Spring 2020 ISOM3730 Quiz Solution

Note: The following only shows the essence of the solution. Typically, you will need more elaboration and in-
depth analysis to score full credit.

Question 1
Here are some comments extracted from Online Consumer Complaints on Apple products.

1. “Took my phone to service center to fix the problem of battery because it never lasts even 2 hours
after full charge.”
2. “I have iPhone 7 and after 6 months battery drains so fast. Always network problem. I can’t make
calls and receive incoming call. Also data speed is so slow compared to other android mobile using
same SIM.”
3. “I bought new iphone 11 and there is a problem in the camera. I cannot zoom in or zoom out.”
4. “When I take my defective phone to the Store, the staff is barely helpful. I am disappointed by his
attitude.”
5. “I purchased apple iphone X and the battery performance was very bad, it cannot use it for 4 hours
after it is fully charged.
6. “My iPhone 7, well under a year old, will not connect to any cell phone network.”
7. “The facial recognition keeps malfunctioning. It also seems to freeze up and needs rebooting often.”
8. “My Apple iPhone 7 recently stopped being able to both send nor receive calls.”
9. Connectivity problems have persisted since I have owned this phone. Apple has been no help with the
problem. They always say there are no problems with their phones when it come to the Bluetooth or
cell strength. My Bluetooth device drops constantly and it does not do this with other cell phone
manufacturers.”
10. “My iPhone X which I had for less than 3 months turned off all of a sudden and the next day the
battery started swelling in the phone. It swelled up so bad the phone cracked apart in the middle on
the front and back of the phone, exposing the entire inside of the device. The device was cracked open
in a very humid environment and the battery exploded and leaked all inside the phone, of course there
is corrosion!!!”

Imagine you are about to construct an affinity diagram with the data above, answer the following questions.

a. Which of the following is least likely to be one of the categories?

A. Camera
B. Battery
C. Connectivity
D. Customer service
E. Screen

b. For management team of Apple, which comment should be the first priority to handle?
A. 8
B. 10
C. 4
D. 5
E. 1
Question 2
MediMask is a company that produces surgical masks for hospitals and other healthcare providers. You have
been asked to prepare an annual quality cost summary for the company from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020,
based on the following information:

• The inspection team of 3 members is handling the testing of incoming materials like ear-loops, filters
and ensure they are up-to-standard. Salary of each inspector is $160,000 per year.
• Last year, there were $300,000 worth of unqualified filter material being disposed of.
• The company is adhering to the ASTM mask standard. Each badge of masks should undergo testing
against bacterial filtration efficiency (BFE) before shipment. Such testing costs $250,000 annually.
• The floor management team has 3 members. Each of them earns an annual salary of $100,000. 30% of
their working time is assigned to design, or to make modification to the current mask models to fit
global changing needs. Another 70% of their time is to ensure the existing production lines are well-
disinfected.
• The floor management team spent an additional of 10% working time last year to create a SOP
(Standard Operating Procedures) for new employees to properly operate in an aseptic environment.
• The monthly cleaning cost of the facility is $50,000.
• The maintenance cost of the ASTM machines is $60,000 annually.
• In January 2020, a worker was tested positive against COVID-19, the badge of masks which he tested
was to be disposed of, which costed $80,000. Unfortunately, some masks were already shipped to a
hospital and had to be recalled. Those masks amounted $200,000. The recall has severely damaged
the historical reputation of the company. The estimated loss of goodwill is $500,000.
• And due to the confirmed case within the facility, an extra cleaning was arranged, which costed
$65,000.

a. What is the total appraisal cost?

A. 730,000
B. 790,000
C. 855,000
D. 1,455,000
E. None of the above

b. Which cost category does “extra cleaning resulted from the confirmed COVID-19 case” belongs to?
A. Prevention
B. Appraisal
C. Internal failure
D. External failure
E. Could be A or B.

c. Concerning the floor management team, which cost categories does their work belongs to?
(Design, ensure production line are well-disinfected, creating a SOP)
A. Prevention, prevention, prevention
B. Prevention, appraisal, prevention
C. Prevention, appraisal, appraisal
D. Appraisal, appraisal, prevention
E. Appraisal, appraisal, appraisal
 Annual quality cost summary of MediMask (from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020)
$
Prevention cost
Floor management team 330,000
Cleaning cost 600,000 930,000
Appraisal cost
Inspection team salary 480,000 (160,000*3)
ASTM testing 250,000
Maintenance cost of ASTM machines 60,000 790,000
Internal failure cost
Unqualified filter material disposal 300,000
Masks disposed of because of COVID-19 80,000
Extra cleaning 65,000 445,000
External failure cost
Product recall 200,000
Loss of goodwill 500,000 700,000

