Control charts for attributes:

counting defects or
nonconformities:

Chapter 5 Dr. Shimelis Tilahun

 Control chart for
attributes
• Many quality characteristics cannot be conveniently
represented numerically.
• In such cases, each item inspected is classified as either
conforming or nonconforming to the specifications on
that quality characteristic.
• Attribute control charts arise when items are compared
with some standard and then are classified as to
whether they meet the standard or not.
• Quality characteristics of this type are called attributes.
 ➢ Control charts for attributes are used to
measure quality characteristics that are
Control
counted rather than measured.
➢ Attributes are discrete in nature and
chart for entail simple yes-or-no decisions.
attributes Defect vs. Defective
➢ ‘Defect’ – a single nonconforming
quality characteristic.
➢ ‘Defective’ – items having one or more
defects.
 Four types of attribute control charts:
1. P-chart:- fraction defective or proportion of
Control chart units nonconforming.
for attributes 2. np-chart:- Number of defective units or
number of units nonconforming
3. C-chart:- number of defects or count of
nonconformities
4. U-chart:- number of defects per unit or count
of nonconformities per unit
 ➢Since a P-chart employs a discrete data,
attribute measure (defective items), it is
Control chart theoretically based on the binomial distribution
for attributes ➢binomial distribution:- (an experiment with
only two possible outcomes: s ="Success" and
f = "Failure“).

• However, as the sample size gets larger, the

normal distribution can be used to
approximate the binomial distribution.
Steps in Constructing a P-Chart

Step 1: Collect Step 2: Determine

To calculate this
data and organize 1 the fraction 2
value use: 𝑛𝑝
in subgroups defective. 𝑝=
𝑛
3

Where p = np = number of n = number of

fraction defective 4 defective products 5 inspected products
(non-conformity) in subgroup in subgroup
Step 3: Determine the process average (the ratio of number of
defective products in all of the subgroups divided by total number
of products):
−
Where: np1 + np2 + np3 + ... + npk
p = n + n + n + ... + n
1 2 3 k

𝑛𝑝1 = Number of defective products in 1st subgroup

𝑛1 =
Number of products in the first subgroup

𝑛𝑘 = Number of products in the kth subgroup

Step 4: Determine the standard deviation

𝑝(1 − 𝑝)
𝜎=
𝑛

Step 5: Determine the control limits (UCL,LCL)

𝑝(1 − 𝑝)
OR 𝑈𝐶𝐿 = 𝑝 + 3𝜎
𝑈𝐶𝐿 = 𝑝 + 3
𝑛

OR 𝐿𝐶𝐿 = 𝑝 − 3𝜎
𝑝(1 − 𝑝)
𝐿𝐶𝐿 = 𝑝 − 3
𝑛

Step 6: Plot the centerline, the LCL and UCL, and the process
measurements.
 Example: p-chart Sub-
group
Number
Inspected
npi p

Number n

σ 𝑛𝑝 138
𝑝lj = = = 0.018 1 300 12 0.040
σ𝑛 7500
2 300 3 0.010

3 300 9 0.030

4 300 4 0.013
0.018(1 − 0.018)
𝑈𝐶𝐿 = 0.018 + 3 5 300 0 0.0
300
= 0.041 6 300 6 0.020

7 300 6 0.020

8 300 1 0.003
0.018(1 − 0.018)
𝐿𝐶𝐿 = 0.018 − 3 19 300 16 0.053
300
25 300 2 0.007
= −0.005 = 0.0
Total 7500 138

Negative value of LCL is possible in a theoretical result, but not in

practical (proportion never negative).
 P - Chart
0.053
p
0.04 UCL

0.03

0.02
p-bar
0.01

LCL
0
5 10 15 20 25
Subgroup
Example

➢ A production manager at a Addis tire manufacturing plant has

inspected the number of defective tires in twenty random

samples with twenty observations each.

➢ Following are the number of defective tires found in each

sample. Construct a three-sigma control chart (z 3) with this

information.
Observations
made at Addis
Tire Factory
Solution

• CL= = Total Number of Defective Tires

Total Number of Observations

CL= 40/400= 0.10

𝑈𝐶𝐿 = 𝑝 + 3𝜎 = 0.1+3(0.067) = 0.301

𝐿𝐶𝐿 = 𝑝 − 3𝜎
= 0.1-3(0.067) = -0.101 0
Resulting P-
chart
np-Chart • The “p” and “np” charts are very similar.
• The p chart graphs the fraction defective.
• The np chart displays the actual number of
non-conforming products.
• The number of non-conforming or defective is
the product of the sample size and the fraction
defective.
the standard deviation

𝜎= 𝑛𝑝(1 − 𝑝)

the control limits (UCL,LCL)

𝑈𝐶𝐿 = 𝑛𝑝 + 3𝜎
𝑈𝐶𝐿 = 𝑛𝑝 + 3 𝑛𝑝(1 − 𝑝) OR

𝐿𝐶𝐿 = 𝑛𝑝 − 3𝜎
𝐿𝐶𝐿 = 𝑛𝑝 − 3 𝑛𝑝(1 − 𝑝) OR

Plot the centerline, the LCL and UCL, and the process
measurements.
Example on nP chart
Subgroup n np UCL np-bar LCL
1 300 3 12.0 5.24 0.0
2 300 6 12.0 5.24 0.0
3 300 4 12.0 5.24 0.0
4 300 6 12.0 5.24 0.0
5 300 20 12.0 5.24 0.0

