Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2012) 60:733–740
DOI 10.1007/s00170-011-3635-5
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Optimal designing of an SkSP-V skip-lot sampling plan
with double-sampling plan as the reference plan
Muhammad Aslam & Saminathan Balamurali &
Chi-Hyuck Jun & Munir Ahmad & Mujahid Rasool
Received: 26 October 2010 / Accepted: 9 September 2011 / Published online: 30 September 2011
# Springer-Verlag London Limited 2011
Abstract This paper deals with the optimal designing of
a skip-lot sampling plan of type SkSP-V by considering
the double-sampling plan as the reference plan. The
design parameters are determined so as to minimize the
average sample number while the specified producer’s
risk and the consumer’s risks are satisfied. The tables are
constructed by considering the various combinations of
acceptable and limiting quality levels, and an example is
given for illustration purpose. The advantages of the
proposed plan over the conventional double-sampling
plan are also discussed.
Keywords Acceptable quality level . Average sample
number . Consumer’s risk . Double sampling . Producer’s
risk . Skip-lot sampling
M. Aslam (*) : M. Rasool
Department of Statistics, Forman Christian College University,
Lahore, Pakistan
e-mail: aslam_ravian@hotmail.com
S. Balamurali
Departments of Mathematics, Kalasalingam University,
Krishnankoil 626190( Tamil Nadu, India
e-mail: sbmurali@rediffmail.com
C.-H. Jun
Department of Industrial and Management Engineering,
POSTECH,
Pohang 790-784, Republic of Korea
e-mail: chjun@postech.ac.kr
M. Ahmad
National College of Business Administration & Economics,
Lahore, Pakistan
e-mail: drmunir@ncbae.edu.pk
1 Introduction
Statistical quality control is the combination of quality
control charts and acceptance sampling. The former is
used to maintain the quality of products during the
manufacturing process and the latter is used to inspect
the final manufactured products before they can be
released for consumer's use. During the process of
inspection, it may not be possible to inspect 100% of
products, especially in case of electronic components, as it
requires high cost, time, and damage of the products. On
the other hand, if the product is believed to be good, then
it requires no inspection. Acceptance sampling works as a
bridge between 0% and 100% inspections. For the
inspection of the products, only a small amount from the
products called the sample size is selected from the big
amount of the products, which is also called a lot. The fate
of the entire lot whether to accept or to reject depends on
the information obtained from this sample size. The basic
acceptance sampling plan called the single-sampling plan
is widely used in industry to inspect items due to its
easiness of implementation. Further, in single-sampling
plans, the decision of the submitted lot is taken on the
basis of a single sample drawn from the lot. There are
many other types of acceptance sampling plans available
in the literature including double-sampling plan, multiple
sampling plan, sequential sampling plan, repetitive group
sampling plan etc. Double-sampling plan is an extension
of single-sampling plan to make a decision on the lot based on
the inspection of two samples. More generally, multiple
sampling plans can be considered but repetitive group
sampling plans are usually adopted due to their simplicity.
734
It should be noted that whatever may be the type of
acceptance sampling schemes, two risks are always
associated with them. As decision is made on the basis of
the sample from a lot, there is a chance of committing
errors. If a good lot of products is rejected, this leads type-1
error. Type-1 error is defined as the probability of rejecting
a good lot and it is denoted by α. On the other hand, if a
bad lot is accepted, this may lead to type-2 error. Type-2
error is defined as the probability of accepting a bad lot and
it is denoted by β. So, one purpose of an acceptance
sampling plan is to minimize the sample size while
satisfying the producer's risk as well as the consumer's risk
at the specified quality levels. The minimum sample size is
called the optimal sample size.
In a life test, the cost of the inspection is directly related
to the sample size selected to put on the test. The larger the
sample size, the larger the cost of the experiment. So,
producers and consumers prefer the plan which provides
them protection and save their cost of the experiment to
reach on the final decision.
The concept of skip-lot sampling was developed by
