THE DISCRIMINATORY POWER OF A SAMPLING PLAN To obtain perfect

discrimination between good and bad lots of material, a purchaser would require
PERFECT 100% inspection. This can be shown on the O. C. Curve as a straight-
verticle line. No sampling plan can provide perfect discrimination. Curves which
approach this ideal are said to be more discriminatory than those which do not. The
diagram on the following page illustrates a set of curves which have the same AQL,
but which vary in discriminatory power. (INSERT TWO FULL PAGE CHARTS OF FALLACY
OF CONSTANT PERCENTAGE AND COMPARISON OF O.C.CURVES) The curves which have
the greatest discriminatory power also have the largest sample size. Stated
somewhat differently: if the AQL and RQL are selected close to each other, we
require a discriminatory sampling plan and ultimately we must pay for it by large
sample sizes. THE AVERAGE OUTGOING QUALITY CURVE Although the O. C. Curve
provides a great amount of information concerning a given sampling plan, it does
not provide all the information which is desired. One of the most frequent
questions involves the quality of material which is accepted for use under the
plan. The quality of accepted material is the result of the quality of the
submitted lots, the sampling plan and the disposition of the rejected lots.
There are many different schemes which might be used in disposing of rejected lots.
Probably the most common and justifiable procedure is to 100% inspect the rejected
subgroups and then add the conforming parts to the material which has been accepted
previously. If this were the procedure, we might then ask, "What could we expect
the percent of nonconforming material to be in that which has been accepted?"
The Average Outgoing Quality Curve, or AOQ Curve, shows the expected outgoing
quality level for any quality of submitted material which is checked by a given
sampling plan. Let's look at a sampling plan with n = 50 and c = 3. The
following O. C. and AOQ Curves represent the quality effectiveness of this plan.
(Note: It is also assumed that all rejected lots are 100% inspected and that the
defective pieces are replaced by good pieces and the entire lots are added to the
rest of the accepted material. The assumption of replacing nonconforming parts
found with conforming ones does not have any appreciable effect on the AOQ Curve
for the low values of p with which we are concerned. Of course this procedure of
100% inspection cannot be used if the item is such that a test would be of a
destructive nature.) The AOQ Curve reaches a maximum value, referred to as the
Average Outgoing Quality Limit (AOQL) and then diminishes again. This the case
because as quality of submitted lots deteriorates the plan will reject an
increasing number of lots. These rejected lots are then subjected to screening. The
more lots screened the better the quality level of the product stream. For the
following curve, the AOQL is about 3.75% and is reached if the incomming quality is
about 5%. If the incoming material is either better or worse than 5% nonconforming
we can expect the outgoing quality to be better than the 3.75% which was obtained
at the AOQL. (INSERT OC AND AOQ GRAPH) SAMPLING PLAN TYPES There are
three kinds of sampling plans which are in common use. They are Single, Double and
Multiple Sampling plans. In single sampling, the decision to accept or reject the
lot of material is based on one sample. In double sampling a decision to accept or
reject may be made after the first sample or the decision may be deferred until
after the second sample has been inspected. In multiple sampling, a series of
samples is inspected and the decision to accept or reject may be made after any
sample, depending on the findings in that and the preceding samples. If the results
at any one time are not conclusive enough to make a decision, another sample is
taken until finally a decision is reached. It is possible to construct either a
single, double or multiple sampling plan to provide the degree of protection
desired. That is, the three plans can be matched. In general, a smaller average
amount of inspection is necessary with multiple sampling than with double sampling,
and a smaller average amount of inspection is necessary with a double sampling plan
than with a single sampling plan for lots of good quality and for lots of bad
quality. However, the multiple and double sampling plans may be more difficult to
administer and to operate. SAMPLING PLAN SELECTION Although it is possible
to construct individual sampling plans which are tailored to suit specific
purposes, it is most practical to use one of the many published tables of sampling
plans. These have been thoughtfully and carefully developed by knowledgeable
persons. The average person probably does not possess the ambition or talent to
develop a table of personal sampling plans. It is more economical in time and
talent to select a plan from one of the established tables and then use the plan
wisely. For each sampling plan there is an O. C. Curve and an A. O. Q. Curve
for that plan only. It is advisable to study these curves to determine the
protection of the plan. Many sampling tables have these curves already calculated
for the included plans. If they are not provided, the methods for calculating are
in most recognized quality control textbooks. MILITARY STANDARD 105D One of
the very widely used tables for selecting a sampling plan is the Military Standard
Sampling Procedures and Tables for Inspection by Attributes, or MIL-STD-105D. We
shall look at these plans, not necessarily because they are the "best", but rather
because they are among the widest accepted and they are representative of most all
sampling plans. PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS With any sampling plan, the
characteristic to be checked must be selected and an adequate testing procedure
established. SELECTION OF THE AQL VALUE After the characteristic has been
defined, it is required that an be selected. The selected characteristic must be
classified as critical, major or minor. The usage of the selected characteristic
must be known and considered with respect to the possibility and consequences of
failure in assembly and use. If the characteristic is of a critical nature, a
higher AQL would be indicated. Where classification of characteristics has been
made by specifying them as critical, major or minor, the selection of an value can
be greatly simplified. NORMAL, TIGHTENED, AND REDUCED INSPECTION MIL-STD-
105D provides a specific set of rules as to the use of normal, tightened and
reduced inspection, including continuing the inspection procedure and switching
from one to the other. The following instructions are taken from MIL-STD-105D.
