7 QC Tools

Seven QC tools are fundamental instruments to improve the quality of the product. They are used
to analyze the production process, identify the major problems, control fluctuations of product
quality, and provide solutions to avoid future defects. Statistical literacy is necessary to
effectively use the seven QC tools. These tools use statistical techniques and knowledge to
accumulate data and analyze them.

Seven QC tools are utilized to organize the collected data in a way that is easy to understand and
analyze. Moreover, from using the seven QC tools, any specific problems in a process are
identified.

7QC tools always include :

• Check Sheet is used to easily collect data. Decision-making and actions are
taken from the data.
• Pareto Chart is used to define problems, to set their priority, to illustrate the
problems detected, and determine their frequency in the process.
• Cause-and-Effect Diagram (Fishbone Diagram) is used to figure out any
possible causes of a problem. After the major causes are known, we can solve
the problem accurately.
• Histogram shows a bar chart of accumulated data and provides the easiest
way to evaluate the distribution of data.
• Scatter Diagram is a graphical tool that plots many data points and shows a
pattern of correlation between two variables.
• Flow Chart shows the process step by step and can sometimes identify an
unnecessary procedure.
• Control Chart provides control limits which are generally three standard
deviations above and below average, whether or not our process is in control.

The Seven QC Tools

The seven QC tools are the most popular tools, which are being used by quality conscious
companies throughout the world for improvement of quality of products and processes.

A brief description of these tools is presented here:

1 Check Sheet

What is a checksheet: A checksheet is a pre-designed format for collection of data that

encourages organized collection and groups data into categories. Categories are created in
advance and may be added as needed. A check mark is added for each example of a
category. The marks are added to determine subtotals.

When to use it: To keep track of the parameters of an on going process. It can be used
to track events by such factors as timeliness (on time, one day late, two days late, etc.);
reason for inspection failure (appearance, performance, etc.); person accomplishing the
task (sales calls per representative); when something happens (customer complaints for
each day of the month); and many others.
How to use it: Look at some preliminary data before developing the check sheet. This will
indicate what categories to use. For example, you might want to track employee mistakes
by hour of the day or simply by whether they occur in morning or afternoon. Include
information about who collected the data, the date and the total sample from which it was
drawn.

Example: A sugar company wants to check the weight of bags of sugar that are supposed
to weigh 100 kg. The resulting checklist is shown in the following Table. The checklist
indicates that the machine is not filling all the bags within the specification.
Check Sheet
Sugar Bag Weight Check Sheet
Lot No. : 463 Weigher : RTF
Specification : 100kg. ± 1 Kg.Shift : 2
Weight (Kg.) Tally Total
98.00 0
98.25 11 2
98.50 1111 4
98.75 11111111 8
99.00 111111111 9
99.25 11111 5
99.50 11111111 8
99.75 11111111111111111 17
100.0011111111111111111111111 23
100.25111111111111 12
100.5011111111 8
100.75111111111 9
101.001111 4
101.25111 3
101.501111 4
101.7511 2
102.001 1

2 Graphs

Graphs are used for the purpose of comparison of visual representation of data collected.
The most commonly used graphs are in the form of Bar charts, Line charts and Pie charts.

3 Histogram

What is it: A display of the distribution of data by category. It is a more effective way of
displaying data than a table of figures because it gives a visual indication of relationships.

When to use it: Use a histogram to observe whether data falls into a specific pattern. The
chart will indicate the extent of variation. For example, it might show the frequency with
which various levels of defects turn up, indicating that most lots have 15-20 defects. A
succession of histograms can be used for comparison.

How to use it: Look at the data to be displayed and find the range (the value of the
largest minus the value of the smallest). Divide the range in between 5 and 10 categories.
Arrange the data range in ascending order on the horizontal scale, the numerical findings on
the vertical scale. Draw a bar for each category representing the value.
Example: A company produces a chemical in which a constituent named as Alpha should be
present in the chemical more than 30 mgms. in a cubic centimeter of volume. Quality
control department is measuring the characteristics of the sample received from the reactor
and displays it in a histogram.

4 Pareto Chart

What is it: A special form of a bar chart which seeks to determine the most important
factors in a situation. It is based on the idea that a few causes produce a vast majority of
variations. A rule of thumb says 20% of causes account for 80% of variations.

When to use it: When you want to determine which corrective actions would yield the
greatest quality payback. A Pareto chart is a good way to set priorities and to focus your
quality efforts.

How to use it: Examine the data indicating the frequency with which each cause of a
problem occurs. List them from most to least frequent. Plot them on a bar graph. The left
vertical scale indicates the frequency that each bar represents. The right vertical scale
indicates the percentage of total occurrences that is covered by the sum of the causes. For
each cause, add the per cent of problems that it accounts for to the per cent accounted for
by the causes to the left to it and plot points against the right scale that represent this total.
Connect these points with a line.

