Metrology & Quality Control(IM-213)

Second Year Engineering

Department of Industrial & Manufacturing, NEDUET

Spring 2020

Introduction to Acceptance Sampling

Acceptance Sampling
The Acceptance-Sampling

Acceptance sampling is concerned with

inspection and decision making regarding
products.
Acceptance Sampling

Company receives shipment from

vendor

Sample taken from lot,

Quality characteristic inspected

Lot Sentencing: NO
Accept lot?

YES

Use lot in Return lot

production to vendor
 Three Approaches to Lot
Sentencing
1. Accept with no inspection

2. 100% inspection – inspect every item in the lot, remove all

defectives

Defectives – returned to vendor, reworked, replaced or

discarded

3. Acceptance sampling – sample is taken from lot, a quality

characteristic is inspected; then on the basis of information in
sample, a decision is made regarding lot disposition.
Why Acceptance Sampling and Not 100% Inspection?
• Testing is destructive
• Cost of 100% inspection is high
• 100% inspection is not feasible (require too much
time)
• If vendor has excellent quality history
Advantages of Acceptance Sampling
over 100% Inspection

• Less expensive because there is less sampling

• Less handling of product hence reduced damage
• Applicable to destructive testing
• Fewer personnel are involved in inspection activities
• Greatly reduces amount of inspection error
• Rejection of entire lots as opposed to return of defectives
provides stronger motivation to vendor for quality improvements
 Disadvantages of Acceptance
Sampling (vs 100% Inspection)
• Always a risk of accepting “bad” lots and rejecting “good” lots
– Producer’s Risk: chance of rejecting a “good” lot – 
– Consumer’s Risk: chance of accepting a “bad” lot – 

• Less information is generated about the product or the process

that manufactured the product

• Requires planning and documentation of the procedure – 100%

inspection does not
 AQL & LQL
AQL” stands for “Acceptable Quality Level” or "Acceptance Quality
Limit". The “%AQL” of an AQL sampling plan is the product quality ( =
lots having that % defective) which the sampling plan will approve
almost all the time (there is no generally accepted numerical definition
of %AQL).
%AQL = " I am happy with AQL% defective "

“LQL” stands for “Limiting Quality Level” or "Lower Quality Limit".

The “%LQL” of an LQL sampling plan is the product quality ( = lots
having that % defective) which the sampling plan will reject almost all
the time (there is no generally accepted numerical definition of %LQL).
%LQL = " I'm not happy with LQL% defective"
 Producer and Consumer Risks in
Acceptance Sampling

• Because we take only a sub-sample from a lot, there is

a risk that:
– a good lot will be rejected
(Producer’s Risk – )

and
– a bad lot will be accepted
(Consumer’s Risk – )
 Producer’s Risk - 
• Producer wants as many lots accepted by consumer as possible so
– Producer “makes sure” the process produces a level of fraction defective
equal to or less than:

p1 = AQL = Acceptable Quality Level

 is the probability that a good lot will be rejected by the consumer even
though the lot really has a fraction defective  p1

• That is,

 Lot is rejected given that process 

  P 
 has an acceptable quality level 

  P  Lot is rejected p  AQL 

 Producer’s Risk - 
• n=89, c=2, p=AQL=0.01, find producer risk

P( reject lot )  P( no. defectives  3 | p  .01, n  89)
89
 89 !  x
  .01 (.99 )89  x

x 3  x !(89  x )! 

2
 89 !  x
1     . 01 (. 99 )89  x

x 0  x !(89  x )! 

 0.0103
 Consumer’s Risk - 
• Consumer wants to make sure that no bad lots are accepted
– Consumer says, “I will not accept a lot if percent defective is greater than
or equal to p2”

p2 = LTPD = Lot Tolerance Percent Defective

 is the probability a bad lot is accepted by the consumer when the lot
really has a fraction defective  p2

• That is,

 Lot accepted given that lot 

  P 
 has unacceptable quality level 
 
  P
 Lot accepted p  LTPD 

 Consumer’s Risk - 
• n89, c=2, p=LTPD=0.05, find consumer risk 

P( accept lot )  P( no. defectives  2 | p  .05, n  89)

89
 89 !  x
  .05 (.95)89  x

x 3  x !(89  x )! 