Dodge [10] based on the principle of continuous sampling
plan applicable to a continuous series of lots or batches of
materials. The initial skip-lot sampling plan was designated
as SkSP-1 and has been used for the inspection for bulk
materials or products produced in successive lots. As this
scheme requires the smaller number of sample units for the
inspection as compared to the single-sampling plan, the
main advantage of this type of sampling scheme is to
reduce the inspection cost. It is to be pointed out that in
SkSP-1 scheme, no reference plan concept is used.
Dodge and Perry [11] and Perry [19] developed a system
of skip-lot sampling plans by using the concept of
reference plan, which is designated as SkSP-2. In SkSP-2
plan, provision is made for skipping inspection of some
of the lots when the quality of the submitted lot is
good. Skip-lot sampling is used for sampling chemical
and physical processes in order to bring about substantial
savings on inspection of products, which normally
conform to specification. This particular sampling plan
is applicable when the lots are small or where inspection is
low and costly. For more details about the SkSP-2 plan,
the readers can refer to Burnett [7], Schilling [20], Carr
[8], Liebesman and Saperstein [16], Liebesman [15],
Vijayaraghavan [22], ISO 2859–3 [14], and Balamurali
et al. [6]. Parker and Kessler [18] modified the procedure
SkSP-2 plan and developed modified skip-lot sampling
plans. Hsu [13] presented a model involving stochastic
and cost components to obtain an optimal skip-lot
sampling plan. Recently, Aslam et al. [2] developed tables
for determining the design parameters of an SkSP-2
plan using single-sampling plan as the reference plan.
They determined the design parameters including the
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2012) 60:733–740
parameters of the reference plan such that the specified
producer's and consumer's risks are satisfied simulta-
neously. Aslam et al. [3] also developed a two-plan
sampling system for Weibull distribution based on a
similar idea.
MIL-STD 1235C [17] consists of five different
continuous sampling plans (CSP) including the CSP-V.
All these plans are used to reduce the inspection cost and
time, so they are considered as more economical. CSP-V
is one of the single level continuous sampling plans in
which the reduced inspection can be achieved by using a
smaller clearance interval when reducing the sampling
frequency has no advantage upon demonstration of good
quality. The CSP-V plan provides for alternating sequen-
ces of 100% inspection and sampling inspection. For more
details about the continuous acceptance sampling plans,
reader can refer to Stephens [21]. Since the skip-lot
concept is sound and useful, it is economically
advantageous to the skip-lot approach in the design of
sampling plans. Recently, Balamurali and Jun [5]
developed a new system of skip-lot sampling plan
designated as SkSP-V based on the principles of CSP-V
plan. This plan requires the return to the normal
inspection whenever the lot is rejected, but it has a
provision for a reduced normal inspection upon demon-
stration of superior product quality. For more details
about this plan and its properties, reader can refer to
Balamurali and Jun [5]. Some other variants of the skip-
lot sampling plans have been considered by Cho and
Choi [9], Yang and Cho [24] and so on. Balamurali and
Jun [5] investigated the properties of SkSP-V plan with
single-sampling plan as the reference plan. But, it is
well-known that a double-sampling plan reduces the
sample size required for inspection and provides an
opportunity to the producer for the acceptance of the
product when the product under study is questionable.
The operation of a double-sampling plan with four
parameters is as follows (see [12]):
1. From a lot, select a random sample of size n1 and
observe the number of nonconforming units d1.
2. If d1 ≤ c1 (c1 is acceptance number for the first
sample), then the lot is accepted. If d1 >c2 (c2 is the
acceptance number for the combined sample) the lot is
rejected. If c1 <d1 ≤c2, then go for second sampling.
During second sampling, select a random sample of
size n2 and observe the number of nonconforming
units d2.
3. If d1 +d2 ≤c2, then the lot is accepted. Otherwise, the lot
is rejected.
Vijayaraghavan and Soundararajan [23] developed tables
for the selection an SkSP-2 plan with double-sampling plan
as the reference plan under Poisson probability model and
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2012) 60:733–740 735