21 300 2 12.0 5.24 0.0

22 300 3 12.0 5.24 0.0
23 300 6 12.0 5.24 0.0
24 300 1 12.0 5.24 0.0
25 300 8 12.0 5.24 0.0
 ➢ C-chart measures the number of
nonconformities (defects) per "unit" and is
C - chart denoted by c.
➢ This "unit" is commonly referred to as an
inspection unit and may be "per day" or "per
square foot" or some other predetermined
sensible rate.
 ➢ The c-charts are also known as the control
C - chart charts for defects per unit.
➢ Theoretically these charts are used in
situations where the opportunities for defects
to occur in an item are large.
➢ In other words, these charts are used to control
the number of defects in the item separately.
 ➢ Used for constant sample size
C - chart ➢ The c-chart is based on the Poisson
distribution.
➢ The Poisson probability distribution is useful
for determining the probability of a number of
occurrences over a given period of time or
within a given area or volume for a random
variable.
Steps to construct a C- Chart
Step 1: The mean 𝐶 -CL of the Poisson distribution is given by:
Total number of defects
𝐶=
Total number of items

Step 2: Determine the standard deviation: 𝜎= 𝐶

Step 3: calculate upper and lower control limits

𝑈𝐶𝐿 = 𝐶 + 3 𝐶 𝑈𝐶𝐿 = 𝐶 + 3𝜎
OR

𝐿𝐶𝐿 = 𝐶 − 3 𝐶 𝐿𝐶𝐿 = 𝐶 − 3𝜎
OR
Step 4: Plot the control limits and the points.
Example

➢ The number of weekly customer complaints are monitored at

Hilton Addis hotel using a c-chart data sheet. Complaints have
been recorded over the past twenty weeks.

➢ Develop three-sigma control limits using the collected data:

Total
Wk 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

No. 3 2 3 1 3 3 2 1 3 1 3 4 2 1 1 1 3 2 2 3 44
 Solution

• Average no. of complaints per week = 44/20

= 2.2
Therefore, = 2.2

-
 C- Chart
7
UCL
6

3
CL
2

1
LCL
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
 ➢ There are cases where constant sample lot sizes,
in those instances the u-chart is used.
➢ The u-chart measures the number of defects
U-Chart per product.
➢ It is similar to the c-chart. The number of
defects are expressed on per a unit basis.
➢ The u Chart is used when it is not possible to
have an inspection unit of a fixed size, rather
the number of nonconformities is per inspection
unit.
Steps in constructing a u-Chart
Step1:

Find the number of nonconformities-c(i) and the number of

inspection units-n(i), in each sample i.

Step 2:

Compute u(i)=c(i)/n(i)

Where U(i) = defects per unit

C = number of defects discovered in a lot

n = the number of inspection units

 Step 3: Determine the centerline of the u chart:
− total ⥂ non− conformancinksub−group
𝑈=
totalnumberofinspectionunits

− 𝑐(1) + 𝑐(2)+. . . . 𝑐(𝑘)

𝑈=
𝑛(1) + 𝑛(2)+. . . 𝑛(𝑘)

Step 4: The u chart has individual control limits for each

subgroup i.
−
− − 𝑈
− 𝑈 𝐿𝐶𝐿 = 𝑈 − 3
𝑈𝐶𝐿 = 𝑈 + 3 𝑛(𝑖)
𝑛(𝑖)

Step 5: Plot the centerline, CL, the individual LCL and

UCL, and the process measurements, u(i).
Step 6: Interpret the control chart.
Example on U-chart σ 𝑐 3389
𝑢lj = = = 1.20
σ 𝑛 2823

ID Number Subgroup n c u UCL u -Bar LCL

30-Jan 1 110 120 1.091 1.51 1.20 0.89
31-Jan 2 82 94 1.146 1.56 1.20 0.84
1-Feb 3 96 89 0.927 1.54 1.20 0.87
2-Feb 4 115 162 1.409 1.51 1.20 0.89
3-Feb 5 108 150 1.389 1.52 1.20 0.88
4-Feb 6 56 82 1.464 1.64 1.20 0.76
28-Feb 26 101 105 1.040 1.53 1.20 0.87
1-Mar 27 122 143 1.172 1.50 1.20 0.90
2-Mar 28 105 132 1.257 1.52 1.20 0.88
3-Mar 29 98 100 1.020 1.53 1.20 0.87
4-Mar 30 48 60 1.250 1.67 1.20 0.73
• For January 30:
𝑐 120
𝑢𝐽𝑎𝑛30 = = = 1.09
𝑛 110

