Table of content

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1
Seven Basic Quality Control Tools................................................................................................................. 2
Histograms .................................................................................................................................................... 2
Run Chart ...................................................................................................................................................... 3
Pareto Chart .................................................................................................................................................. 4
Flow Chart ..................................................................................................................................................... 5
Scatter Diagram ............................................................................................................................................ 6
Cause and Effect Diagrams ........................................................................................................................... 7
Control Chart................................................................................................................................................. 7
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 9
References .................................................................................................................................................. 10
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Introduction

There are seven basic quality tools, which can assist an organization for problem solving and
process improvements. The first guru who proposed seven basic tools was Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa in
1968, by publishing a book entitled “Gemba no QC Shuvo” that was concerned managing quality
through techniques and practices for Japanese firms. It was intended to be applied for “self-study,
training of employees by foremen or in QC reading groups in Japan. It is in this book that the seven
basic quality control tools were first proposed. valuable resource when applying the seven basic
tools (Omadhaun and Ross, 2004). These seven basic quality control tools, which introduced by
Dr. Ishikawa, are : 1) histogram 2) run charts; 3) pareto charts; 4) flow charts ; 5) Scatter diagrams;
6) cause and effect diagram ;7) control charts .
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Seven Basic Quality Control Tools

1. Histograms
2. Run Charts
3. Pareto Charts
4. Flow Charts
5. Scatter Diagrams
6. Cause and Effect Diagrams
7. Control Charts

Histograms

A Histogram is a bar graph used to present frequency data. Histograms provide an easy way to
evaluate the distribution of data over different categories

Steps in making Histogram

 Define Categories for Data

 Collect Data, sort them into the categories
 Count the Data for each category
 Draw the Diagram. Each category finds its place on the x-Axis.
 The bars will be as high as the value for the category
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The histogram reveals the following about the process

 Centering of the process data: The centering of the data provides information on the process
about some mean.
 Spread of the data: Histogram width defines the variability of the process about the mean
 Shape of the histogram: Bell or normal shaped histogram is expected. Other than normal or
bell shape means something wrong with the process responsible for poor quality.

Limitations of the Histograms

 The randomness in the data in developing histogram losses the vital information
 As data are not represented in order, the time-dependent or time-related trends in the process
may not be revealed

Run Chart

Run Charts are better option over histograms as they overcome the limitations of the histograms.
A run chart represents change in measurement over a sequence or time. Run charts are used to
determine cyclic events and their average values.

Steps in making Run Charts

 Arrange data with time sequence
 Plot the data in order
 Interpreting Data
 The run chart reveals the following about the process

Run charts display process performance over time Trends, cycles, and large variations are clearly
visible. An average line may be added to a run chart to clarify movement of the data away from
the process average
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Two types of mistake normally people commit while interpreting the run chart

1. cycle or trend exist but actually it is not

2. cycle or trend does not exist but actually they exist
To overcome this problem a thumb rule is to look at the data for a long period of time

Pareto Chart

VILFREDO PARETO an Italian economist provided a golden rule which fits into many
managerial situations. The golden rule he noticed is WEALTH IS CONCENTRATED IN A FEW
PEOPLE. Pareto principle ” The majority of wealth is held by a disproportionately small segment
of the population”. This principle is also known as 80 / 20 principle. 80% of the problems are
caused by 20% of the causes

JURAN has noticed that this principle applies to quality improvement as well. According to Juan
the problems that occur a few are very frequent while other important problems occur seldom. He
given the phrase as Vital few and the trivial many

Pareto Charts are used to apply the 80/20 rule of Joseph Juan which states that 80% of the problems
are the result of 20% of the problems. A Pareto Chart can be used to identify that 20% root causes
of problem. A Perot chart is similar like histogram.
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Steps in making Pareto Charts

 First define categories
 Sort the data into the Categories and find out the
 frequency of occurrence of each category
 Arrange the categories in descending order

The Pareto Chart of the following problem is given below:

Flow Chart

A flow chart is way of representing a procedure using simple symbols and arrows. A Flow chart
shows the activities in a process and the relationships between them. A Flow chart lets a process
be understood easily. It also demonstrate the relationships between the elements of the process.
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Steps in making Flow Charts

 Determine the Process need to be represented by flow chart

 List down the sequence of operation and other details
 Start at a certain point and go then step by step
 Using flow chart symbols
 Write the titles to each element

Scatter Diagram

Scatter diagram is a statistical chart which shows a trend in a series of data. It demonstrates
correlations between values.
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Steps in making Scatter Diagram

 Plot the data points
 Draw trend line by fitting a straight line
 Upward line shows the positive trend(X increases and Y increases)
 Downward line shows the negative trend (X increases and Y decreases)

Cause and Effect Diagrams

A Cause and Effect Diagram shows the relationship between effect and the categories of their
causes. The diagram look like a fishbone it is therefore also called fish-bone diagram. Cause and
effect diagram enables a team to focus on the content of a problem. It helps to provide a
comprehensive picture of the problem and the root causes of the same.

Steps in making Cause and Effect Diagram

 Determine the Effect or Problem
 Categorize the possible causes
 Describe the possible causes

Control Chart

Control charts are statistical tool, showing whether a process is in control or not. It is a graphical
tool for monitoring the activities of an ongoing process also referred as Shewhart control charts.
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Steps in making control chart

 Define Upper limit, lower limit and Center line

 Draw Chart
 Plot the data points into chart
 Interpret the control chart
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Conclusion

This study identified that is very essential to apply all seven QC tools for troubleshooting issues
within production processes in the organizations. Doubtlessly, all of the aforementioned quality
tools should be considered and used by management for identifying and solving quality problems
during producing the products and services. Thus, the production processes can be affected and
improved by multiple factors of these statistical QC tools. Also, Mirko et al. (2009) designed and
developed an effective layout for using these QC in the organizations based on the performance of
them, in order to apply appropriately these quality tools for solving quality problems and quality
improvement
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References

1. Forbes, L H. & Ahmed S. M. (2011). Modern construction : lean project delivery and integrated
practices. Boca Raton, Fly: Taylor and Francis Group.

2. Juan, M., and Godfrey, A. (1998). Juan’s quality handbook (5th ed.). Washington, DC:
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

3. Oakland, J. S. (2003). Total Quality Management: text with cases (3rd ed.). Jordan Hill, Oxford,
UK: Butterworth-Heinemann, an imprint of Elsevier.

4. Oberlender, G. D. (2000). Project Management for Engineering and Construction (2nd ed.).
New York, USA: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

5. Omachonu, V. K. & Ross, J. E. (2004). Principles of total quality (3rd ed.). Boca Raton, Florida:
Taylor & Francis.