C hapter 17

1. Chapter 17 Quality planning and control Source: Archie Miles

2. Key Terms Test Quality Consistent conformance to customers’ expectations. Quality characteristics The various elements within the concept of quality, such as functionality, appearance, reliability, durability, recovery, etc. Quality sampling The practice of inspecting only a sample of products or services produced rather than every single one.

3. Key Terms Test Statistical process control (SPC) A technique that monitors processes as they produce products or services and attempts to distinguish between normal or natural variation in process performance and unusual or ‘assignable’ causes of variation. Acceptance sampling A technique of quality sampling that is used to decide whether to accept a whole batch of products (and occasionally services) on the basis of a sample; it is based on the operation’s willingness to risk rejecting a ‘good’ batch and accepting a ‘bad’ batch. Control charts The charts used within statistical process control to record process performance.

4. Key Terms Test Process capability An arithmetic measure of the acceptability of the variation of a process. Control limits The lines on a control chart used in statistical process control to indicate the extent of natural or common-cause variations; any points lying outside these control limits are deemed to indicate that the process is likely to be out of control. Quality loss function (QLF) A mathematical function devised by Genichi Taguchi that includes all the costs of deviating from a target performance.

5. Key Terms Test Six Sigma An approach to improvement and quality management that originated in the Motorola Company but was widely popularized by its adoption in the GE Company in America. Although based on traditional statistical process control, it is now a far broader ‘philosophy of improvement’ that recommends a particular approach to measuring, improving and managing quality and operations performance generally. Zero defect The idea that quality management should strive for perfection as its ultimate objective, even though in practice this will never be reached.