SEVEN BASIC QUALITY CONTROL TOOL

QUALITY TOOLS
Stratification

Description of Stratification: Stratification is the separation of data into

categories. Its most frequent use is during the diagnostic journey to identify which
categories contribute the most to the problem being solved.

When to use Stratification: Stratification can be applied for root cause analysis,
sampling, hypothesis testing, and developing solutions. Stratification help answer
questions as to the frequency of defects, factors that may be contributing to a quality
problem, and the degree to which results may differ across groups.

How to use Stratification:

Steps to stratification:

1) Select the stratification variables.

2) Establish categories that are to be used for each stratification variables.
3) Sort observations into the categories of one of the stratification variables.
4) Calculate the phenomenon being measured for each category.
5) Display the results on a graph – bar chart
6) Prepare and display results for other stratification variables.

Application of Stratification: Applied when performing a root cause analysis. For

example – upon successful completion of a pareto analysis of possible categories of
causes, “wrong component assembled” was identified as a vital few contributing factor
accounting for total of 44 defects. Stratification could be applied to categorize these 44
defects by the following:
- Assembly types: Causes may be specific to assembly type, bill of material, etc.
- By shift: Causes maybe isolated to specific shifts.
- By Tech: There may be correlation between techs and wrong assembly operation.

The resulting stratification of data helps provide supplementary information needed for
root cause analysis.

References:
Juran Quality Handbook Sixth Edition: Joseph M Juran; Joseph A. De Feo

Page 1 of 1 10/14/2012