1.20
𝑈𝐶𝐿𝐽𝑎𝑛30 = 1.20 + 3 = 1.51
110

1.20
𝐿𝐶𝐿𝐽𝑎𝑛30 = 1.20 − 3 = 0.89
110
 ➢ Critical nonconformities
Indicate hazardous or unsafe
Nonconformity conditions.
Classification ➢ Major nonconformities
Failure
➢ Minor nonconformities
Control Charts
for Variables ➢ Sometimes, the quality control
engineer has a choice between
vs. Charts for variable control charts and
Attributes attribute control charts.
 ➢ Allowing for quick summaries, that is,
the engineer may simply classify
products as acceptable or
Advantages unacceptable, based on various quality
criteria.
of attribute ➢ Thus, attribute charts sometimes
bypass the need for expensive, precise
control devices and time-consuming
measurement procedures.
charts ➢ More easily understood by managers
unfamiliar with quality control
procedures.
 Advantages of variable
control charts
➢ More sensitive than attribute control charts.
➢ Therefore, variable control charts may alert us to quality
problems before any actual "unacceptable" (as detected by the
attribute chart) will occur.
➢ Montgomery (1985) calls the variable control charts leading
indicators of trouble that will sound an alarm before the number
of rejects (scrap) increases in the production process.
 Summary

Control Charts
Charts for
Charts for
Attribute
Variables
s

Average Charts for Charts for

Range Chart
Chart defective defects per
(R Chart)
(X bar chart) items unit

Fraction No. of defective Constant Varied

Defective (Constant sample sample
(Varied sample sample size) size size
size) np-Chart C-Chart U-Chart
P-Chart
Acceptance • Acceptance sampling is an important field of
sampling SQC that was popularized by Dodge and Romig
and originally applied by the U.S. military to
techniques the testing of bullets during World War II.

• Two Extremes: If every bullet was tested in

advance, no bullets would be left to ship. On
the other hand, if none were tested,
malfunctions might occur in the field of battle.
 ➢ Dodge reasoned that a sample should be
Acceptance picked at random from the lot, and on the
basis of information that was yielded by the
sampling sample, a decision should be made. This
techniques process is called Acceptance sampling.

➢ Acceptance sampling is the process of

evaluating a portion of the product material in
a lot for the purpose of accepting or rejection
the lot as either conforming to a quality
specification.
 ➢ It is the middle between no inspection and
Acceptance 100% inspection.
sampling
techniques Acceptance sampling is employed when one or
several of the following hold:
❖ Testing is destructive
❖ The cost of 100% inspection is very high
❖ 100% inspection takes too long
Advantages ✓ For items which are subjected to destructive
test
of ✓ Less time & cost is required.
Acceptance ✓ Small number of inspection.
sampling ✓ Problem of inspection fatigue which occurs in
100% inspection is eliminated.
✓ Few items are subjected to handling during
inspection so less damage on the product.
✓ The lot is disposed of in shorter time so that
scheduling & delivery are improved.
 ➢ The sample may not represent the exact
picture obtained in the lot and hence, there
Risks in will be likelihood or risk of making wrong
decisions about the lot.
sampling
➢ This wrong decision can be made in two ways:
1. A really good lot may be rejected b/c the
sample drawn may be bad- producer’s risk.
2. A really bad lot may be accepted b/c the
sample drawn may be good- Consumer’s
risk.
 Producer’s risk
➢ The producer’s risk, , is
the probability of having
production lots rejected as
a result of a sampling plan,
even though they meet the
specified acceptable
quality requirements.
➢ The rejection of a good lot
is obviously an
unnecessary cost to the
producer, hence producer’s
risk.
Consumer’s risk
➢ The consumer’s risk, , is
the probability of
accepting production
lots as a result of a
sampling plan which do
not meet the poorest
tolerable quality
requirements.
➢ The acceptance of a bad
lot can have costly
consequences to a
consumer, hence
consumer’s risk.
 Sampling inspection requires plan for minimizing risks
of the two parties. The plan is done by some factors
these are:-
i. Lot formation:- lots should be homogenous which
Sampling means, should be produced by same machines, the
same operators & from common raw materials etc.
plan ii. Lot size:- larger lots are more efficient to inspect
than small ones.
iii. Randomness:- the sample selected for inspection
from the lot should be representative of all the
item in the lot
iv. Sample size.
v. The quality characteristics of the product to be
tested.
vi. Acceptance criteria.
➢ Acceptable Quality Level (AQL) is a percent
defective that is the base line requirement for
the quality of the producer's product.
➢ The producer would like to design a sampling
plan such that there is a high probability of
accepting a lot that has a defect level less than
or equal to the AQL.
➢ The Lot Tolerance Percent Defective (LTPD) is a
designated high defect level that would be
unacceptable to the consumer.
➢ LTPD is always higher than AQL.
➢ The consumer would like the sampling plan to
have a low probability of accepting a lot with a
defect level as high as the LTPD.
 100 Producer’s
risk, α=5%
90

80

INDECISION
70 AREA REJECTION

ACCEPTANCE AREA
Probability AREA
of 60
accepting a
batch
50

40

30
LTPD
AQL
20

10
Consumer’s
risk, β=10%
0

2% 4% 6% 8% 20%

Actual percentage defective in a

batch
END