we designate this plan as SkDSP-2. In the literature, no
attempt has been made to find the design parameters of
the SkSP-V sampling plans with double-sampling plan
as the reference plan by considering the producer's risk
and the consumer's risk simultaneously. So this paper
attempts to develop tables for the selection of parameters
of an SkSP-V plan with double-sampling plan as the
reference plan and the proposed plan is designated as
SkDSP-V plan. The rest of the paper is set as follows: the
operation of SkDSP-V plan is given in Section 2. In
Section 3, comparison of the proposed plan is made with
the SkSP-2 plan and double-sampling plan. In the last
section, some concluding remarks are given.
2 SkSP-V plan with double-sampling plan
as the reference plan
As mentioned already, SkSP-V plan is a generalization of
SkSP-2 plan. In SkSP-2 plan, reversion of normal inspec-
tion takes place immediately after a lot is rejected on
skipping inspection. But the SkSP-V plan requires a return
to normal inspection whenever a lot is rejected during
sampling inspection, but has a provision for a reduced
normal inspection upon demonstration of superior product
quality. The operation of SkSP-V plan with double-
sampling plan as the reference plan is shown in Fig. 1.
The SkSP-V plan is characterized by four parameters
which are f (0<f<1), i k, x (≤i) along with the parameters of
the reference plan. The Skip-lot sampling plan of type SkSP-
2 is a special case of SkSP-V sampling plan with k=x=i. By
assuming x=k in SkSP-V plan, we need to determine only
three parameters of the proposed plan, which are f, i and k.
Therefore, the SkDSP-V plan is characterized by seven
parameters n1, n2, c1, c2, i, f, and k.
3 Designing of an SkDSP-V plan
In general, any sampling plan or any sampling system can
be designed for specified two points on the operating
characteristic (OC) curve namely, acceptable quality level
(AQL) and limiting quality level (LQL), along with the
corresponding producer's risk (α) and the consumer's risks
(β). According to the American National Standards Insti-
tute/American Society for Quality [1] (ANSI/ASQ Z1.4-
2008), the AQL is defined as “the maximum proportion or
percent defective (or the maximum number of defects per
hundred units) that, for purposes of sampling inspection,
can be considered satisfactory as a process average”. AQL
is usually defined as the worst-case quality level, in
percentage or ratio, which is still considered acceptable.
As an AQL is an acceptable level, the probability of
acceptance of a lot at the AQL should be high. American
National Standards Institute/American Society for Quality
[1] (ANSI/ASQ Z1.4-2008) defines the LQL as “the
percentage or proportion of variant units in a batch or lot
for which, for the purposes of sampling inspection, the
consumer wishes the probability of acceptance to be
restricted to a specified low value”. LQL is used as an

