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SQC: An effective tool for product development*

SQC: An effective tool for product development

Article · January 2009

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1 Abstract
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1 author:
In this paper various functions of statistical quality control, tools of statistical quality
Binod Kumar Singh
control in the area of the production process for improving the products in terms of their
University of Petroleum & Energy Studies

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prices, costs, quality etc. have been considered. Further the usages of statistical quality
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control, the study of major stages of the production process as well as the function of the
production process, function of quality control, usages of quality control in industry and
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Key words: SQC, PERT, QIS, Quality control, Control charts.

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* Dr. Binod Kumar Singh, Faculty Member, AIBM (ICFAI), Ranchi

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Introduction

The term SQC was first introduced by W. A. Shewhart. SQC means Statistical Quality
Control. It is a method of planned collection and effective use of data for studying the
causes of variation in quality either in between processes, methods, materials, machines
and management etc. over certain period of time. This cause-effect analysis is then fed
back into the system with a view to continuous action on the processes of handling,
manufacturing, packaging, transporting and delivery at destination. Hence a quality
control system performs inspection, testing and analysis to conclude whether the quality
of each product is as per laid quality standard or not .SQC makes inspection more reliable
and at the same time less costly. It controls the optimum quality level of the outgoing
products.
SQC is a program evaluation and review technique (PERT) with three factors viz.
management, methods and mathematics. There are six important elements for PERT.
They are
Management
Standard/Specification
Measurement/Comparison
Action on process/product/system
Information from Quality Information Service (QIS)
R&D with better quality standard or economical quality standard and better
means for achieving the standard
In SQC there are two types of causes. The two causes are chance causes and assignable
causes. The variation due to chance causes is beyond the control of human being and can
-not be prevented or eliminated under any circumstances. This type of cause arises due to
some minor causes that occur randomly. The variation due to chance cause is called
allowable variation. The range of such variation is called natural tolerance. Assignable
causes arise due to non-random causes like defective raw materials, new techniques,
improper handling of equipments, unskilled technical staff, etc. They may occur at any
stage of the production process, right from the arrival of the raw materials to the final
delivery of goods. The variation due to this cause is called preventable variation. These

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types of causes arise due to the variation in the quality of manufactured product in the
repetitive process in the any production process.

Objective(s)

Determine the role of SQC for product development

Determine function of SQC
Determine the function of quality control in industry

Function of SQC

The main objective of SQC is to develop some statistical techniques which would help in
separating the assignable causes from the chance causes. The important functions of SQC
are as follows.
Examine the quality level of raw materials, production process and of finished
goods.
Judging the conformity of the process to establish standards taking suitable action
when some deviations are found.
Examine the optimum quality which is obtainable under certain given conditions.
Examine the quality and productivity by various process control and experiment.

Tools of SQC

There are certain statistical tools which are helpful in data analysis in quality control in
the case of the manufactured products. They are as follows.
Frequency Distribution
Shewhart’s control chart for variables-It is useful for those variables which can

be measured quantitatively and the variables are continuous type and follow the
normal probability law. It is useful for the measure of location as well as measure
of dispersion. Under this two types of control charts are used. They are Control
charts for mean and range and Control charts for mean and standard deviation.
Shewhart’s control charts for fraction defective or p-chart-In this type of

control chart only those variables are considered which can be identified by their

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 absence or presence of the product or by classifying the product as defective or
non-defective.
Shewhart’s control charts for number of defects or d-chart-In this type of

control chart instead of fraction defective, the sample proportion defective will be
taken.
Shewhart’s control chart for the number of defects per unit or c-chart-This is

useful when the characteristic representing the quality of a product is a discrete

variable. Examples of c-chart is the number of defective rivets in an aircraft wing,
the number of defects observed in a roll of coated paper or a sheet of
photographic film.
Acceptance sampling plan-Acceptance sampling by attributes is the most
effective common type of sampling. A predetermined number of units (sample)
from each lot is inspected by attributes. Acceptance sampling can be performed in
a number of different situations where customers-producer relationships exist.
Regression and correlation analysis-Regression analysis is the mathematical
measures of two or more variable in terms of original data. Correlation analysis is
the linear relationship between two variables. Correlation is of two types viz.
positive and negative correlation.
Tests of significance- It is a powerful tool for testing of hypothesis. It is used to
test under certain conditions the assumption that was made is either accepted or
rejected.
Design of experiments-It is the logical construction of the experiment in which
the degree of uncertainty with which the inference is drawn may be well defined.

