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Table of Contents

1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 3
1.1. What is AQL and why does it matter?.................................................................................. 3
2. Why QC Professionals use AQL sampling for product inspection................................... 5
2.1. Sampling reduces waste when inspection includes destructive testing ................... 6
2.2. Inspecting 100 percent is costly and time consuming..................................................... 7
2.3. Why not just choose an arbitrary sample size to inspect?......................................... 9
3. The anatomy of the ANSI ASQ Z1.4 industry-standard AQL table ................................. 11
3.1. Lot sizes..................................................................................................................... 12
3.2. General inspection levels........................................................................................... 13
3.3. Special inspection levels........................................................................................... 14
3.4. Sample size code letters........................................................................................... 15
3.5. Sample sizes...........................................................................................................................16
3.6. Acceptance quality levels.......................................................................................... 16
3.7. Acceptance points..................................................................................................... 17
3.8. Rejection points......................................................................................................... 18
3.9. What do the arrows mean....................................................................................................19
4. How importers use the AQL table for product inspection .............................................. 20
4.1. How to classify defects for inspection purposes...................................................... 21
4.2. Which AQL to assign to each defect category.................................................................22
5. How AQL affects the results of product inspection ....................................................... 25
5.1. AQL result vs. general result...................................................................................... 26
5.2. Customer expectations............................................................................................. 26
5.3. On-site test results..................................................................................................... 27
5.4. Regulations and distributor requirements................................................................. 28
6. Alternatives to ANSI ASQ Z1.4 for AQL sampling during QC inspection ....................... 29
6.1. Attribute vs. variable sampling plans........................................................................ 30
6.2. Other types of sampling plans.................................................................................. 31
6.3. Popular attribute sampling standards....................................................................... 32
7. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 33
8. About InTouch ................................................................................................................... 34

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INTRODUCTION
What is AQL and why does it matter?

Managing quality can be one of the most challenging aspects of manufacturing a

product abroad. As an importer, you’re likely trying to maintain control over how the
factory manufactures your product while also asking your supplier to keep you informed
about what’s actually happening. When you encounter problems, it can sometimes feel
like you’re at the mercy of the situation, especially when you’re watching it unfold from
the other side of the world. As a result, importers tend to approach quality improvement
in two ways:

ľľ By clarifying their expectations with the supplier to prevent unacceptable quality

defects and nonconformities, often by collaborating to develop a detailed QC
checklist, and
ľľ By conducting product inspection of their order of goods at the factory to find any
problems and address them before shipping

AQL sampling makes stating requirements upfront and verifying them later with
inspection much easier for the majority of importers.

AQL stands for acceptable quality levels, or acceptable quality limits. It’s basically the
minimum quality level in a shipment required for an importer to accept it. If quality
is worse than the predetermined AQL, the importer will often ask the supplier to hold
the shipment, typically until the factory has addressed quality problems through some
corrective action. Once the quality level of the order improves to meet or exceed the
importer’s AQL, the importer will often then give the supplier their approval to ship.

In the remainder of this eBook, we’ll explore how AQL benefits most importers, why QC
professionals rely on it for inspection, how to use AQL tables, what alternatives to the
common industry standard for AQL exist for importers and more.

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This eBook was written in simple terms for a reason: Any importer—whether completely
new to manufacturing or experienced—can learn about AQL and how to use it to better
manage the quality of their products. We’ve left out the needless technical jargon and
complicated math equations typical of many explanations of AQL currently available—
although we’ve provided links for further reading and details. No prior experience or
background in quality control/assurance is required to appreciate or understand what
you’re about to read.

By the time you finish reading, you’ll be able to apply AQL to your own business, whether
you’re developing a new QC program from scratch or improving an existing one for your
products.

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Chapter #1

WHY QC
PROFESSIONALS
USE AQL
SAMPLING
FOR PRODUCT
INSPECTION

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Professionals in the quality control field have been using AQL as the basis for
acceptance sampling for decades. Sometimes it’s desirable to inspect an entire order of
goods. But in most cases, you’ll benefit more by having inspection staff pull a random
sample of units from the total order to check using AQL. Let’s look at why professionals
typically use AQL sampling for product inspection.