Fig. 1 Operation of SkSP-V plan

Start

Normal Replace all nonconforming

Inspection units with conforming ones

no

Are i consecutive Are x consecutive

lots acceptable ? lots acceptable ?
no
yes
yes

Skipping Normal with

Inspection reduced clearance

yes

Is a sampled lot Have last k lots

acceptable ? been acceptable ?
yes no
no
736 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2012) 60:733–740

index for consumer protection for designing an acceptance Similarly, under the conditions of AQL and LQL, the
sampling plan. AQL is denoted by p1 and the LQL is parameters of an SkDSP-V plan namely i, f, k, n1, n2, c1,
denoted by p2. Based on the principle of two points on the and c2 will be determined such that the following
OC curve, the designing methodology of the SkDSP-V plan inequalities are satisfied.
is explained below.

According to Balamurali and Jun [5], the OC function of fP1 þ ð1  f ÞP1 i þ fP1 kþ1 P1 i  P1 k

 1a ð6Þ
an SkSP-V plan is given by, f 1 þ P1 iþk  P1 2k þ ð1  f ÞP1 i


fP þ ð1  f ÞPi Þ þ fPkþ1 Pi  Pk
Pa ðpÞ ¼

f ð1 þ Piþk  P2k Þ þ ð1  f ÞPi fP2 þ ð1  f ÞP2 i þ fP2 kþ1 P2 i  P2 k

 b ð7Þ
where Pa (p) is the probability of acceptance of a lot under f 1 þ P2 iþk  P2 2k þ ð1  f ÞP2 i
SkSP-V sampling scheme and P is the acceptance proba-
where P1 and P2 are obtained by using (2) and (3)
bility under the double-sampling scheme, which is given by
respectively.
0 1
X
c1 n1 There may exist many combinations of the design
P¼ @ i Api ð1  pÞn1 i parameters of the SkDSP-V plan for specified requirements.
i¼0
0 1 2 0 1 3 Therefore, we will use the average sample number (ASN)
X
c2 n1 cX
2 x n2
as the criterion to select the suitable combination of the
þ @ x Apx ð1  pÞn1 x 4 @ i Api ð1  pÞn2 i 5
x¼c1 þ1 i¼0
design parameters. According to the American National
Standards Institute/American Society for Quality [1]
ð1Þ
(ANSI/ASQ Z1.4-2008), the ASN is defined as “the
Under AQL (=p1) and LQL(=p2) conditions respectively average number of sample units per lot used for making
Eq. 1 can be written as decision (acceptance or non-acceptance)”. Hence, the
0 1 suitable combination of the design parameters can be
X
c1 n1 determined such that it provides minimum ASN than the
P1 ¼ @ i Ap1 i ð1  p1 Þn1 i
i¼0
other combination of sampling plans. According to many
0 1 2 0 1 3 authors including Balamurali and Jun [4], we can minimize
X
c2 n1 cX
2 x n2
þ @ x Ap1 x ð1  p1 Þn1 x 4 @ i Ap1 i ð1  p1 Þn2 i 5 the ASN at the AQL as well as at the LQL. But the
x¼c1 þ1 i¼0 selection of the design parameters by minimizing the ASN
ð2Þ at the LQL is preferred because sample sizes at first and
0 1 second stages are larger at LQL than AQL. The ASN of the
X
c1 n1
P2 ¼ @ i Ap2 i ð1  p2 Þn1 i SkDSP-V plan is given by
i¼0
0 1 2 0 1 3

X
c2 n1 cX
2 x n2 f þ f Piþk  P2k
þ @ x Ap2 x ð1  p2 Þn1 x 4 @ i Ap2 i ð1  p2 Þn2 i 5 ASNðpÞ ¼ ðASNdouble ðpÞÞ
f ð1 þ Piþk  P2k Þ þ ð1  f ÞPi
x¼c1 þ1 i¼0
ð8Þ
ð3Þ
The design parameters of the double-sampling plan can where ASN double (p) is the ASN of a double-sampling plan,
be determined such that the following inequalities should which is given by
be satisfied 0 1
0 1 X
c2 n1
X
c1 n1 ASNdouble ðpÞ ¼ n1 þ n2 @ i Api ð1  pÞn1 i ð9Þ
@ i Ap1 i ð1  p1 Þn1 i
i¼c1 þ1
i¼0
0 1 2 0 1 3
X
c2 n1 cX
2 x n2
þ @ x Ap1 ð1  p1 Þ 1 4
x n x @ i Ap1 ð1  p1 Þ 2 5  1  a
i n i
To determine the design parameters satisfying inequal-
x¼c1 þ1 i¼0
ities (6) and (7) we will consider the various combinations
0 1 ð4Þ of AQL and LQL values. The design parameters of the
X
c1 n1
proposed plan are placed in Table 1. The ASN and the
@ i Ap2 i ð1  p2 Þn1 i
i¼0 minimum producer's and the consumer's risks are also
0 1 2 0 1 3
X
c2 n1 cX
2 x n2 given in Table 1. For constructing tables, we have
þ @ x Ap2 ð1  p2 Þ
x n 1 x 4 @ i Ap2 ð1  p2 Þ 5  b
i n 2 i
considered the parameters in the following intervals. n1 =
x¼c1 þ1 i¼0
n2 =2(1)5,000, c1 =0(1)100, c2 =c1 +1(1)100, i=2(1)10, k=1
ð5Þ (1)10, f=0.1(0.05)0.95.
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2012) 60:733–740 737

Table 1 Parameters of
SkDSP-V plan for specified Optimal parameters
AQL and LQL
p1 p2 i k f n1 n2 c1 c2 ASN at p2 (1−α)% β%