Usage of SQC

It provides better quality assurance at lower inspection cost

It reduces wastage of time and material
It helps in identification of many production bottlenecks that occurs during the
production process
It helps in improvement in quality
It helps in reduction of scrap and rework

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create goods andinservices
It helps thatinspection
decreased meet the needs
cost and wants of customers. The needs and
wants ofItcustomers will be met
helps in scientific if a business
evaluation can produce
of quality the correct number of products,
and production
in the shortest
It helpspossible time, in
in reduction to customer
the best quality and all at a competitive price.
complaints

Function of Production process

Major stages of Production process
The main objective of any production process is to control and maintain the quality of the
The way that businesses create products and services is known as the production process.
manufactured product so that it conforms to certain specified quality standards. Any
A production process is said to be in a state of statistical control if it is governed by
production process consists of two stages they are process control and product control.
chance causes alone. There are three main parts of the production process as can be seen
Process control- The concept of process control was pioneered by W. A. Shewhart of
in the diagram below:
Bell telephone laboratories in 1924 by using the concept of theory of probability and
sampling. A typical control chart consists of three horizontal lines. They are
A central line(CL), indicates the desired standard or the level of the process
Upper control limit(UCL)

Lower control limit(LCL)

Product control- The concept of product control was pioneered by Dodge and Romig by
using the concept of sampling inspection plans. It means controlling the quality of the
product by critical examination at strategic points. It attempts to ensure that the product
marketed by sale department does not contain a large number of defective items.

Function of Quality Control

In SQC there is a term called quality. It plays a vital role in statistical quality control.
Quality control technique is a powerful tool or productive technique for effective
A firm must purchase all the necessary inputs and then transform them into the product
diagnosis of lack of quality in any one of them like material, machine, or management,
(outputs) that it wishes to sell. For example a football shirt manufacturer must buy the
etc. It is essential that the finished products must possess the optimum quality that the
fabric,
consumer payexpects
someone of for a design,
them. invest
In quality in machinery,
control rent a factory
the term quality dependsand employ
upon workers
four M’s.
in order for the football shirts to be made and then sold. How well-organized a firm is at
They are as follows.
undertaking this transformation process will determine its success. This is known as the
Quality of material-Good quality of material, reducing waste, smooth processing
productive efficiency of a firm and it will want to be as efficient as possible in
and increasing output. It will also provide better end to end products.
transforming its inputs into outputs (i.e. using the minimum number of inputs as possible
to achieve a set amount of output). This will reduce the cost per unit of production and
allow the firm to sell at a lower price. Hence the objective of the production process is to

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 Quality of manpower-Well qualified and skilled personnel will increase
efficiency of the any production process due to better quality production through
the application of their skills and also reduce the production cost and time.
Quality of machine-Good quality of machine will increase the production,
reduce breakdown situation and reduce the cost of finished product.
Quality of management- A good management is imperative to increase in
efficiency, harmony in relations, growth of business and their related markets.

Usage of Quality Control in industry

The following diagram gives a summary of the usage of quality control in industry.
QUALITY CONTROL
APPROACH AND BENEFITS
Planned collection of data, analysis and interpretation
↓

Improvement in product quality and design

Reduction in operating costs and losses
Reduction in scrap
Savings in excess use of materials
Removing production bottlenecks
Reduction in inspection
Evaluation of scientific tolerances
Improvement of employee morale
Maintenance of operating efficiency
Quality consciousness
Greater customer satisfaction
↓

ENHANCED PRODUCTIVITY
A gradual increase in productivity, savings in costs and improvement in the quality of
products are attainable in any industry by means of the application of quality control
technique.

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 Conclusion

Thus Statistical Quality Control plays vital role in any production process by using
various statistical tools. It also plays a vital role in all walks of life starting from the
household to big engineering and service industries. It helps in improving the quality of
finished goods and reducing total cost. In other words, the determination of both quality
and quality costs can be achieved by using SQC.

References

Cowden, D. J. (1957), Statistical Methods in Quality Control, Prentice-Hall.

Duncan, A. J. (1986), Quality Control and Industrial Statistics, 5th ed., Irwin,
Homewood, II.

Montgomery, D. C. (2000), Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 4th ed., Wiley,

New York, NY.

Naidu, NVR., Babu, KM. and Rajendra, G.(2006),Total Quality Management, New Age
International (P) Ltd..

Shewhart, W. A. (1931), Economic Control of Quality of Manufactured Product, Van

Nostrand.

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