The Basic Seven (B7)

Tools of Quality

A PowerPoint Training
Presentation

By Keith H. Cooper
"As much as 95% of quality related problems in the factory can be solved
with seven fundamental quantitative tools." - Kaoru Ishikawa
 What are the Basic
Seven Tools of Quality?
Fishbone Diagrams
Histograms
Pareto Analysis
Flowcharts
Scatter Plots
Run Charts
Control Charts
 Where did the Basic
Seven come from?
Kaoru Ishikawa
Known for Democratizing Statistics

The Basic Seven Tools made statistical

analysis less complicated for the average
person

Good Visual Aids make statistical and

quality control more comprehendible.
 The Basic Seven (B7)
Tools of Quality
Fishbone Diagrams

No statistics involved

Maps out a process/problem

Makes improvement easier

Looks like a Fish Skeleton

 Constructing a Fishbone
Diagram
Step 1 - Identify the Problem
Step 2 - Draw spine and bones

Example: High Inventory Shrinkage at local Drug

Store

Shrinkage
Constructing a Fishbone
Diagram
Step 3 - Identify different areas where
problems may arise from
Ex. : High Inventory Shrinkage at local Drug Store

employees

Shrinkage

shoplifters
 Constructing a Fishbone
Diagram
Step 4 - Identify what these specific
causes could be

Ex. : High Inventory Shrinkage at local Drug Store

Shrinkage
Anti-theft tags poorly designed
Expensive merchandise out
in the open

No security/ surveillance
shoplifters
 Constructing a Fishbone
Diagram
Ex. : High Inventory Shrinkage at local Drug Store
employees
attitude
training
new trainee
benefits practices

Shrinkage
Anti-theft tags poorly designed
Expensive merchandise out in the open

No security/ surveillance

shoplifters
Constructing a Fishbone
Diagram
Step 5 Use the finished diagram to
brainstorm solutions to the main problems.
 The Basic Seven (B7)
Tools of Quality
Histograms

Bar chart

Used to graphically represent groups

of data
Constructing a Histogram

From a set of data compute

sum
mean (x)
Max
Min
Range (max-min)
Constructing a Histogram

Use range to estimate beginning

and end
Calculate the width of each
column by dividing the range by
the number of columns

Range = Width
# of Columns
 Acme Pizza Example
Lets say the owner wants a
distribution of Acmes Thursday
Night Sales
Data Set from last Thursday(slices)
02122413121224341432232122122142
21212212121212121222121211222314
22322212322422441222322122421242
1721223121121222122121222424
Acme Pizza Example
Mean = 2.032258
Max = 7
Min = 0
Range = 7

Question
For 7 columns what would the width
be?
Range/Columns=7/7=1 slice
Acme Pizza Example
Histogram
70 65

60

50

40 33
30

20
12
8
10
0 0 1
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Slices of Pizza
Constructing a Histogram
How is this helpful to Acme?
2 slices of pizza most common order
placed
Distribution of sales useful for
forecasting next Thursdays late
night demand

If you were an Acme manager how

could you apply this information?
 The Basic Seven (B7)
Tools of Quality
Pareto Analysis

Very similar to Histograms

Use of the 80/20 rule

Use of percentages to show

importance
 Acme Pizza (part 2)
Slices Frequency %
0 1 .3
1 33 13.09
2 65 25.79
3 8 3.17
4 12 4.76
5 0 0
6 0 0
7 1 .3
 Acme Pizza (part 2)
The completed Pareto Analysis results in the
following graph:

70

60

50

40
30

20

10

0
21 1
2 43 34 75 56 67

Slices of Pizza
 Acme Pizza (part 2)
Critical Thinking
How does the Pareto Analysis
differ from the Histogram?

How can this be a useful tool to

the Acme boss?
 The Basic Seven (B7)
Tools of Quality
Flowcharts

A graphical picture of a PROCESS

Process Decision

The process flow

 Flowcharts
Dont Forget to:

Define symbols before beginning

Stay consistent

Check that process is accurate

 Acme Pizza Example
(Flowchart)

Window Take Customer Money?

(start) Order
yes
no
Get Pizza

Lockup
Put More in
Oven no 2 Pies
Available?
yes
no
Time yes
to close?
Take to Customer
How can we use the flowchart to
analyze improvement ideas from
the Histogram?

Window Take Customer Money?

(start) Order
yes
no
Get Pizza

Lockup
Put More in
Oven no 2 Pies
Available?
yes
no
Time yes
to close?
Take to Customer
 Want some practice?
Make a flowchart for:

Taking a shower
Cooking dinner
Driving a car
Having a party
Creating a Flowchart

Any other processes you can think of?

 The Basic Seven (B7)
Tools of Quality
Scatter Plots
2 Dimensional X/Y plots
Used to show relationship
between independent(x) and
dependent(y) variables
 Acme Pizza
(Scatter Diagram)
Minutes Cooking Defective Pies
10 1
45 8
30 5
75 20
60 14
20 4
25 6

In this simple example, you can find the existing

relationship without much difficulty but
 Scatter Diagrams
Easier to see direct 25

relationship 20

15

10

0
0 20 40 60 80

Time Cooking (minutes)

 Scatter Diagrams
As a quality tool
What does this tell Acme
management about their
processes?
Improvements?
25

20

15

10

0
0 20 40 60 80

Time Cooking (minutes)

 The Basic Seven (B7)
Tools of Quality

Run charts
Time-based (x-axis)

Cyclical

Look for patterns

 Run Charts
Slices/hour

8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 Time
PM- AM PM- AM PM- AM
Thursday Thursday Thursday
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
 The Basic Seven (B7)
Tools of Quality

Control Charts
Deviation from Mean

Upper and Lower Specs

Range
 Control Charts
Upper Limit

Lower Limit
Unacceptable
deviation
 Control Charts
Acme Pizza Management wants to get
in on the control chart action
Average Diameter = 16 inches
Upper Limit = 17 inches
Lower Limit = 15 inches
 Acme example
Control Charts
Upper Limit
17 inches

16 inches= X

Lower Limit
15 Inches

Small Pie
 Acme example #50
Control Charts
Pies within specifications were
acceptable
One abnormally small pie is
uncommon
Should be examined for quality control
 Summary
Basic Seven Tools of Quality

Measuring data

Quality Analysis

Democratized statistics
 Bibliography

Foster, Thomas. Managing Quality. An Integrative

Approach. Upper Saddle River : Prentice Hall,
2001.

Stevenson, William. Supercharging Your Pareto

Analysis. Quality Progress October 2000:
51-55.

Dr Kaoru Ishikawa. Internet

http://www.dti.gov.uk/mbp/bpgt/m9ja00001/m9j
a0000110.html. 16 February 2001.

Chemical and Process Engineering. Internet.

http://lorien.ncl.ac.uk/ming/spc/spc8.htm. 17
February 2001.