Example: Let us take an example of an airline, which is trying to analyze and prioritise the
quality complaints received from its customers. The complaint data are as below:

Type of complaint Number

Baggage delay 23
Missed connections 15
Lost baggage 7
Poor cabin service 3
Ticketing error 2

From the pareto chart prepared as per the data, we can find out the relative magnitude of
complaints and can identify the most important opportunity for improvement in quality of
airline service. As shown in the Chart, 75% of customer complaints are related to baggage
delay and missed connections only.
Based on this finding, the airline staff can use cause and effect diagram to figure out the
root causes of these two major problems.

5 Cause and Effect Diagram

What is it: This diagram represents the relationship between a problem and its potential
causes. It’s also known as fishbone or Ishikawa diagram. It deals only with factors, not
quantities.

When to use it: This is a good tool for organizing thinking about a quality problem. It
often stimulates ideas during brain storming sessions and prepares the way for an orderly
investigation of the causes of a problem. You can use it both to investigate current
problems and to anticipate factors that may contribute to quality problems before they
develop. This tool can also be used to list all the factors that contribute to a desired
outcome.
How to use it: First, define the effect or problem that you are going to analyze. Write it in
a box on the far right. Next, list potential causes on a separate sheet of paper. List all
possible causes without regard to relationships. Don’t overlook causes because they seem
improbable at first. Classify these causes by themes. Each theme represents a diagonal
attached to the “spine” of the diagram. The individual causes are listed along the diagonal.
Sub-branches can be created to break down factors in the causes.

Once you’ve constructed the diagram, you can go on to investigate the causes. Common
sense should point to a few prominent causes to look at first. You can compare them by
setting up a Pareto diagram.

Example: A company wants to look at the causes for word processing errors. The causes
are organized according to the cause and effect diagram in the following Figure. Three main
causes of the error were identified as, client, time and typist. Various reasons to cause
defect at these three classes are identified by cause and effect diagram, which are to be
corrected from source level to eliminate the word processing errors.

6 Scatter Diagram

What is it: A means for showing a relationship between two variables. The diagram
creates a coordinate for each variable, then plots the occurrences where the values
intersect.

When to use it: To find out whether there is a correlation between the variables. It is
often used to find the causes of problems. For example, if you plot employee errors against
the amount of continuous time on the job and find a correlation, then fatigue might be a
factor in the errors. If the correlation doesn’t exist, other factors need to be investigated.

How to use it: Establish vertical and horizontal axes with appropriate scales. Usually, the
horizontal axis is the one over which you have control. Plot each data point. Look at the
pattern. The more closely the dots group along an axis, the stronger the correlation. The
more scattered they are, the weaker the correlation. If you determine a correlation,
statistical analysis can give a more accurate indication of the relationship.

Example: A company wants to investigate whether the operators’ errors are related to
volume of work. The number of errors per month are tracked for operators with different
level of work volume. The values are entered on a scatter diagram, as in the Figure. The
relationship of the data points indicates a strong positive correlation. The more the volume
of work, higher the errors.

7 Control Chart

What is it: A means of monitoring a process according to tolerance limits. The chart
allows you to track the normal variations that indicate a process is in control and to
determine when it goes out of control. A control chart is closely related to Statistical
Process Control. It’s a visual means of representing whether a process is within statistical
limits.

When to use it: For any process with frequent and measurable outcomes. A control chart
enables you to ignore changes in a process that are the result of random variations and to
react immediately to changes that indicate a problem.
How to use it: Take a random sample of outcomes and use statistical techniques to
determine upper and lower control limits. These are not the same as specification
tolerances. Rather, they are the values which, if the outcomes exceed them, indicate that
the outcomes are not the result of random variation, but of some specific cause.

Once the control limits have been determined, plot the outcomes over time or occurrence.
If a value is obtained that is outside the control limits, it’s necessary to investigate the
cause. If all the values are within the limits, then the process is under control.

Example: As shown in the diagram, an engineering company producing hardware

components wants to control its shipping in order to have minimum inventory at its works
using control chart.

Time is measured on the horizontal axis, which usually corresponds to the average value of
the quality characteristic being measured. Two other horizontal lines represent the upper
and lower control limits. These are chosen so that there is a high probability that sample
values will fall within these limits if the process is under control or affected only by common
causes of variation. If points fall outside the control limits or if unusual patterns, such as,
shifts up or down, trends up or down, cycles and so forth exist, then there is reason to
believe that special causes might be present.