 0.1721
 Lot Formation
• Lots should be homogeneous
– Units in a lot should be produced by the same:
• machines,
• operators,
• from common raw materials,
• approximately same time
– If lots are not homogeneous – acceptance-sampling scheme may
not function effectively and make it difficult to eliminate the source
of defective products.
• Larger lots preferred to smaller ones – more economically efficient
• Lots should conform to the materials-handling systems in both the
vendor and consumer facilities
– Lots should be packaged to minimize shipping risks and make
selection of sample units easy
Basic Types of Sampling Plans
 In an attribute sampling plan, "quality" is measured
by the observed % of the sample that meets
specification.
 In a variables sampling plan, "quality" is measured
by the estimated % of the population that meets
specification (based upon Sample Mean & either
Sample Range or Std Deviation, & assuming data
An attribute sampling plan is a written procedure for...
 choosing a fraction of an incoming lot
(the fraction = the “sample”)
 deciding on the acceptability of the entire lot based
on the observed quality of the sample (the lot
"passes" if the number of defects or defective parts
is not more than the " C " = "acceptance number"
that is allowed by the plan)
For lots of a given part #, when inspected using a given
sampling plan, the % of lots (not the % of parts) that meet
specification is called the "Pass Rate".

The Pass Rate for a sampling plan is “always”...

( #1 ) high for “good” lots ( = have low %
defectives)
( #2 ) low for “bad” lots ( = have high %
defectives)
( #3 ) intermediate for lots of intermediate quality.
 Single Sampling Plans for
Attributes
Definition of a Single-Sampling Plan
• A single sampling plan is defined by sample size, n, and
the acceptance number c. Say there are N total items in a
lot. Choose n of the items at random. If at least c of the
items are unacceptable, reject the lot.
• N = lot size
• n = sample size
• c = acceptance number
• d = observed number of defectives
• The acceptance or rejection of the lot is based on the
results from a single sample - thus a single-sampling plan.
 Single Sampling Plans for
Attributes
• Quality characteristic is an attribute, i.e., conforming or
nonconforming
– N - Lot size
– n - sample size
– c - acceptance number

• Ex. Consider N = 10,000 with sampling plan n = 89 and c = 2

– From lot of size N = 10,000
– Draw sample of size n = 89
– If # of defectives  c = 2
• Accept lot
– If # of defectives > c = 2
• Reject lot
 Acceptance sampling by Attributes
Double sampling plan
• A double sampling plan provides additional cushion to
the producer, as producer’s loss is more serious than
that of a buyer.

• In case the lot is rejected in the first trial, another chance

is given to the producer for inspection in the second trial.

• However, the sample size in the second trial may not be

equal to that in the first trial.
 Acceptance sampling by Attributes
Double sampling plan
• Suppose:
• N = Lot size to be inspected =3000 units
• n1 = Sample size in the first trial = 40 units
• n2 = Sample size in the second trial = 80 units
• c1 = Acceptance number for the first trial = 1 unit
• c2 = Acceptance number for both trial = 4 units (both
trials together)
• D1 = Number of nonconforming units for the first trial.
• D2 = Number of nonconforming units for the first trial.
Solution:
If the number of nonconforming units; D1≥ 1, then the
entire lot is accepted and no second trial.
If the number of nonconforming units;D1>4, then the entire
lot is rejected and no second trial.
If the number of nonconforming units; 1>D1≥4 then second
sample of size n2 is taken. Then
If D1+D2(nonconforming units for second trial) is less than
or equal 4 then the lot is accepted.
• If D1+D2(nonconforming units for second trial) is greater
than 4 then the lot is rejected.
Rectifying Inspection Programs

• Acceptance sampling programs usually require

corrective action when lots are rejected, that is,
– Screening rejected lots
• Screening means doing 100% inspection on lot

• In screening, defective items are

– Removed or
– Reworked or
– Returned to vendor or
– Replaced with known good items
Rectifying Inspection Programs

