Seven Basic Quality tools documents
Definition of Quality Management -- it is a method for ensuring that all the activities necessary to design, develop and implement a product or service are effective and efficient with respect to the system and its performance. It is also a principle set by the company to endure the continuous advocacy of quality services and products, or the further improvement of it.
Welcome to QT-charts knowledge base section. Hopefully you will find some of them useful in your work.
(Read articles below to learn more.)
Check Sheets
orginal text on http://www.freequality.org
Check Sheets “record data on a form that readily allows interpretation of results from the form itself” (Hodgetts 89). As one of Ishikawa’s basic quality tools, Check Sheets are an effective means of gathering data in a helpful, meaningful way.
Kaoru Ishikawa is
often credited with “democratizing statistics.” This relates to his desire to spread quality control ideas
throughout the workplace. His tools
make it easier to comprehend raw data, making quality improvements
simpler. Check Sheets are a perfect
example of this. Although they can vary
a good deal depending on the type of data being collected, the purpose of the
check sheet is always the same.
“The Check Sheet
is used to facilitate the collection and analysis of data. ‘Garbage in, Garbage out’ is an old cliché,
but it is true. Therefore, the purpose
for which data is being collected must be clear. Data reflects facts, but only if they are properly
collected. The number of defects and
where they are found can be recorded and analyzed for causes” (Soin 297).
There are a few
steps for constructing a check sheet.
Since they are used for “determining the occurrence of events such as
non-conformities, including the position in which they appear on the
non-conforming item”(Bunney), the first step is to identify what problems, or
“non-conforming items” occur often. The
next step is to construct the table, which will become the actual sheet. Usually the defects/problems/”non-conforming
items” are the titles of the different rows on the left side. The top of the sheet contains columns that
usually are the time periods in which the problems may occur. Once all of the rows are ready, the only
thing left to do is implement the check sheet in the workplace. This means checking off the type of defect
that occurs when it happens. This data
can then be analyzed for trends using histograms, Pareto analysis, or in obvious
cases just by eye.
Check sheets do
not always need to be in this grid form.
Pictures and diagrams are also useful variations on the check
sheet. For example, ABC Corporation has
invented a machine that automatically paints fences. However, some customers have been complaining that the machine
missed certain spots or splattered paint in some places.
This form of the
check sheet would consist of a picture of the standard fence. Then the places where the machine missed a
spot, or splattered the paint would actually be printed right on the sheet. Other information would go on the top of the
form such as date, customer information, the person filling out the form,
etc. Once a group of them was
completed, they could be analyzed for trends that can then be used to fix the
process. If the machine is missing
spots on the very bottom left side of all the fences then obviously an
adjustment could be made to fix this and improve quality and customer
satisfaction. This painting machine is
a very random example, but this type of check sheet could apply to a wide
variety of fields such as TV repair, car inspection, etc. Basically, any form of inspection or study
is a good candidate for check sheets.
“Check sheets are
used to determine the occurrence of breakdowns of machinery and/or associated
equipment, non-value adding activity or, indeed anything untoward which may
occur within a process. They are
prepared in advance of recording the data, by the operatives and staff being
affected by the problem. The data from
a check sheet provides the factual basis for subsequent analysis and corrective
action.”
Check Sheets are
a very handy, data-gathering tool. They
make data much easier to understand and thus easier to use effectively. Combined with some of the other basic tools
of Ishikawa, Check Sheets can help almost any business improve quality where
defects have been occurring.
Bibliography
Bunney, Heather
and Barrie Dale. TQM blueprint. Blackwell Publishers: Oxford, 1999.
Foster,
Thomas. Managing Quality, An
Integrative Approach. Upper Saddle
River:
Prentice Hall, 2001.
Hodgetts, Richard
M. Measures of Quality and High
Performance. Amacom publishing:
New York, 1998. Pages 89-91.
Soin, Sarv
Singh. TQC essentials. McGraw-Hill, Inc: New York, 1992. Page 297.