7 QC Tools 7 QCTools

Brainstorming

Data Collection Pareto Diagram Cause & Effect Diagram Scatter Diagram Graphs & Control Charts Histogram Stratification

Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a group technique for generating new, useful ideas. This promotes unconventional, creative thinking. Brainstormed ideas are mixture of Creative, imaginative as well as Logical thinking.

Group has to discourage analytical or critical thinking and aim for large number of new ideas in the shortest possible time.
The ideas generated cant be used as substitute for data.

When to use Brainstorming ?

1. For Defining Projects 2. Formulating theories of Causes during Diagnostic Journey 3. Designing Solutions

Steps for Conducting Brainstorming

1. Phrasing the statement - Specific for clear focus - Broad enough to ensure all useful ideas - Should not be biased 2. Preparation for brainstorming - Inform the participants in advance to initiate thinking 3. Do brainstorming - Make contribution in turn - Only 1 idea in a turn - Say Pass if no idea in a turn - Do not provide explanation for your idea. - Write all contributions on flip chart / transparency. - Dont extend beyond 45 minutes. 4. Processing of Ideas - Clarify each contribution - Combine & group similar ideas - Agree on evaluation criteria for short listing

Data Collection
The important principle of TQM is Decision based on Facts & Data. Without facts, Problem Solving efforts are reduced to Guessing or trial & error. Objective of collecting data is to generate useful information which in turn help in decision making For generating useful information - Formulate the question/s we are trying to answer - Collect the data & facts relating to the question/s. - Analyze the data to determine factual answer - Present the data in a way that clearly communicates the answers to our question/s.

Planning for Data collection

What question do we need to answer How we will recognize & communicate the answers to the questions -Tells about required data What Data Analysis tools we need to use What type of data do we need in order to construct the tool Where in the process can we get this data Who in the process can give this data How we can collect data from those people with minimum efforts & chance of error. What additional information do we need to capture for future analysis, reference & traceability

Types of Data collection forms 1. Check sheets - It is a simple data recording form designed in such a way that the results can be readily interpreted. E.g. Line Graph recording data & at the same time showing trend of variation, Putting tally marks against applicable listed specific defect types while inspecting, Concentration Diagram. 2. Data sheet - The data is gathered in simple tabular form. Unlike check sheet, data sheet does not readily tell us about trend. Further processing like constructing Histogram is required to get useful information. 3. Check Lists - It contains items relevant to a specific issue or situation.Though the primary purpose is to guide operations & not for collecting data, check list provide valuable data for analysis by Quality Improvement Teams. A example of Check List is a Audit Check List.

How much Data ?

The Sample data has to be truly representative of the actual situation on continuos or long run of the process. Data has to be collected in sufficient sample size , collected over a period of time accounting to all possible variations. This will ensure drawing right conclusions & inferences. Data can be Representative by ensuring to cover full spectrum of the operations, covering all times (Shift start,end, Lunch / tea breaks, week ends etc..) , all operating people, all concerned equipment.

Pareto Analysis
Pareto analysis is a ranked comparison of factors related to a quality problem. It helps a quality improvement project team to identify and focus on the vital few factors. Pareto analysis gets its name from the Italian born economist Vilfredo Pareto who observed that a relative few people held the majority of the wealth. Dr.Juran was the first to point out that what Pareto had observed was a Universal principle.

Pareto principle - In any group of factors contributing to a common effect ,a relative few account for the bulk of the effect. Few contributors - Vital Few Many other contributors - Useful many

When to use Pareto Analysis ?

Prioritizing Problems - By far the most common use of Pareto analysis is in selecting & defining Quality Improvement Projects. Analyzing Symptoms - After the project is identified, it usually needs to be refined further to determine the vital few components of the symptoms.

Grand total

% 100 %

How to Construct a Pareto Diagram

1. Total the data on effect of each contributor & sum these to determine grand total. 2. Re order the contributors from largest to the smallest

80 %

Contributors

3. Determine the cumulative percent of total

4. Draw & label the left vertical axis. 5. Draw & label the horizontal axis.

6. Draw & label the right vertical axis.

7. Draw bars to represent the magnitude of each contributors effect. 8. Draw a line graph to represent the cumulative percent of total

9. Analyze the diagram

10. Title the chart, label the vital few and useful many & show the cumulative percent contribution of the vital few.

Cause - Effect Diagram

Basic to Quality Improvement is the need to identify the Root Causes of the Problem. The Cause - Effect Diagram is an effective way to organize and display the various theories about what those Root Causes might be.