0.001 0.005 2 1 0.10 575 575 0 1 643.44 0.9625 0.0995

0.010 2 1 0.65 252 252 0 1 301.47 0.9529 0.0999
0.015 3 1 0.80 165 165 0 1 199.20 0.9730 0.0999
0.020 3 1 0.50 124 124 0 1 149.48 0.9898 0.0994
0.030 2 1 0.85 94 94 0 1 109.51 0.9899 0.0673
0.005 0.010 2 1 0.10 631 631 0 7 1032.34 0.9517 0.0999
0.025 2 1 0.10 114 114 0 1 127.73 0.9631 0.0992
0.050 2 1 0.55 50 50 0 1 59.703 0.9604 0.0989
0.100 2 1 0.75 24 24 0 1 29.014 0.9860 0.0996
0.150 2 1 0.85 19 19 0 1 21.894 0.9898 0.0530
0.01 0.020 2 1 0.10 315 315 0 7 516.13 0.9522 0.0994
0.050 2 1 0.10 57 57 0 1 63.94 0.9631 0.0942
0.100 2 1 0.75 24 24 0 1 29.014 0.9506 0.0996
0.200 2 1 0.55 12 12 0 1 14.392 0.9898 0.0881
0.300 2 1 0.80 10 10 0 1 11.2078 0.9896 0.032
0.05 0.100 2 1 0.10 62 62 0 7 102.908 0.9565 0.0970
0.250 2 1 0.15 10 10 0 1 11.5823 0.9579 0.0900
0.500 2 1 0.25 4 4 0 1 4.910 0.9881 0.0948
0.100 0.200 2 1 0.10 31 31 0 7 52.2517 0.9573 0.0773
0.500 2 1 0.25 4 4 0 1 4.91 0.9554 0.0948

Table 2 Parameters of double-

sampling plan for specified Optimal parameters
AQL and LQL
p1 p2 n1 n2 c1 c2 ASN at p2 (1−α)% β%

0.001 0.005 692 692 0 3 1047.6 95.09 9.967

0.010 291 291 0 2 404.17 98.11 9.946
0.015 165 165 0 1 199.245 96.65 9.974
0.020 124 124 0 1 149.626 98.02 9.854
0.030 87 87 0 1 103.54 98.98 8.409
0.005 0.010 1237 1237 0 18 2415.9 95.26 9.941
0.025 138 138 0 3 209.186 95.16 9.822
0.050 58 58 0 2 80.595 98.15 9.522
0.100 24 24 0 1 29.11 98.15 9.673
0.150 18 18 0 1 21.07 98.92 6.279
0.01 0.020 618 618 0 18 1207.73 95.34 9.893
0.050 69 69 0 3 104.6 95.19 9.493
0.100 29 29 0 2 40.25 98.17 8.84
0.200 12 12 0 1 14.47 98.16 8.289
0.300 9 9 0 1 10.4 98.94 4.663
0.05 0.100 117 117 0 17 228.96 95.23 9.531
0.250 13 13 0 3 20.29 96.29 9.006
0.500 4 4 0 1 5.0 95.42 0.781
0.100 0.200 55 55 0 16 107.98 95.35 9.148
0.500 6 6 0 3 9.844 97.50 7.837
738 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2012) 60:733–740

Table 3 Comparison of Average Sample Number parameters of an SkDSP-V plan according to the conditions
p1 p2 Average sample number at LQL given that p1 =0.01, p2 =0.05, α=0.05 and β=0.10. From
Table 1, one can find the optimal parameters as i=2, k=x=
SkDSP-V plan DSP 1, f=0.1, n1 =n2 =57, c1 =0 and c2 =1 corresponding to the
above mentioned AQL and LQL conditions. ASN of this
0.001 0.005 643.44 1047.6
plan is 63.94 which is minimum. Based on these parame-
0.010 301.47 404.17
ters, the SkDSP-V plan is operated as follows.
0.015 199.20 199.245
0.020 149.48 149.626 (a) At the outset, start with the normal inspection with
0.030 109.51 103.54 double-sampling plan (n1 =n2 =57, c1 =0 and c2 =1) as
0.005 0.010 1032.34 2415.9 the reference plan. During the normal inspection, lots
0.025 127.73 209.186 are inspected one by one in the order of being
0.050 59.703 80.595 submitted to inspection.
0.100 29.014 29.11 (b) When two consecutive lots are accepted on normal
0.150 21.894 21.07 inspection, then switch to skipping inspection.
0.01 0.020 516.13 1207.73 (c) During skipping inspection, inspect only one lot for
0.050 63.94 104.6 every ten lots selected at random. Skipping inspection
0.100 29.014 40.25 is continued until the sampled lot is rejected.
0.200 14.392 14.47 (d) When a lot is rejected on skipping inspection before
0.300 11.2078 10.4 one sampled lot is accepted, revert to normal inspec-
0.05 0.100 102.908 228.96 tion as per (a) above.
0.250 11.5823 20.29 (e) When a lot is rejected after one lot has been accepted
0.500 4.910 5.0 then revert to normal inspection with reduced clear-
0.100 0.200 52.2517 107.98 ance number 1 as per (f) below.
0.500 4.91 9.844 (f) During normal inspection with clearance number 1,
lots are inspected one by one in the order of being
submitted and continue the inspection until a lot is
4 Examples rejected or one lot is accepted whichever occurs earlier.
(g) When a lot is rejected, immediately revert to normal
Table 1 can be used to select the optimal parameters of an inspection with clearance number 2 as per (a) given above.
SkDSP-V plan for specified AQL(=p1) and LQL (=p2) with (h) When one lot is accepted, discontinue normal inspection
α=5% and β=10%. Suppose one wants to determine and switch to skipping inspection as per (c) above.