Sampling reduces waste when inspection includes

destructive testing

Acceptance sampling with AQL has early origins. The practice was popularized by
Harold F. Dodge and Harry Remig for use by the United States military during World War
II. The military faced a problem with the need to test bullets for quality and function. As
with many products today, testing bullets was destructive—the bullets themselves were
destroyed by the process. So the military had to devise a way to test enough bullets to
give them assurance about the quality of a lot without testing so many that none were
left to ship to the field. Sampling with AQL addressed these concerns.

By pulling a sample of bullets at random from

a lot, the military was able to test part of the lot
and use those results to estimate the quality of
the total lot. This ensured that bullets weren’t
needlessly destroyed by excessive testing. And
based on a history of product quality reported
over time, the military was able to further
optimize the sample size tested. They could pull
a larger sample for testing when variance or
other factors contributed to lower quality or pull
a smaller one when product quality was more
consistent.

In the same way, if you’re manufacturing a product that requires destructive testing,
such as composition testing for fabric, using acceptance sampling with AQL can help
you manage quality while limiting waste.

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Inspecting 100 percent is costly and time consuming

Many importers believe that the more units of their product they inspect, the more
confident they can be about the quality of an order. And they’re right. You’ll have a more
complete overview of quality by checking a greater number of units. And no sampling
plan offers you more transparency than a 100-percent inspection of your order.

But some importers fail to recognize two important considerations:

1. You can still get a reasonable idea of product quality by inspecting a much smaller
quantity than 100 percent, and
2. Checking 100 percent of an order tends to be much more costly and time-
consuming than checking a smaller sample

Let’s say you’re importing 2,500 tablet PCs from a factory in Shenzhen, China. You
require QC staff to conduct a number of standardized on-site tests for your product
(related: Tablet PC inspection video). Aside from basic function tests, such as checking
power ON/OFF, touch screen, camera, playback and Bluetooth connection, there’s also
a barrage of nearly 15 other tests required for your product. If an inspector needs 5
minutes to perform all of these tests, it would take them more than 208 hours to inspect
all 2,500 tablets.

Assuming 8 hours in a workday, you’d need one inspector working for 26 days to inspect
100 percent of your order in this example. For most importers, 26 days is way too much
time to spend checking an order before it ships, especially if you wait until the order is
packaged. And your supplier won’t likely be willing to wait 26 days before shipping to
allow for this inspection.

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In contrast, if you chose to inspect using AQL sampling in this example, the highest
possible sample size for your lot of 2,500 tablets would be 200 units.

If all factors remain unchanged except the number of units checked, this inspection
could be completed by a single inspector in about 2 days using AQL sampling. And
because AQL relies on statistics, you’d still be able to make an informed decision
regarding whether or not to ship the order based on the results of this inspection.

We can see that inspecting a sample of goods using AQL typically requires less time
than inspecting 100 percent of an order. But what’s the difference in cost?

Some importers choose to rely on QC staff at the factory to ensure their product meets
their standards. But most tend to insist on outside inspection, often hiring professionals
based near their supplier’s factory to inspect on their behalf (related: 4 Ways Importers
Conduct Product Inspection (eBook)). When you’ve hired a contractor or a third-party
inspection company that’s billing you based on time—often expressed in “man-days”—
100 percent inspection can be expensive.

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The 100-percent inspection of tablet PCs in the earlier example required 26 days to
complete. If a single inspector charges $250 per day, that’s a total of $6,500 billed for
inspecting just one order. Whereas, in the 2-day inspection checking a sample of 200
units, the same inspector would bill you only $500 for the service—that’s quite a
difference!

There are cases where you may benefit from 100-percent inspection over inspecting a
sample with AQL. For example, if your shipment is a relatively small quantity or a trial
order, the cost and time needed to inspect every unit may not be unreasonable. And a
higher retail price for certain products, like luxury bags, may justify 100-percent
inspection.

Why not just choose an arbitrary sample size to inspect?

Importers sometimes suggest pulling a sample of 10, 15, 20 percent or some other
portion of a lot for inspection, rather than using AQL. But although you may think this
is the best approach, it’s actually less efficient to check an arbitrary percentage of units
in an order.

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As the statistics governing AQL sampling
will show, the greater your lot size the
relatively fewer units you’ll need to check to
get the same confidence in the inspection
result. At some point, inspecting a fixed
percentage means spending more time
checking more units without offering
greater transparency. In these cases, AQL
inspections yields equally-reliable results
without the need to check as many units.