This tool was first introduced by Dr.Kaoru Ishikawa in 1943. The diagram is also called Ishikawa Diagram.

C- E diagram shows only theories of causes or probable causes emerged while Brain storming & not facts. Some of the theories become facts or Root Causes only after testing for validity with the help of data.

Cause - Effect Diagram for Lost Control of Car

Flat Tire
Nail Blow out Rock Glass

Slippery Road
Oil Rain Ice Snow
Lost Control of Car

Broken Tie rod Worn Pads Brake Failure Fluid Loss Mechanical Failure

Stuck Accelerator

Poor Training Sleepy Poor reflexes

Reckless

Chemically impaired Driver Error

Referring to the Diagram, it is evident that the C - E diagram is a visual presentation of the theories of causes arranged to show the inter relationship between the effect and the main cause - sub cause - sub - sub - cause and so on. This inter relationship is called as causal - chain. E.g. Worn pads cause brakes failure, which in turn causes mechanical failure resulting in lost control of the car. or The car lost control - Why ? - Due to Mechanical Failure - Why? - Brakes failure - Why ? - Worn pads. This causal chain is the heart of any C - E diagram . Without establishing it, the C - E diagram is meaning less. All possible sources of causation should be considered. - Manufacturing Problems - 5 M viz. Man,Material, Method, Machines, Measurements - Service Problems - 5 P viz. People, Provisions, Procedures, Place and Patrons (Customers)

How to construct C - E Diagram ?

Step 1 - Define the Effect or the Symptom for which the causes are to be identified. It should be specific & not vague. Step 2 - Use Brain storming to identify the possible causes. Identify major main causes & then probe for sub causes, sub - sub causes ( Why - Why analysis ) & so on. Step 3 - Categorize major causes, normally not more than 6 categories. Put each category in box.
Effect
Cause Sub sub cause

How much to Probe?

Sub Cause Category

To the point where it becomes controllable & that if same is eliminated, the problem effect will be either eliminated or reduced.

Step 4 - Check the logical validity of each causal chain Step 5 - Check for completeness. We may doubt completeness in following cases - Main branches with fewer than 3 causes - Main branches with substantially fewer causes than most others. - Fewer levels of subsidiary causes than do the other main branches have. - Main branches that have substantially more causes than most of the others.

Scatter Diagram
A Scatter diagram is a graphic presentation of the relationship between two variables. In quality improvement, scatter diagrams are usually used to explore cause - effect relationships in the diagnostic journey.

It establishes correlation A example A Hydraulic system was tripping for indication of overload. The tripping mechanism is provided as safety. The electronic control circuitry was executing safety shut down of the hydraulic system , with Voltage as a signal.

The complaint was more in Summer months from areas that were close to large bodies of Water.

One of the Probable cause was The higher Relative Humidity causes sticky ness in the system , leading to increased load and subsequent tripping. The diagram clearly shows that as Relative Humidity increases the sensor reads higher voltage. This causes circuitry to believe that the hydraulic system had exceeded it limits & trips.
Effect

Voltage

Cause
Relative Humidity

The graphic nature of the scatter diagram helps a team to see the relationship between the variables.
It can be statistically described as Pearsons Correlation Coefficient

The patterns of Correlation A) Linear ( It can be strong or Weak correlation)

Positive Correlation B) Non Linear

Negative correlation

Or
C) No Correlation

What is Graph ?
Graph is a diagram which explains connections or inter relations amongst 2 or more things. These connections are represented by a number of distinctive dots, lines, bars, columns. Common type of graphs Line Graph Column / Bar Graph Pie Graph

Definition of Control Chart

A Control Chart is a special type of trend chart used to detect the special causes of variation in the process. Types of Control Charts For Variables , i.e. For the characteristics that can be measured - X - R Chart For Attributes - For characteristics that can be judges as pass or fail, go or no-go, defective or non-defective etc. - np chart, p chart, c chart, u chart

Advantages of using control charts It is a effective tool to control the process statistically (SPC) It helps to detect changes in the process over a period of time and take corrective action.

