1. What is the PDCA cycle, and who developed it?
2. How did Deming’s teachings influence global quality control practices?
3. Write down at least ten principles from Deming’s management philosophy
4. What is the significance of distinguishing between "Big Q" and "Small q" in
quality management according to Juran?
5. How does Juran define quality, and what are the components he emphasizes
in his definition?
6. Can you explain the trilogy concept developed by Juran in quality
management?
7. How does Juran's trilogy contribute to quality assurance and total quality
management?
8. What are the key principles of Philip Crosby's quality philosophy?
9. What are the four absolutes outlined by Crosby in his approach to quality
10. What is the significance of Ishikawa's emphasis on the "fishbone diagram"
(Ishikawa diagram) in problem-solving?
11. How does Taguchi view the concept of quality, and what are its key
components according to him?
12. What is Taguchi's approach to minimizing the effects of variability in
manufacturing processes?
13. What are the seven forms of waste identified by Taiichi Ohno?
14. What does Deming mean by "variation" in the context of processes?
15. Enlist eight sources of variations.
16. What is Statistical Process Control (SPC)?
17. What are the central components of an SPC program?
18. What are some common tools used in SPC besides control charts?
19. How can process monitoring reveal the stability or variability in a process?
20. What is meant by process variability?
21. Why is it important to detect assignable causes of variation in a process?
22. What steps should be taken once an assignable cause of variation is
detected?
23. Why is understanding variation crucial for success?
24. What does Myron Tribus mean by "variability is like a virus"?
25. How can one process "infect" another with variability?
26. Why is variation considered unavoidable in life?
27. How can variations be controlled if they cannot be eliminated?
28. How does a "defect" differ from a "defective" unit?
29. What does "non-conforming unit" mean?
30. Identify and briefly explain any four sources of variation in a manufacturing
process.
31. What are the two types of variation that control charts help identify?
32. What are the key elements of a control chart?
33. Why is it important to distinguish between random and assignable causes of
variation?
34. If a control chart shows a systematic pattern or trend (e.g., increasing values),
what kind of variation is likely present?
35. Suppose an R-chart shows a few points above the upper control limit. What
does this indicate?
36. What is the main difference between attribute data and variable data?
37. Why are attribute control charts used instead of variable control chart.
38. A software testing team wants to monitor the number of bugs found in each
software build. Which control chart should they use and why?
39. Define and differentiate between: p-chart, np-chart, c-chart and u-chart.
40. What is the key distinction between a defect and a defective unit?
41. A hospital is tracking the number of patient complaints daily, but the number
of patients varies day to day. Which chart is appropriate and why?
42. A retail company wants to monitor the number of defective products returned
each day from a fixed number of shipments. Which chart would you
recommend?
43. A quality inspector checks 100 units per day and finds the following number of
defectives over a week: 3, 4, 2, 5, 3. Calculate the central line for an np-chart
and discuss how to set control limits.
44. A company inspects 200, 250, and 300 units over three days and finds 10, 12,
and 18 defective units respectively. Create a basic outline of a p-chart from
this data.
45. If an airline checks 10 planes and finds the following number of maintenance
issues: 3, 5, 4, 6, 7, 5, 4, 6, 5, 8 — determine whether a c-chart or u-chart is
appropriate and why
46. You are asked to use a c-chart to monitor the number of defects per unit in
garments. The average number of defects per shirt is 2.2. What are the
control limits if this follows a Poisson distribution?
47. A manufacturer records the proportion of defective smartphones for 5 days
as: 0.03, 0.02, 0.01, 0.04, and 0.05 from varying daily sample sizes. Identify
which chart should be used and justify your choice.
48. Why might a process show excellent Cp but a poor Ppk? What actions should
an engineer take in such a case?
49. For a torque application with a specification of 100 ± 6 Nm, if the mean is 99.5
Nm, σ = 2.0, and s = 2.5, calculate all four process capability indices.
50. Calculate the process capability indices for a test with specification 60 ± 3
Nm, mean = 61.2 Nm, σ = 1.2, and s = 1.5.
51. Define the indices Cp, Cpk, Pp, and Ppk. What do they indicate?
52. What does it mean if Cp > Cpk? What about Cp = Cpk?
53. How does a centered process differ from a non-centered process in capability
terms?
54. What is the significance of a process having Cp or Cpk < 1?
55. Imagine a scenario where a company has Cp > 1.33 but customer complaints
are still high. What might be the root cause?
56. If a process is not capable (Cp < 1), should the company invest in new
machinery or modify existing operations? Justify your answer.
57. In book printing, if you are interested in tracking the number of printing errors
per book, which chart is most suitable?
58. Consider a process with perfect equipment and material but different
operators in each shift. How might this affect the control chart?
59. How would the environment (e.g., temperature or humidity) affect the
statistical control of a process producing plastic parts?
1. Note: There could be a problem similar to the ones above.
2. Work on charts for variables and attributes
3. All Question of Chapter 5 from the Book “Quality Control” by Dale H.
Besterfield