Quality Tools and applications

The seven quality tools

The seven quality control tools QC

• The seven QC tools were first emphasized by Kaoru Ishikawa, professor of engineering at Tokyo
University and father of quality circles. His original seven tools were: cause- and-effect diagram
(also called Ishikawa or fishbone chart), check sheet, Shewhart’s control charts, histogram,
Pareto chart, scatter diagram, and Flow chart.
The seven quality control tools

• Quality tools are for collecting and displaying information in ways to help the human brain grasp
thoughts and ideas.
• When thoughts and ideas are applied to physical processes, the processes yield better results.
• When they are applied to problem solving or decision making, better solutions and decisions are
developed.
• Each of these tools is some form of chart for the collection and display of specific kinds of data.
• Through the collection and display facility, the data become useful information—information
that can be used to solve problems, enhance decision making, keep track of work being done, and
even predict future performance and problems
Why we use them ?

• The seven quality tools of process improvement is a set of graphic techniques identified as being
most helpful in troubleshooting issues related to quality
• It is a fundamental concept to improve the process and product quality
• It is used to examine the production sequence, identify the key issues, control fluctuations of
product quality and give solutions to avoid future defects
• This facilitates the organization to resolve the basic problems
• These seven quality control tools are easy to understand implement and they do not need
complex analytical statistical competence, hence it is simple yet powerful.
Also,

• It encourages the way of problem solving and improvement

• They are very simple to use but it is very powerful
• It is a scientific approach for problem solving
• We can get an 80 percent result by applying 20 percent of the effort
• Each tool has its own specialty for problem solving and analysis
• It is very easy to understand, communicate, and use by they everyone
Pareto chart
The first tool
Pareto chart

• He (Alfred Pareto) had the insight to recognize that in the real world a minority of causes lead to
the majority of problems. This is known as the Pareto Principle
• It is a very useful tool wherever one needs to separate the few important from the trivial many
• The chart, first promoted by Dr. Joseph Juran, is named after Italian economist and sociologist
Vilfredo Pareto
Pareto chart

• Alfred Pareto an Italian economist, discovered during his research studies, that it is a law of
nature that wealth (income) is concentrated among the vital few

• 20% of people have 80% of wealth

• 20% of effort cause 80% of results
An example

• In a factory you will find that of all the kinds of problems you can name, only about 20% of
them will produce 80% of the product defects: Eighty percent of the cost associated with the
defects will be assignable to only about 20% of the total number of defect types occurring
• In a factory you will find that of all the kinds of problems you can name, only about 20% of them
will produce 80% of the product defects: Eighty percent of the cost associated with the defects
will be assignable to only about 20% of the total number of defect types occurring
Pareto chart

• The purpose of the Pareto chart is to show you where to apply your resources by distinguishing
the significant few from the trivial many. It helps us establish priorities.
 Why we use Pareto Chart
• To priorities options that we have
• Identify most significant factors
• Show where to focus efforts
• Allow a better use of limited resources
• To transform data to information that help the users make their decision
When to Use

• When analyzing data about the frequency of problems or causes in a process.

• When there are many problems or causes and you want to focus on the most significant.
• When analyzing broad causes to their specific components.
• When communicating with others about your data
Data to information
Example
40.00% 120.00%

35.00%
100.00%

30.00%

80.00%
25.00%

20.00% 60.00%

15.00%
40.00%

10.00%

20.00%
5.00%

0.00% 0.00%

percentage of total Cumulative

Cause and effect diagram

The second tool

Cause and effect diagram

• A team typically uses a cause-and-effect diagram to identify and isolate causes of a problem.

• The technique was developed by the late Dr. Ishikawa, a noted Japanese quality expert, so
sometimes the diagram is called an Ishikawa diagram. It is also often called a fishbone diagram
because that is what it looks like.
Cause and effect diagram

• The cause-and-effect diagram is the only tool of the seven tools that is not based on statistics
• The same data could be tabulated in a list, but the human mind would have a much more difficult
time trying to associate the factors with each other and with the total outcome of the process
under investigation
Cause and effect diagram

• The cause-and-effect diagram provides a graphic view of the entire process that is easily
interpreted by the brain

• The cause-and-effect diagram is drawn to depict the relationships of the data in each category
and each of its subcategories.
Cause and effect diagram

• A good cause-and-effect diagram will have many bones.