It differentiates chance cause variation & assign able cause variation in the process.
It is an effective tool which helps to reduce variations in the process It provides information about process capability.

Histograms
A Histogram is a Graphic summary of variation in a set of data. The pictorial nature of the Histogram enables us to see patterns that are difficult to see in a simple table of numbers. This is a good tool to analyze data that contain variation.
It tells us about pattern of variation of the process. The tool is most useful to work out Process Capability Index. Hence this tool is used to compare before project & after project process variation spread, pattern, improvement in Cp.

Steps for Constructing a Histogram

1. Collect the measurements / data. 2. Arrange / Group the data column wise in Table form 3. Find & mark the largest and smallest number / value in each group. 4. Find the largest(Max) and smallest value(Min.) in whole set. 5. Calculate the range of measurements, i.e. Range = Max. - Min. 6. Determine the number of class intervals for the Frequency diagram Guidelines :No of Readings No of Class intervals < 50 5 to 7 50 to 100 6 to 10 > 100 7 to 12 7. Determine Intervals and Boundaries Interval = Range / Class Interval 8. Determine the frequencies of each class interval with tallies. 9. Prepare the frequency Histogram - mark & label the vertical scale (Frequency) - Mark & label the horizontal scale ( Measurement value) - Draw the columns according to the frequency tallies. - Label the Histogram.

Data of 40 Diameter measurements ( Nominal value 25 mm) 23 27 26 24 22 25 24 28 23 24 22 25 26 27 24 25 23 27 28 23 24 26 25 25 24 25 25 27 28 26 25 24 23 25 26 26 27 28 26 26

Histogram
10 9 8 7 7

9 8

Frequency

6 5 4 3 2 1 0
21. 5 - 22. 5

5 4

Range= 28 - 22=6 No of Class interval = 6 Interval = Range/Class interval =1 The Boundries Frequency 21.5 - 22.5 2 22.5 - 23.5 5 23.5 - 24.5 7 24.5 - 25.5 9 25.5 - 26.5 8 26.5 - 27.5 5 27.5 - 28.5 4 Total 40

22. 5 - 23. 5

23. 5 - 24. 5

24. 5 - 25. 5

25. 5 - 26. 5

26. 5 - 27. 5

27. 5 - 28. 5

Diameter

Note - The bars have to be attached to each other- No gap between bars Because of software limitation the Compromise is done

Normal Distribution
What is variation ? Variation is a natural phenomena. No 2 components/ Products are exactly identical in manufacturing process. This may occur due to differences in machine, tool, material, human beings etc. Causes of Variation Variation are caused due to a) Chance causes b) Assignable causes

a) Chance cause - These causes cant be economically eliminated. E.g. Slight variation in raw material, slight machine vibration, Backing of threading , variations of ambient temperature etc. b) Assignable cause - These are predictable and result in large process variation. E.g. Defective batch of raw material, Tool worn out , SOP not followed etc.

What is normal distribution ?

If a process is operating under chance causes only ( No assignable cause) then the measurement data ( minimum 40 readings) collected from such process when put into histogram, it could be observed that the distribution is having two characteristics viz. Central tendency & Dispersion and the curve of distribution( If all mid points of top of histogram bars are connected), reveals smooth curve like bell shape, which is a Normal distribution curve. Important - For normal distribution, process has to be stable,having complete absence of assignable causes. Such Process is said to be statistically under control, which is a pre requisite for establishing process capability.

Stratification
What is stratification ? Stratification is used to classify details according to some specific parameters / grade / category. This classification enables to focus greater attention on different layers of the problem. Mix data

Stratified data

Examples for application of Stratification Example 1 Machine shop rejection can be stratified as follows -

- Shift wise - Machine wise - Operator wise - Component wise - Defect wise
Example 2 -

etc.

There is need to improve the living facilities at Mumbai. To know what are all the facilities to be added , the population is to be studied. The population may be classified as follows - Age group - Income - Education - Occupation etc.