Supplement 10

Acceptance Sampling

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Copyright 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Supplement 10: Learning Objectives

You should be able to:
Explain the purpose of acceptance sampling
Contrast acceptance sampling and process control
Compare and contrast single- and multiple-sampling
plans
Determine the average outgoing quality of inspected
lots

10S-2

Acceptance Sampling
Acceptance sampling
A form of inspection applied to lots or batches of items
before or after a process, to judge conformance with
predetermined standards
May be applied to both attribute and variable
inspection

10S-3

Sampling Plan
Sampling plans:
Plans that specify lot size, sample size, number of
samples, and acceptance/rejection criteria
Single-sampling plan
Double-sampling plan
Multiple-sampling plan

10S-4

Single-Sampling Plan
Single-sampling plan
One random sample is drawn from each lot
Every item in the sample is inspected and classified
as good or bad
If any sample contains more than a specified number
of defectives, c, the lot is rejected

10S-5

Double-Sampling Plan
Double-Sampling Plan
Allows the opportunity to take a second sample if the results of the initial
sample are inconclusive
Two values are specified for the number of defective items
A lower level, c1
An upper level, c2

If the number of defectives in the first sample is

c1 the lot is accepted and sampling is terminated
> c2 the lot is rejected and sampling is terminated
Between c1 and c2 a second sample is collected

The number of defectives in both samples is compared to a third

value, c3
If the combined number of defectives does not exceed this value, the
lot is accepted; otherwise, it is rejected

10S-6

Multiple-Sampling Plan
Multiple-sampling plan
Similar to a double-sampling plan except more than two samples may
be required
A sampling plan will specify each sample size and two limits for each
sample
The limit values increase with the number of samples
If, for any sample, the cumulative number of defectives found
exceeds the upper limit specified, the lot is rejected
If for any sample the cumulative number of defectives found is less
than or equal to the lower limit, the lot is accepted.
If the number of defectives found is between the two limits, another
sample is taken
The process continues until the lot is accepted or rejected

10S-7

OC Curve

10S-8

Sampling Plan Discrimination

No sampling plan perfectly discriminates between good
and bad quality
The degree to which a sampling plan discriminates is a
function of the graphs OC curve
Steeper OC curves are more discriminating

10S-9

Acceptable Defect Levels

Acceptable quality Level (AQL)
The percentage level of defects at which consumers
are willing to accept lots as good

Lot tolerance percent defective (LTPD)

The upper limit on the percentage of defects that a
consumer is willing to accept

10S-10

Risk
Consumers risk
The probability that a lot containing defects exceeding
LTPD will be accepted

Manufacturers risk
The probability that a lot containing the acceptable
quality level will be rejected

10S-11

An OC Curve

10S-12

Constructing an OC Curve
When sample size is small relative to lot size, it is
reasonable to use the binomial distribution to obtain the
probabilities that a lot will be accepted for various lot
qualities
When n > 20 and p < .05, the Poisson distribution is
useful in constructing OC curves for proportions
In effect, the Poisson distribution is used to approximate the
binomial

10S-13

Average Outgoing Quality

Average outgoing quality
Average of rejected lots (100 percent inspection) and
accepted lots (a sample of items inspected)

N n
AOQ Pac p

N
where
Pac Probabilit y of accepting the lot
p Fraction defective

N Lot size
n Sample size

10S-14