Total QC cost 2,865,000

Question 3
Masks are critically demanded worldwide during the current outbreak of coronavirus. As a student in quality
management, you have learnt important approaches of quality definition such as product-based and user-
based. Consider mask as a product.

a. It seems that manufacturing-based approach is less relevant. Agree or not? Provide your reasoning.

Not agree
Adhere to standards/specifications to make sure the users are well-protected.

Any reasonable answer.

b. It seems that value-based approach is not relevant. Agree or not? Provide your reasoning.

Not agree
Quality/price, compare quality of masks (different filtration rate / country of origin / functionality /
n95) against price.

Any reasonable answer.

Question 4
a. Using the following data on the proper payment of insurance claims, suggest a control chart and
determine the central line and 3 sigma control limits. If there are any out of control points, assume an
assignable cause and determine the revised central line and control limits.

Subgroup number Number inspected Number nonconforming

1 100 1
2 100 2
3 100 1
4 100 2
5 100 6
6 100 0
7 100 2
8 100 2
9 100 1
10 100 0
11 100 1
12 100 3
13 100 2
14 100 1
15 100 1
16 100 1
17 100 3
18 100 2
19 100 5
20 100 6

Total: 2000 42

np-chart

Center line = np-bar = 2.1

Sample Std dev = sqrt(npq) = sqrt(100*.021*.979) = 1.43

LCL = 2.1 – 3* 1.43 = 0.

UCL = 2.1 + 3*1.43 = 6.39. UCL = 6.

No points outside of control limits.

b. A quality control manager of the company thought that the type 1 error of your control chart is 0.0027,
based on normal distribution. Do you agree with him? Why?

No, as the distribution of p or np is not a normal distribution. The underlying distribution is driven by
Binomial.

c. Suppose 7 successive new samples are collected and the number of nonconforming units in each
sample is always 0, what can you conclude?

Out of control, but in a good sense. The process has been improved to become perfect.
Question 5
For Quality Wireless (B) case, suppose for the ten days from September 21 to September 30, the observed
average daily hold time over the ten days was 74.4 seconds. Manager was happy by continual improvement and
started patting people on the back. Over the next ten days from October 1 to October 10, the observed average
daily hold time was 96.0 seconds.

Manager regretted about being relaxed too early and felt that “Patting people on the back leads to them slacking
and a drop-off in performance.” Do you agree with him? Support your answer with statistical analysis.

(Use the improved mean of 79.50 and standard deviation of 16.86)

Mean of samples of size 10 = 79.50

Standard deviation of samples of size 10 = 16.86 / 101/2 = 5.33

Probability of observing ten days with a mean of 96 or higher

= 1 – NORMDIST(96, 79.50, 5.33, 1) = 0.001261

Thus, there is a 0.1261 percent probability of observing the average daily hold time over ten days to be 96 or
larger if process performance is still continuing with a mean of 79.50 and a standard deviation of 16.86.

Agree with manager. If process performance is unchanged, a ten-day period with an average of 77.4 is very
unlikely to be followed with a ten-day period with a higher average of 96 as the probability is very low. 96 is
also above the 3-sigma control limit.

Question 6
WJH production makes sheet metal with an average thickness of 1000 mm and a standard deviation of 8 mm.
When the process goes out of control, the mean shifts to 1005 mm with the same standard deviation (8 mm).
They want to institute an SPC model and specify that type I error should equal 0.0027 and that type II error
should be close to 0.1.

a. Estimate the minimum n that can satisfy WJH’s requirements.

Solve: ɸ [3 – (5/8)sqrt(n)] = 0.1

3 – (5/8)sqrt(n) = -1.28
n = 46.895 or 47.

There were some rounding errors here, so anything very close is ok.

b. What are the corresponding control limits for their x-bar chart?

1000 +/- 3(8/sqrt(47)) = 1000 +/- 3.5 = (996.499, 1003.501)