Fig. 2 OC curves of SkDSP-V, 1

SkDSP-2, and double-sampling
plan 0.9
SkDSP-V Plan
0.8
Probability of Acceptance, Pa(p)

0.7

SkDSP-2 Plan
0.6

0.5

DSP
0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1
Fraction Non-conforming, p
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2012) 60:733–740
(i) Replace or correct all the nonconforming units found
with conforming items in the rejected lots.
5 Comparative study
We would like to compare the proposed SkDSP-V plan
with double-sampling plan (DSP). Table 2 can be used
to select the optimal parameters of a double-sampling
plan. For example, if p1 =0.01, p2 =0.05, α=0.05 and β=
0.10, then the optimal parameters of the double-sampling
plan are determined from Table 2 as n1 =n2 =69, c1 =0 and
c2 =3 which satisfies the above mentioned AQL and LQL
conditions. ASN of this plan is 104.6.
For the purpose of comparison, we have provided
Table 3 which gives the ASN of SkDSP-V and double-
sampling plans for several combinations of AQL and LQL.
From this table, it can be observed that the SkDSP-
V plan provided in this paper will have minimum
ASN when compared to the other sampling plan such
as the double-sampling plans. Similar reduction in
ASN can be achieved for any combination of AQL
and LQL values. This implies that the SkDSP-V plan
developed in this paper will give desired protection
with minimum inspection so that the cost of inspection
will greatly be reduced. Thus the SkDSP-V plan
provides better protection than the reference plan
compared here.
In order to show the better efficiency of the SkDSP-
V plan, we consider three OC curves including the OC
curve of SkDSP-2 plan. We consider the OC curve of
SkDSP-2 plan just to show the efficiency of the
proposed plan. Figure 2 shows the OC curves of the
SkDSP-V plan with parameters i=2, k=x=1 and f=0.1,
SkDSP-2 plan with parameters i=2, f=0.1 with double-
sampling plan with parameters n1 =n2 =57, c1 =0 and c2 =1
as the reference plan along with the OC curve of the
reference plan. The SkDSP-V plan is selected in such a
way that it satisfies the two points on the OC curve
condition (p1 =0.01, 1-α=0.95) and (p2 =0.05, β=0.10)
but at the same time, the same values of the parameters
are used for other plans even though the other two
plans do not pass through the specified two points on
the OC curve. That is, we want to show the better
performance of the proposed plan with the same
parametric values. From this figure, it can be easily
observed that for good quality, i.e., for smaller values of
fraction nonconforming, the OC curve of the SkDSP-V
plan has more probability of acceptance than the other
two plans. When quality deteriorates, the OC curve of
the SkDSP-V plan coincide with other plans. Hence,
SkDSP-V plan gives better protection to the producer
while safe-guarding the consumers
739
6 Concluding remarks
In this paper, we have developed tables and designing
methodology for selecting the parameters of a new system
of skip-lot sampling plan of type SkSP-V plan with double-
sampling plan as the reference plan for specified values of
AQL and LQL. The two points on the OC curve approach
is adopted to find the design parameters of the proposed
plan. It is found that the proposed plan requires the less
number of sample units for the inspection purpose than the
conventional double-sampling plan. So, the proposed plan
is useful in reducing the cost and the time of the inspection
of the material or the product where skip-lot sampling is
used. An example has also been presented for the industrial
application of the proposed plan. The extension of the
proposed plan to sequential acceptance sampling plan may