Incoming Lots:
Fraction Defective
p0

Inspection
Activity

Rejected Lots:
Accepted
100%
Lots
Inspected

Fraction Fraction
Defective = 0 Defective
p0

Outgoing Lots:
Fraction Defective
p1  p0
Average Outgoing Quality: AOQ
• Quality that results from application of rectifying inspection
– Average value obtained over long sequence of lots from
process with fraction defective p

Pa p  N  n 
AOQ 
N
• N - Lot size, n = # units in sample
• Assumes all known defective units replaced with good
ones, that is,
– If lot rejected, replace all bad units in lot
– If lot accepted, just replace the bad units in sample
 Development of AOQ
• If lot accepted:
Number defective units in lot:
 # units 
 fraction   
 p  N  n     remaining 
 defective 

in lot 

• Expected number of defective units:

 Lot   # defective 
 Pa p  N  n   Prob  accepted   units in lot 
  
• Average fraction defective,
Average Outgoing Quality, AOQ:
Pa p  N  n 
AOQ 
N
 Example for AOQ

• Suppose N = 10,000, n = 89, c = 2, and

incoming lot quality is p = 0.01. Find the
average outgoing lot quality.

Pa p  N  n 
AOQ 
N
.9397(.01)(10, 000  89)

10, 000
 0.0093
 Military Standard 105E
(MIL STD 105E)
(ANSI/ASQC Z1.4, ISO 2859)

• Most widely used acceptance sampling system for

attributes

• MIL STD 105E is Acceptance Sampling System

– collection of sampling schemes

• Can be used with single, double or multiple sampling

plans
 Inspection Types
• Normal Inspection
– Used at start of inspection activity

• Tightened Inspection
– Instituted when vendor’s recent quality history has deteriorated
– Acceptance requirements for lots are more stringent

• Reduced Inspection
– Instituted when vendor’s recent quality history has been
exceptionally good
– Sample size is usually smaller than under normal inspection
Switching Rules

Start
AND conditions
- Production Steady
- 10 consecutive lots accepted 2 out of 5 consecutive lots
- Approved by responsible rejected
authority

Reduced Normal Tightened

OR conditions
- Lot rejected
- Irregular production
- Lot meets neither accept 5 consecutive
nor reject criteria lots accepted
- Other conditions warrant
return to normal inspection

10 consecutive lots remain

on tightened inspection

Discontinue
Inspection
 Procedure for
MIL STD 105E
• STEP 1: Choose AQL
– MIL STD 105E designed around Acceptable Quality
Level, AQL
• Recall that the Acceptable Quality Level, AQL, is
producer's largest acceptable fraction defective in process

– Typical AQL range:

• 0.01%  AQL  10%
• Specified by contract or authority responsible for sampling
 Procedure for
MIL STD 105E
• STEP 2: Choose inspection levelvel
– Level II
• Designated as normal
– Level I
• Requires about one-half the amount of inspection as Level II
• Use when less discrimination needed
– Level III
• Requires about twice as much
• Use when more discrimination needed
– Four special inspection levels used if very small samples
necessary
• S-1, S-2, S-3, S-4
• STEP 3–Determine lot size, N
– Lot size most likely dictated by vendor

• STEP 4: Find sample size code letter

– From Table 14-4,Given lot size, N, and Inspection Level, use
table to determine sample size code letters

• STEP 5: Determine appropriate type sampling plan

– Decide if Single, Double or Multiple sampling plan is to be used
• STEP 6: Find Sample Size, n, and Acceptance
Level, c
– Given sample size letter code, use Master
Tables
– Find n and c for all three inspection types:
• Normal Inspection
• Tightened Inspection
• Reduced Inspection
 Example

• Suppose product comes from vendor in lots of

size 2000 units. The acceptable quality level is
0.65%. Determine the MIL STD 105E
acceptance-sampling system.
 Normal Insp. Level

Lot Size
= 2000
 AQL

Plan K

Sample 125 units.

Ac = 2, accept if defects ≤ 2.
Re = 3, reject entire lot if defects ≥ 3.
 AQL

Plan K

Sample 125 units

Ac = 1, accept if defects ≤ 1.
Re = 2, reject entire lot if defects ≥ 2.
 AQL

Plan K

Sample 50 units
Ac = 1, accept if defects ≤ 1.
Re = 3, reject entire lot if defects ≥ 3.