In: Operations Management
Describe the importance of quality control chart and illustrate how it works.
A quality control chart refers to a graphical representation that helps in determining whether the sample products or processes are able to meet their required specifications and the consequent degree of variability from such specifications. Thus, it is mainly used as an improvement tool that is helpful for monitoring a process variable over time. It depicts the type of variation that the company is dealing with in the quality control during the continuous improvement process. The variable whose quality is intended to be measured or controlled can be any service, product, manufacturing process, profits and others. The fundamental objective of control charts is to analyze the special causes of variation and to reflect the progress or improvements being made in the quality control process.
The method of drawing a control chart is as follows:
i) At first, the quality characteristics of the sample are selected and then measured.
ii) In the next step, the mean of the sample is calculated and along with it the range of dispersion.
iii) In the third step, data involving the mean and dispersion of the samples are gathered.
iv) The data gathered are then plotted in a graph paper to obtain the control chart.
The shape of the control chart consists of an upper control limit, control line and the lower control limit. The chart provides the various points of deviation from the quality and enables the manager to take corrective measures for the same to control such deviations.
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