics, such as:

 Requirements for a QMS, including documented information, planning

and determining process interactions
 Responsibilities of management
 Management of resources, including human resources and an
organization’s work environment
 Product realization, including the steps from design to delivery
 Measurement, analysis, and improvement of the QMS through activities
like internal audits and corrective and preventive action
 Fig: 7 Principles of ISO 9001:2015 Certificate

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is a maintenance program which involves

a newly defined concept for maintaining plants and equipment. The goal of the
TPM program is to markedly increase production while, at the same time,
increasing employee morale and job satisfaction.

TPM brings maintenance into focus as a necessary and vitally important part of
the business. It is no longer regarded as a non-profit activity. Down time for
maintenance is scheduled as a part of the manufacturing day and, in some
cases, as an integral part of the manufacturing process. The goal is to hold
emergency and unscheduled maintenance to a minimum.

Why TPM ?

TPM was introduced to achieve the following objectives. The important ones
are listed below.

 Avoid wastage in a quickly changing economic environment.

 Producing goods without reducing product quality.
 Reduce cost.
 Produce a low batch quantity at the earliest possible time.
 Goods send to the customers must be non defective.
Motives of 1. Adoption of life cycle approach for improving the overall
TPM performance of production equipment.
2. Improving productivity by highly motivated workers
which is achieved by job enlargement.
3. The use of voluntary small group activities for
identifying the cause of failure, possible plant and
equipment modifications.

Uniqueness of The major difference between TPM and other concepts

TPM is that the operators are also made to involve in the
maintenance process.

TPM 1. Achieve Zero Defects, Zero Breakdown and Zero

Objectives accidents in all functional areas of the organization.
2. Involve people in all levels of organization.
3. Form different teams to reduce defects and Self
Maintenance.

Direct benefits 1. Increase productivity and OPE ( Overall Plant Efficiency )

of TPM by 1.5 or 2 times.
2. Rectify customer complaints.
3. Reducethe manufacturing cost by 30%.
4. Satisfy the customers needs by 100 % ( Delivering the
right quantity at the right time, in the required quality. )
5. Reduce accidents.
6. Follow pollution control measures.

Indirect 1. Higher confidence level among the employees.

benefits of 2. Keep the work place clean, neat and attractive.
TPM 3. Favorable change in the attitude of the operators.
4. Achieve goals by working as team.
5. Horizontal deployment of a new concept in all areas of
the organization.
6. Share knowledge and experience.
7. The workers get a feeling of owning the machine.
5S – KAIZEN based Japanese system of Quality Control

5S stands for 5 initials of the following Japanese words

 Seiri – Sort
 Seiton – Set in order
 Seiso – Shine
 Seiketsu – Standardize
 Shitsuke – Sustain

 The first step of 5S, - Sort,

It involves going through all the tools, furniture, materials, equipment,
etc. in a work area to determine what needs to be present and what can
be removed.

 Seiton – Set in order – It ensures that all items are organized and each
item has a designated place. It organizes all the items left in the
workplace after sorting in a logical way so they make tasks easier for
workers to complete.

 Seiso – Shine
The Shine stage of 5S focuses on cleaning up the work area, which
means sweeping, mopping, dusting, wiping down surfaces, putting tools
and materials away, etc. In addition to basic cleaning, Shine also involves
performing regular maintenance on equipment and machinery.

 Seiketsu – Standardize
Standardize systematizes everything that just happened and turns one-
time efforts into habits. It assigns regular tasks, creates schedules, and
posts instructions so these activities become routines and constitute the
part of standard operating procedures.

 Shitsuke – Sustain
Sustain new practices and conduct audits to maintain discipline. This
means the previous four S's must be continued over time. This is
achieved by developing a sense of self-discipline in employees who will
participate in 5S.