A professional QC company can often recommend what they feel is an appropriate

inspection method. But ultimately the decision about how many units to check must be
made by you, the importer, based on your product, budget, appetite for risk and other
factors. Most importers of consumer and industrial products will find that an inspection
using AQL sampling is best for them most of the time.

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Chapter #2

THE ANATOMY
OF THE ANSI ASQ
Z1.4 INDUSTRY
- STANDARD AQL
TABLE

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Before delving into a step-by-step process for AQL sampling and interpreting the results
of inspections that use it, let’s first look at the different parts of a standard AQL chart
and what each represents.

The predominant AQL standard used by QC professionals in the product inspection

field is ANSI ASQ Z1.4. The standard was developed by the American National
Standards Institute (ANSI) and the American Society for Quality (ASQ), formerly called
the American Society for Quality Control (ASQC). This is the standard most commonly
applied today in attribute sampling for consumer and industrial products. We’ll look
more at the different types of sampling standards and how each is used in Chapter 5.

The ANSI ASQ Z1.4 standard AQL table includes eight parts, which we’ve highlighted in
orange in each diagram:

1. Lot sizes

Lot size is your order quantity—the total number of units in your shipment of goods.
Despite how many units you anticipate you’ll be checking during inspection, your total lot
size should be used as a starting point with the AQL chart. Lot sizes appear on the chart
as a range of quantities. If you have an order of goods with a total quantity of 315 units,
for example, you’d use the lot size range “281 to 500” in the AQL chart.

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2. General inspection levels

Inspection levels are the main determinant of how many units you’ll pull for inspection,
or your sample size. General inspection levels are most commonly used for inspection
procedures that will be applied to your entire main sample size. You or your inspector
would perform visual inspection procedures, such as examining a piece of furniture for
any defects or nonconformities, on every unit in your sample.

General inspection levels are divided into three categories, ranging from the smallest
option (GI) to the largest (GIII) corresponding to your lot size. Typically, the larger your
sample size, the more costly and time-consuming your inspection will be. For this
reason, you can consider GI to be your “budget option”, offering a relatively narrow
inspection scope. GIII tends to be the most expensive option, but offers the widest
scope and greatest transparency of the inspection levels.

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3. Special inspection levels

Like general inspection levels, special inspection levels help determine the sample
size that you’ll use for inspection. But special inspection levels are divided into four
categories, rather than three, ranging from S1 to S4. They tend to use sample sizes much
smaller than those for general inspection levels corresponding to your lot size. Also,
unlike general inspection levels, these are normally used for “special” tests or inspection
procedures.

It’s often unnecessary to conduct certain product tests and checks on every unit in the
main sample size. For example, measuring dimensions of many units isn’t necessary for
products like injection-molded components. Since the parts come from the same mold,
you can expect that their dimensions are consistent throughout mass production.

Similarly, you likely won’t want to bother conducting a test for fabric composition on
every piece in your main sample. Fabric composition testing often destroys the fabric by
burning, and material composition rarely varies significantly between sections or rolls
of fabric in a lot. Some tests also require special equipment and may take considerable
time to perform. So it’s often costly and inefficient to carry out these kinds of procedures
on more units than necessary.

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Instead, you may feel that testing five pieces, three pieces or a single piece gives you the
assurance that you need. Special inspection levels help you determine the appropriate
sample size in these cases.

4. Sample size code letters

Sample size code letters represent the different sample sizes you might use for
inspection with AQL. These letters appear on both pages or sides of the ANSI ASQ Z1.4
standard AQL chart. The same sample size letters often appear in the rows of multiple
lot size ranges and in the columns of multiple general and special inspection levels.
For example, sample size letter “D” is an option for 11 different lot size ranges and all
inspection levels.

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5. Sample sizes

You can find sample sizes on the second page or backside of the AQL chart. These
are the number of units that you’ll pull, usually at random, and test or check during
inspection. Sample sizes shown in the chart range from 2 units to 2,000 units.

