Seven Tools of Quality

INTRODUCTION
Collecting and analyzing data is a foundation on which the effective management of quality rests. "seven tools of quality" will help you effectively collect and analyze data.

Seven Tools of Quality

The seven tools of quality are: 1) Cause and effect diagram 2) Check sheet 3) Control chart 4) Flow chart 5) Histogram 6) Pareto chart 7) Scatter diagram

Seven Tools of Quality

1.CAUSE AND EFFECT DIAGRAM

Cause and effect diagram ( or Fishbone diagram)

Fig 1

Cause and effect diagram

Figure 1 shows a simple cause and effect diagram. Also called a fishbone diagram because it looks like skeleton of a fish. Also, this diagram is called Ishiwaka diagram, named after a Japanese quality expert who came up with this concept. The idea is first to identify and state the problem, which is in essence an effect of something that happened in a process, and think through various causes that may have resulted in an undesired effect.

Cause and effect diagram

Drawing a cause and effect diagram helps one think systematically and logically. It graphically illustrates the relationship between a given outcome and all the factors that influence this outcome.

Seven Tools of Quality

2.CHECK SHEET

Check sheet
A check sheet is nothing but a form used to collect data in such a way that it makes not only the collection of data easy, but also the analysis of that data automatic. Figure 2 is an example of a check sheet. Each mark in the check sheet indicates a defect. The type of defects, number of defects, and their distribution can be seen at a glance, which makes analysis of data very quick and easy. Check sheets provide a logical display of data that are manually derived and yield results from which conclusions can be easily drawn.

Check sheet

Fig 2

Seven Tools of Quality

3.CONTROL CHART

Control chart FIG - 3

Control chart
A control chart is a simple graph or chart with time on the horizontal (X) axis vs. the quality characteristic measured on a vertical (Y) axis, with the control limits for the quality characteristic measured. In other words, a control chart is a continuous graphic indication of the state of a process with respect to a quality characteristic being measured. You go out on the production floor and just before shipping pull a number of samples, inspect them, and note the number of defects, and calculate percent defective for several days.

Control chart
The results may look something like the following:
No of Samples inspected No of sample defective

Control chart
Variations or fluctuations in data are generally caused by a large number of small differences in materials, equipment, the surrounding atmospheric conditions, physical and mental reactions of people involved, etc. These small differences cause data to vary in a manner called "normal" or "random" and such variations are termed normal variations. In other words, these are variations normal to the process.

Control chart

Occasionally, however, there will be a large or unusual difference, much more important than all those small differences put together. For example, material is taken from a different lot, the machine setter makes a new setting, an inexperienced operator takes the place of an experienced operator, etc. These large differences cause changes in a process resulting in variation in the characteristics measured in a manner called "abnormal" and these variations are called abnormal variations. In other words, these are variations that are not normal to the process.

Control chart Experience has shown that there are definite detectable differences

between "normal" or "natural" variations and "abnormal" or "unnatural variations.

It is possible to detect this difference or to make this distinction using a statistical tool known as the control chart. Abnormal or unnatural variations have identifiable, assignable causes. This makes the diagnosis and correction of many production troubles and often brings substantial improvements in product quality and reduction in scrap and rework. Normal or natural variations have no assignable causes. So by identifying certain quality variations as having no assignable causes or being natural to the process, the control chart tells us when to leave a process alone and thus prevents unnecessarily frequent adjustments that tend to increase the variability of the process rather than decrease it.

Seven Tools of Quality

4.FLOW CHART

Flow chart
A flow chart is a schematic diagram of a process including all the steps or operations in the sequence as they occur. The logic here is that the act of constructing a flow chart will help you clarify various steps involved in a process and result in a better overall understanding of that process. One must understand a process clearly to be better able to identify and solve its problems. Flow chart can help understand the complete process, identify the critical stages of a process, locate problem areas, and show relationships between different steps in a process. Figure 4 is an example of a flow chart.

Manufacturing process flow chart, mens shirts

FIG - 4

 Manufacturing process flow chart, dress shirts, men's. (1) Marker lay made according to cutting ticket. Marker lay checked 100%. (2) Marker and material delivered to spreading operation. Material spread. (3) Machine knife cut. (4) Die cutting small parts. (5) Cut parts delivered to plant. (6) Collar department: Fuse stays. Run collar tops, trim points. Turn and press (shape), top stitch bands. Trim and baste. Quarter mark band. Buttonhole. Button sew. (7) Cuff department: Hem cuff, run cuff. Shape cuff topstitch. Buttonhole, Button sew. (8) Under fronts: Baste neck. Crease front. Center pleat.

(9) Buttonhole. Set pocket. Set pocket. Set flap. (10) Sleeves: Piece binding. Bind sleeve. Tack binding. (11) Backs: Pleat. Backs. (12) Yokes: Label. Sew. (13) Attach yoke backs. (14) Assemble complated bundles of parts, any size, section, ply number and/or shade. (15) Join shoulder seam. (16) Join collar to shirt. (17) Set sleeve, join side and underarm seams (sidefell). (18) Cuff attach, hem shirt,'trim threads. (19) Button shirt, roll collar, press, fold. (20) Pack.

Seven Tools of Quality

5.HISTOGRAM

Histogram FIG - 5

Histogram
A histogram is a bar chart or a bar graph. It is a graphical chart of a number of occurrences of an event. For example, if you were to draw a histogram of the data contained in Table 1, it would look like figure 5. A histogram simply shows the distribution of sample data and gives some idea about variability of that data. Histogram is a graphic summary of variation in a set of data, and is a simple but powerful tool for elementary analysis. A histogram can help understand the total variation of a process, and quickly and easily determine the under laying distribution of a process.

Seven Tools of Quality

6.PARETO CHART

Fig. 6 Pareto Chart

Pareto chart
A Pareto chart is nothing but a histogram where a number of occurrences of an event are arranged in descending order. For example, a Pareto chart of the data contained in Table 1 will look like the Figure 6. Dr. Joseph M. Juran, the world famous quality management expert, observed in mid-1920s, as a young engineer, that quality defects are unequal in frequency, that is, when a long list of defects is arranged in order of frequency, generally, relatively few of the defects account for the bulk of defectiveness. Dr. Juran named this phenomenon the Pareto

principle.

Pareto chart
Thus, Pareto chart helps identify those defects that cause most problems, and by addressing those defects, most of the quality problems can be solved and improvement be made. For example, of the 208 defects shown in the Figure 6, 45 or 21.6% are fabric defects. So in this instance, it would be most effective to address fabric quality first because any improvement in fabric quality will significantly improve overall quality of the product. The next defect to address should be open seams, and so forth.

Seven Tools of Quality

7.SCATTER DIAGRAM

FIG - 7
Scatter diagram

Scatter diagram
A scatter diagram is a plot of one variable vs. another variable, which is dependent on the first variable. For example, yarn strength may depend on twists per inch (twists per centimeter); moisture absorbancy in a fabric may depend on fabric thickness, and so on. By plotting one variable against another, it may or may not become obvious how they are related; in other words, a pattern may or may not emerge. Various possible patterns of a scatter diagram are shown in Figure above.