Common themes in cause-and-effect diagrams include the following

• the 5M (machine, method, manpower, material, measurement, and environment)

• the 4P (people, policy, procedure, plant).
Ishikawa explains the benefits of using cause and effect diagrams as
follows:
• Creating the diagram itself is an enlightening, instructive process.
• Such diagrams focus a group, thereby reducing irrelevant discussion.
• Such diagrams separate causes from symptoms and force the issue of data collection.
• It can be used with any problem
Example
Check sheet

The third tool

Check sheet

• The format for recording all the necessary information to execute preventive plans and to enable
development of strategies for improvement, commonly known as Data Sheet, Log Book,
Inspection Record, Schedule of Enquiry

• The check sheet can be a valuable tool in a wide variety of applications.

Check sheet

• The only rules are that data collection must be the equivalent of entering a check mark and that
the displayed data must be easily translated into useful information

• Check sheets apply to any work environment—not just to the factory floor
Check sheet

• The purpose of the check sheet is to make it easy to collect data for specific purposes and to
present it in a way that facilitates conversion from data to useful information
 When data can be observed and collected
repeatedly by the same person or at the same
location.

When to Use When collecting data on the frequency or

patterns of events, problems, defects, defect
location, defect causes.

When collecting data from a production process

Example
HISTOGRAMS

The fourth tool

HISTOGRAMS

• French statistician Guerry is credited with development of histogram in 1833.

• Histograms are used to chart frequency of occurrence. How often does something happen?
• A histogram is the most commonly used graph to show frequency distributions
• A histogram is the appropriate graph to use when the data are numerical.
HISTOGRAMS

• Histograms are used to analyze image: We can predict the properties of an image just by looking
at the details of the histogram
Example
Scatter diagram

The fifth tool

Scatter diagram

• The scatter diagram is used to determine the correlation (relationship) between two
characteristics (variables )
• It is used to visually examine the correlation or relationship between these variables.
• In a scatter diagram, each data point is represented by a single dot on the graph.
• The horizontal axis represents one variable, and the vertical axis represents the other variable.
• By plotting the values of the variables on the corresponding axes, you can observe how the
variables interact with each other.
The pattern formed by the data points in a scatter diagram can reveal different types of
relationships between the variables:

1.Positive correlation: When the data points on the scatter diagram tend to form an upward sloping
pattern from left to right, it indicates a positive correlation. This means that as one variable
increases, the other variable also tends to increase.
2.Negative correlation: When the data points on the scatter diagram tend to form a downward
sloping pattern from left to right, it indicates a negative correlation. This means that as one
variable increases, the other variable tends to decrease.
3.No correlation: When the data points on the scatter diagram do not follow any visible pattern, it
suggests that there is no correlation or relationship between the variables. The data points are
scattered randomly across the graph.
Example

• Suppose you have an idea that there is a relationship between automobile fuel consumption and
the rate of speed at which people drive. To prove, or disprove, such an assumption, you could
record data on a scatter diagram that has miles per gallon (mpg) on the y-axis and miles per hour
(mph) on the x-axis; mpg and mph are the two characteristics.
• Examination of the scatter diagram shows that the aggregate of data points contains a slope down
and to the right. This is correlation, and it supports the thesis that the faster cars travel, the more
fuel they use
Example
Flowchart

The sixth tool

Flowchart

• A flowchart is a picture of the separate steps of a process in sequential order. Elements that may
be included are: sequence of actions, materials or services entering or leaving the process (inputs
and outputs), decisions that must be made, people who become involved, time involved at each
step, and/or process measurements. The process described can be anything: a manufacturing
process, an administrative or service process, a project plan. Usually listed as one of the seven
QC tools, this is a generic tool that can be adapted for a wide variety of purposes.
When to Use

To develop understanding of how a process is done.

To study a process for improvement.

To communicate to others how a process is done.

When better communication is needed between people involved with the same process

To document a process

When planning a project

Control chart

The seventh tool

Control chart

• The control chart is a graph used to study how a process changes over time
• Data are plotted in time order.
• A control chart always has a central line for the average, an upper line for the upper control limit,
and a lower line for the lower control limit.
• The appropriate response to that alert is to stop the process at once, preventing the production of
defective product
Control chart

• These lines are determined from historical data. By comparing current data to these lines, one can
make conclusions about whether the process variation is consistent (in control) or is
unpredictable (out of control, affected by special causes of variation).
 When to use
When controlling ongoing processes by finding and correcting problems as they occur

When predicting the expected range of outcomes from a process

When determining whether or not a process is stable

When determining whether your quality improvement project should aim to prevent specific problems or to make
fundamental changes to the process
Example