be a fruitful area for the future research. We will consider
the present approach in time-truncated experiment for life-
testing purpose in terms of mean or median ratios in future.
Acknowledgments The authors are thankful to the editor and all the
anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.
References
1. American National Standards Institute/American Society for
Quality (ANSI/ASQ Z1.4) (2008) Sampling procedures and tables
for inspection by attributes. American Society for Quality,
Milwaukee
2. Aslam M, Balamurali S, Jun C-H, Ahmad M (2010) Optimal
designing of a skip lot sampling plan by two point method. Pak J
Stat 26(4):585–595
3. Aslam M, Balamurali S, Jun C-H, Ahmad M (2010) A two-plan
sampling system for life testing under Weibull distribution. Ind
Eng Manag Syst 9(1):54–59
4. Balamurali S, Jun C-H (2006) Repetitive group sampling
procedure for variable inspection. J Appl Stat 33(3):327–338
5. Balamurali S, Jun C-H (2011) A new system of skip-lot sampling
plans having a provision for reducing normal inspection. Appl
Stoch Model Bus Ind 27:348–363
6. Balamurali S, Jun C-H, Collani EV (2007) Skip-lot sampling and
chain sampling, encyclopedia of statistics in quality and reliability.
Wiley, New York
7. Burnett TL (1967) Markov chains and attribute sampling plans
IBM Technical Report No. 67-825-2175. IBM Federal Systems
Division, Oswego
8. Carr WE (1982) Sampling plan adjustment for inspection error
and skip-lot plan. J Qual Technol 14(1):10–18
9. Cho G-Y, Choi EJ (2003) Modified multi-level skip-lot sampling
plans. J Korean Data Inf Sci Soc 14(4):915–927
10. Dodge HF (1955) Skip-lot sampling plan. Ind Qual Control 11
(5):3–5
11. Dodge HF, Perry RL (1973) A system of skip-lot plans for lot-by-
lot inspection. American Society for Quality Control Technical
Conference Transactions, Chicago, IL, pp 469–477
12. Dodge HF, Romig HG (1971) Sampling inspection tables-single
and double sampling. Wiley, New York
740
13. Hsu JIS (1980) A cost model for skip-lot destructive testing. IEEE
Trans Reliab 26(1):70–72
14. International Organization for Standardization. ISO 2859–3
(2005) Sampling procedures for inspection by attributes—part 3:
skip-lot sampling procedures. International Organization for
Standardization, Geneva
15. Liebesman BS (1987) The development of an attribute skip-lot
sampling standard. Front Stat Qual Control 3:3–33 (Edited by H.J.
Lenz et. al.)
16. Liebesman BS, Saperstein B (1983) A proposed attribute skip-lot
sampling program. J Qual Technol 15(3):130–139
17. MIL-STD 1235C (1988) Single and multi-level continuous
sampling procedures and tables for inspection by attributes report.
Department of Defense, Washington
18. Parker RD, Kessler L (1981) A modified skip-lot sampling plan. J
Qual Technol 13(1):31–35
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2012) 60:733–740
19. Perry RL (1973) Skip-lot sampling plans. J Qual Technol 5
(3):123–130
20. Schilling EG (1982) Acceptance sampling in quality control.
Marcel Decker, New York
21. Stephens KS (2001) The handbook of applied acceptance
sampling plans, principles and procedures. ASQ Quality Press,
Milwaukee
22. Vijayaraghavan R (1994) Construction and selection of skip-lot
sampling inspection plans of type sksp-2 indexed by indifference
quality level and maximum allowable percent defective. J Appl
Stat 21(5):417–423
23. Vijayaraghavan R, Soundararajan V (1998) Design and evaluation
of skip-lot sampling inspection plans with double sampling plan
as the reference plan. J Appl Stat 25:341–348
24. Yang CS, Cho G-Y (2008) Comparisons of the modified skip-lot
sampling inspection plans. J Korean Data Inf Sci Soc 19(4):1183–1189