6. Acceptance quality level

An acceptable quality level (AQL), recently renamed acceptable quality limit, represents
your tolerance for defects or nonconformities in an order. More specifically, AQL is
the worst level of quality that you’ll accept—the highest percentage of goods with a
particular type of defect or nonconformity that you’ll allow in the order. For example, you
might accept torn upholstery on only 1.5 percent of the chairs you’re manufacturing in
China. So you would choose an AQL of 1.5, which corresponds to this tolerance.

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7. Acceptance points

Acceptance points, shortened to “Ac” on the AQL table, are the maximum number of
defects or nonconformities allowed in a given sample size for a given AQL. These are
directly proportional to AQLs, respective of sample size. That is, as your tolerance for
particular quality problems increases, so does the maximum number of defects allowed
in a sample, or your acceptance point.

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8. Rejection points

Rejection points, shortened to “Re” on the AQL table, represent the threshold for
rejecting an order based on the number of defects or nonconformities in a sample
at a given AQL. The rejection point is always one unit greater than the corresponding
acceptance point. For example, if you’ve chosen an AQL of 1 percent and are inspecting
a sample of 80 units, you’d accept the order if inspection finds as many as 2 defects.
You’d reject the order if you find 3 or more defects.

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What do the arrows mean?

You’ll notice that the AQL chart has arrows pointing to acceptance and rejection points
at certain sample sizes. These show that, although you may begin with a particular
sample size, according to your lot size and chosen inspection level, you may require
a larger sample size to give you confidence at some AQLs. For example, given the
relatively strict AQL of 0.065 percent, you’ll need to inspect a sample of at least 200
units to make a reasonable conclusion about the quality of the lot. If you find that the
area of the chart containing your sample size at your chosen AQL points to a sample
size larger than your total order quantity, you would inspect 100 percent of the order.

Similarly, some of the larger sample sizes may be redundant at some higher AQLs. If
you’ve chosen a more lenient AQL of 15 percent, you need only inspect a sample size
of 80 units at most, even if your lot size and inspection level call for a larger sample.
Inspecting more units will not give you greater confidence in the quality of your order
using AQL.

As we’ll see in Chapter 5, there are multiple AQL standards available for inspection. But
the basic layout and parts of the AQL chart vary only slightly between these standards.
And most of what you’ve learned about this chart will help you interpret and apply the
other standards.

Now that you have a basic understanding of all the parts of an ANSI ASQ Z1.4 standard
AQL chart, let’s connect the dots by seeing how each part comes together during the
sampling and inspection process.

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Chapter #3

HOW IMPORTERS
USE THE AQL
TABLE FOR
PRODUCT
INSPECTION

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Most importers can begin using the AQL chart as soon as they know their total order
quantity and have an idea of quality expectations and product requirements. In fact, it’s
best to determine how the AQL chart will be used for inspection before mass production
even begins. In this way, you can ensure that your supplier understands what minimum
quality standards you expect them to meet.

Let’s look specifically at what quality expectations you’ll need to set before using AQL.

How to classify defects for inspection purposes

Most importers have a different tolerance level for different kinds of defects. If you’re
manufacturing refrigerators, you’d probably consider a small scratch in the outside
coating to be less serious than you would a broken hinge on the door. For this reason,
most product inspectors will attempt to separate different defects into one of the
following three categories based on importance:

ľľ Minor – defects that are unacceptable in high quantities but generally won’t result in
product returns
ľľ Major – defects that would likely result in product returns but don’t pose a safety risk
to the user
ľľ Critical – defects that violate regulations or pose a threat to user safety

By notifying your suppler of any known quality defects common to your product and
classifying them by severity, you hold them more accountable for these issues. Likewise,
you can be confident that inspection staff will verify your product using your standard
if you can inform them of how each known defect should be reported. One of the best
ways that experienced importers clarify defects, and other product expectations, is by
working together with their supplier and QC staff to develop a detailed QC checklist.

If you’re unsure of what known quality defects exist for your product or how to classify
them, a professional inspector with experience in your product type can often advise.

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Which AQL to assign to each defect category

Since AQL represents your relative tolerance for quality defects, and you have different
tolerances for different defects, you’ll typically assign a different corresponding AQL to
critical, major and minor defects. For example, when inspecting consumer goods, QC
professionals generally recommend AQLs of 0, 2.5 and 4 percent for critical, major and
minor defects, respectively. Note that for an AQL of 0 percent, the rejection point is 1
defect, regardless of sample size—any critical defects found within the sample will result
in rejecting the order.