NOTE: No attempt has been made to change the terms "defect" and INITIATION OF
INSPECTION. Normal inspection will be used at the start of inspection unless
otherwise directed by a responsible authority. CONTINUATION OF INSPECTION.
Normal, tightened or reduced inspection shall continue unchanged for each class of
defects or defectives on successive lots or batches except where the switching
procedures given below require a change. The switching procedures shall be applied
to each class of defects or defectives independently. SWITCHING PROCEDURES
NORMAL TO TIGHTENED. When normal inspection is in effect, tightened inspection
shall be instituted when 2 out of 5 consecutive lots or batches have been rejected
on original inspection (i.e., ignoring resubmitted lots or batches for this
procedure) . TIGHTENED TO NORMAL. When tightened inspection is in effect, normal
inspection shall be instituted when 5 consecutive lots or batches have been
considered acceptable on original inspection. NORMAL TO REDUCED. When normal
inspection is in effect, reduced inspection shall be instituted providing that all
of the following conditions are satisfied: a. The preceding 10 lots or batches
(or more, as indicated by the note to Table VIII) have been on normal
inspection and none has been rejected on original inspection; and b. The
total number of defectives (or defects) in the samples from the preceding 10
lots or batches (or such other number as was used in condition "a" above) is
equal to or less than the applicable number given in Table VIII. If double
or multiple sampling is in use, all samples inspected should be included,
not "first" samples only; and c. Production is at a steady rate; and
d. Reduced inspection is considered desirable by the responsible authority.
REDUCED TO NORMAL. When reduced inspection is in effect, normal inspection shall be
instituted if any of the following occur on original inspection: a. A lot or
batch is rejected; or b. A lot or batch is considered acceptable under certain
conditions of reduced inspection when the sampling procedure may terminate
without either acceptance or rejection criteria having been met. In these
circumstances, the lot or batch will be considered acceptable, but normal
inspection will be reinstated starting with the next lot or batch. c.
Production becomes irregular or delayed; or d. Other conditions warrant that
normal inspection shall be instituted. DISCONTINUATION OF INSPECTION. In
the event that 10 consecutive lots or batches remain on tightened inspection (or
such other number as may be designated by a responsible authority) , inspection
under the provisions of this
document should be discontinued pending action to improve the quality of submitted
material. It should be noted that many of the rules established for the use of
MIL-STD-105D by the Government have been modified or changed, but the prospective
user of these plans should benefit by restating the above conditions with the users
own modifications in order to insure a definite plan for changing from one type of
plan to another. SELECTION OF AN INSPECTION LEVEL MIL-STD-105D tables
provide for varying the discriminatory power of the sampling plan by selecting one
of four special inspection levels, S-1, S-2, S-3, S-4 or one of three general
inspection levels, I, II, III. In each case the higher the number the more
discriminatory power of the plan. The more discriminatory the plan the larger the
sample size. The Curves and certain tabulated values for the plans are also
provided in the tables. Inspection level is usually selected. SINGLE,DOUBLE
AND MULTIPLE SAMPLING For most AQL values and inspection levels, the user has
the option to select single, double or multiple sampling plans. The selection of
the type of sampling plan will depend upon: 1. Psychological likes and
dislikes, 2. Difficulty of administering and using the various
kinds of sampling, 3. Average amount of inspection required by using the
various kinds of sampling, and 4. Difficulty in selecting samples.
However, for any given AQL and inspection level, the O. C. Curves will be nearly
the same regardless of the kind of sampling.