If you’re unsure of which AQLs to apply to your product for each defect type, a QC
professional can usually make suggestions based on past experience. And like defect
categories, including your chosen AQLs in your QC checklist helps ensure your supplier
and inspection team are aware of your quality expectations.

Determining a sample size and acceptance/rejection

points with AQL

Once you have at least a rough idea of how potential defects for your product will be
classified and which AQL will be used for each defect class, you’re ready to use the AQL
chart to find your sample size.

Let’s say that you have an order of 300 electric blenders that you want to inspect before
shipping. By looking at the lot sizes shown in the AQL chart, you can see that your order
quantity falls within the “281 to 500” unit range. Let’s also say that, due to budgetary
constraints, you’ve chosen the lowest general inspection level for that lot size—GI. By
looking at where your inspection level meets your lot size, you find sample size code
letter “F”.

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When you look to the second page or backside of the AQL chart, you’ll find that the
sample size code letter “F” corresponds to 20 units. Now let’s apply the same AQLs
typically used for consumer goods to your blenders. We’ll use 0 percent AQL for critical
defects, 1.5 percent for major defects and 4 percent for minor defects. For critical
defects, we already know that the rejection point is 1 defect. But when we look at the
chart for AQL 1.5, we find an arrow in the column where it meets sample size 20 units.

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The arrow in the column for AQL 1.5 percent is pointing down to the row below it with
a sample size of 32 units. In this case, 32 units is the minimum sample size required to
inspect at this AQL. So you must use a sample size of 32 units, instead of 20 units, and
use the acceptance point of 1 defect and rejection point of 2 defects.

The column for 4 percent AQL meets the row for your original sample size, 20 units,
at the acceptance and rejections points of 2 defects and 3 defects, respectively. But
common AQL standards permit you to use the largest sample size for all AQLs when
using different classes of defects or nonconformities—a typical practice among QC
professionals. And since you’re using a different AQL for minor, major and critical
defects, you can use the largest sample size, 32 units, for all three defect classes, rather
than using a smaller sample size for minor defects. And with the larger sample size of
32 units, you’ll use the corresponding acceptance point of 3 defects and rejection point
of 4 defects for 4 percent AQL.

The practical outcome of this is that you’ll be pulling a single random sample of 32 units
from mass production and rejecting the order if you find:

ľľ 1 or more critical defects

ľľ 2 or more major defects, or
ľľ 4 or more minor defects

If the number of defects you find exceeds any of these three limits, you should reject
the order, according to AQL. But as we’ll see in the next chapter, the AQL result is not the
only determinant of a pass or fail result for an inspection.

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Chapter #4

HOW AQL
AFFECTS THE
RESULTS OF
PRODUCT
INSPECTION

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AQL result vs. general result

The AQL result is a vital part of inspections that use AQL. But it’s not the only factor
in determining if the inspection result is “pass” or “fail”, nor does the inspection result
dictate to the importer that they must hold or ship an order.

Most product inspection reports have an AQL result and an overall result, sometimes
called a “general” result. The general result is normally shown at the top of the report
and takes into account the AQL result, as well as other factors. A passing AQL result is
a necessary condition for a passing general result, though not a sufficient one—an order
can fail inspection for reasons other than AQL. Let’s look at these other factors that
commonly affect the general result.

Customer expectations

The decision to separate different defects into different classes and assign a certain
AQL to each class falls on you, as the importer. Likewise, your customers’ expectations
should govern the way you treat and report defects. But importers often adjust AQLs and
the ways they classify different defects as they continue manufacturing and inspecting
their product.

For example, you might initially classify untrimmed

threads as a minor defect for a garment. But if you
see an unexpectedly high number of customer
returns due to untrimmed threads, you may want
to consider these major defects, effectively
lowering your tolerance for this defect in your
goods. This may be a decision you make after
seeing the result of inspection, asking the supplier
to hold an order and address units with untrimmed
threads before shipping. So even though you might
have received a passing result, you’ll still want to
consider any customer expectations that might
alter your decision to ship the order.

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Another part of customer expectations that can affect your decision to accept or reject
an order is urgency. Your supplier might have fallen behind the production deadline such
that you’re willing to accept an AQL result of fail because you urgently need to ship the
order. Although a fairly common problem, you can prevent production delays through
proper planning and by conducting inspection well in advance of your planned shipping
date.

On-site test results

Aside from meeting AQL and customer expectations, most products must pass any
on-site tests performed during inspection. These typically include tests for functionality,
safety and performance. Although a product may have a passing AQL result, it often fails
inspection if it does not pass certain tests.

When inspecting an item of furniture, for example,

you might subject it to a number of load-bearing
tests to ensure it meets a certain standard. Chairs,
in particular, often need to be tested to verify they
can withstand a reasonable weight load without
breaking or deforming. If a chair fails this kind of
testing for functionality and safety, you’d probably
want to reject the order, regardless of AQL results.
Product safety issues can be very dangerous for
consumers, as well as potentially resulting in a
damaging product recall, as we saw with IKEA’s
recent recall of many of the company’s chests and
dressers.

Some importers will insist on testing their product to verify a particular performance
claim. Wristwatch and other timepiece manufacturers, for example, often make claims
of their products’ durability and performance, such as water resistance to a certain
depth. Importers often require on-site testing during inspection to verify these (related:
Top 5 On-site Tests for Watches). When testing finds that your product fails to live up
to its claim, you might want to reject the order, or else risk dissatisfied customers and
product returns.

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Regulations and distributor requirements

Products sometimes pass all on-site tests and have a passing AQL result, but still have
a general result of fail because they don’t meet one or more regulations or distributor
requirements. Regulations affect a wide range of products, from garments with
requirements for labeling, to FDA regulations surrounding cosmetics. Failure to meet
regulations of a particular market can result in your inability to distribute within it.

Aside from legal requirements, many distributors and retailers often impose their own
set of requirements on their suppliers’ products. For example, Amazon.com requires
that any poly bags for a product have a 5-inch opening or larger, in addition to many
other packaging requirements. Just as failure to meet local regulations can shut you
out of a market of sale, not adhering to distributors’ standards can limit your distribution
channels.

If there are any on-site tests, regulations or distributor requirements that you need to
verify in your product, be sure to include these in your QC checklist and share them
with your supplier and your inspection team. Otherwise, a passing inspection result
that doesn’t include these factors may mislead you into accepting an order you should
actually be rejecting.

Remember that your inspector’s main role is to visit the factory, check your product
using your standards and report on what they find. They typically cannot tell the factory
manager whether to ship the goods (related: Why Product Inspection Companies Can’t
Compel Your Chinese Suppliers). Only you can make that decision. That’s why it’s vital
that inspection includes all of your product criteria and addresses all of your concerns.
This makes it much easier for you to interpret inspection results and make an informed
decision about accepting or rejecting an order.

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Chapter #5

ALTERNATIVES
TO ANSI ASQ
Z1.4 FOR AQL
SAMPLING
DURING QC
INSPECTION

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Attribute sampling using the ANSI ASQ Z1.4 standard for AQL has been the focus of the
preceding chapters and is the most commonly used sampling method for inspection by
most importers today. But this isn’t the only standard or sampling plan available. Let’s
briefly explore the other sampling methods and standards manufacturers have used at
various times and for various applications.

Attribute vs. variable sampling plans

Attribute sampling is relatively simple because it’s enumerative—it seeks to find the
number of units in a sample that meet certain qualitative criteria. Units inspected are
simply “defective” or “not defective”, based on the criteria set. As an importer simply
trying to find out the number of defects or nonconformities in your total order quantity,
attribute sampling is what you want. The main disadvantage to attribute sampling is that
you’ll generally need to inspect a relatively large sample size in order to make reasonable
conclusions about the quality of the entire order.

Variable sampling is more analytical and complex than attribute sampling because
rather than simply reporting whether or not a product meets certain qualitative criteria,
you’re reporting the quantitative data. You’re measuring quality characteristics on a
continuous scale with variable sampling. Variable sampling is more commonly used for
process control and to make predictions.

For example, if you’re inspecting an industrial

valve, you can report nonconformities and
defects together using the same attribute
sampling plan. But with variable sampling,
you’re measuring one particular issue or
nonconformity wherever it occurs in your
sample. Variable sampling only allows you to
check one characteristic per sampling plan.
You’d need one sampling plan to measure a
particular

dimension for the valves and another sampling plan to measure valve pressure. So
although variable sampling requires a smaller sample size than attribute sampling plans,
you’ll often need to inspect multiple samples.

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Other types of sampling plans

Aside from attribute or variable varieties, sampling plans are also categorized by the
number of samples required. The following are among the more commonly used
sampling plans in manufacturing:

ľľ Single sampling – this is the preferred sampling plan for most importers. You accept
or reject a lot based on the results of inspecting only one sample. If the number of
defects or nonconformities found is within the chosen AQL, the AQL result passes.
ľľ Double sampling – this sampling plan combines two single sample plans, conducted
separately one after another. The main advantage to double sampling is that if the
number of defects or nonconformities found in the first sample isn’t well within the
acceptance point or well in excess of the rejection point, then inspecting a second
sample helps provide a clearer result.
ľľ Continuous sampling – with continuous sampling, you typically begin by inspecting
100 percent of the units consecutively produced as they come off the production
line. Once you’ve found a certain number of consecutive units to be free of defects
and nonconformities, you’d begin checking a random sample. If a single unit in
the sample is found to be defective, you’d repeat the process from the beginning,
inspecting 100 percent. Continuous sampling is most often used with conveyer line
production, or when lot-by-lot inspection isn’t practical.
ľľ Zero acceptance sampling (c=0) – with
“c” being the number defects allowed,
zero acceptance sampling involves
rejecting an order if a single defect or
nonconformity is found in the inspected
sample. This sampling plan is rarely
used by importers and requires smaller
sample sizes, but presents greater
producer risk.

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Popular attribute sampling standards

In addition to sampling plans, there are a number of sampling standards or schemes

that have been used for AQL at various times, each developed by a different
organization:

ľľ Military standard 105 (MIL-STD-105) – this is the original standard developed for
use by the U.S. Army, largely drawing from the work of Harold F. Dodge and others
in the 1930s. Most common civilian standards used today are derived from MIL-
STD-105. The standard went through several revisions since its first inspection tables
were designed in 1942 and 1943. The latest version, MIL-STD-105E was created
in 1989. In February 1995, the Army abandoned military statistical standards and
recommended using civilian standards instead.
ľľ ASTM E2234-09 – this standard was developed by a committee of the American
Society for Testing and Materials International (ASTM) in 2005. It adheres closely to
MIL-STD-105E and is best applied in a testing and laboratory setting.
ľľ ANSI ASQ Z1.4 – this is among the most common sampling standards importers
use for product inspection today, as we’ve outlined in this eBook. The U.S.
Department of Defense recommends using this standard in place of MIL-STD-105E.
It’s main distinction from MIL-STD-105E and E2234-09 is how it defines a unit that
should be rejected, using terminology from ANSI ASQ A3534-2:2006.
ľľ ISO 2859-1 – this standard was created by the International Organization for
Standardization in 1974 and is best applied in international trade. Although also
deriving from MIL-STD-105E, ISO 2859-1 underwent more major changes than ASTM
E2234-09 or ANSI ASQ Z1.4.

These are just a few of the common commercial sampling standards available to you
for inspection. Some standards may be ideal for certain situations. If you’re unsure
which standard to apply for inspecting your product, consult a QC professional that’s
experienced with your product type.

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CONCLUSION
Now you’ve seen why AQL sampling is a key process of most product inspections
conducted by QC professionals. You’re familiar with the various parts of most AQL
tables used for sampling. And you’re ready to choose a sampling method and standard
that’s best for you and your product.

Perhaps most of all, you’ll now benefit from a better understanding of how to interpret
most product inspection reports. You’re familiar with the common factors that lead to
a product passing or failing inspection. Equipped with this knowledge, you’re able to
make the important decision about whether to accept or reject an order of goods. And
remember, that’s a decision which only you can make.

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About InTouch
Founded in 2008, InTouch Manufacturing Services is an American-owned, third-
party inspection firm headquartered in Shenzhen, China. We specialize in QC product
inspections, factory audits, social compliance services and product sourcing.

With staff based in 15 countries throughout Asia, InTouch helps importers ensure they’re
working with the right suppliers and receiving goods on time which meet or exceed
expectations.

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