Welcome to

Problem Solving
Through
7 QC TOOLS

7 QC Tools

TOOLS

1.

Pareto Diagram

2.

Cause & Effect Diagram

3.

Graphs

4.

Check Sheet / Check List

5.

Scatter Diagram

6.

Histograms

7.

Control Charts

The term 7 tools for QC is named after the 7

tools of the famous warrior, Benkei. Benkei owned
7 weapons, which he used to win all his battles.
Similarly, from my own experience, you will find
that you will be able to solve 95% of the problems
around you if you wisely use the 7 tools of QC.
- ISHIKAWA KAORU, Professor Emeritus,
University of Tokyo

COURSE OBJECTIVE
Impart a practical understanding in
using Seven QC Tools
Enable participants to deploy efficient and
effective problem solving methods in BMM

COURSE CONTENTS
Chapter 1 : Problem Solving Process
Chapter 2 : 7 QC Tools : Check Sheets
Chapter 3 : 7 QC Tools : Pareto Chart
Chapter 4 : 7 QC Tools : Histograms
Chapter 5 : 7 QC Tools : Cause and Effects Diagrams
Chapter 6 : 7 QC Tools : Scatter Diagrams
Chapter 7 : 7 QC Tools : Graphs
Chapter 8 : 7 QC Tools : Control Charts

The details Pareto Diagram

The Pareto Diagram is a bar graph with a cumulative curve
connecting the different points. To draw this diagram, the
problems need to be first categorized according to phenomenon
or causes such as defects and corrections, before data is
collected and arranged in order of the number of defects or the
number of corrections. This order is then expressed with the bar
graph.

Cause and Effect Diagram

The cause and effect analysis which was first developed by Professor
Kaoru Ishikawa of the University of Tokyo in the 1940s, is also known
as the Fishbone Diagram or the Ishikawa Diagram
This tool is a picture of lines and symbols designed to represent the
relationship between the effects as problems and the causes
influencing them.

Graphs
Graphs refer to the results of statistical analysis of data (numbers)
which are shown in diagrammatic form to communicate information.

There are numerous types of graphs :

Bar Graph
Belt Graph
Line Graph
Radar Graph
Pie Graph

Check Sheet
Check Sheets are sheets that are designed in advance to collect the
necessary data easily and systematically, which allow the efficient
checking of all items for inspection and verification.
No.

Symptom

Causes

Countermeasure

When

Who

Status

Xx

xx

xx

xx

xx

Xx

Xx

Xx

Xx

Xx

Xx

Xx

xx

Xx

Xx

Xx

Xx

xx

Scatter Diagrams
The scatter diagram is a diagram where the relationship between two
characteristic values are plotted on a graph paper and analyzed as to
whether a correlation exists between the 2 sets of data.This analysis of
correlation will enable you to take the necessary steps to control and
improve the required process.

Histogram
A histogram is a type of bar graph which displays a range of data that
has been grouped into certain classes. It is a useful tool to study the
dispersion of data and analyze certain quality characteristics of the
product or service to which the data in the histogram refers.

Control Charts
The control chart is a chart to examine whether a process is in a
stable condition, or to ensure that the process in maintained in a stable
condition.
The chart collects in time series the movement of data and indicates
any abnormality and normality in the control limit lines. The objective of
control chart is to control the process through accurate judgment,
investigating the real cause, taking prompt measure by showing the
appropriate indicators.

CHAPTER 1

PROBLEM SOLVING
PROCESS
Q UAL I T Y

WHAT IS A PROBLEM ?
Difficult matter requiring a solution
Something hard to understand or accomplish
Whatever stop us doing things better or more effective
An opportunity for improvement

Q UAL I T Y

DEFINITION OF PROBLEM SOLVING

A process to analyze problems, to determine and
eliminate root causes.

Q UAL I T Y

PROBLEM SOLVING MODEL

Problem Identification
Causal Identification
Causal Analysis
Solution Implementation
Standardization
Status Monitoring

Q UAL I T Y

POOR PROBLEM SOLVER

Dont believe that they can solve problems
Are impatient and give up quickly
Are careless readers and may begin working before they
know what the problem is
Jump to conclusions and expect to go immediately from
what is given to the answer
Carelessly organise their work or do not organise at all
Seldom check their work
Have only one method of working, usually trying to recall
a formula and quitting if they cant
Q UAL I T Y

GOOD PROBLEM SOLVER

Believe they can solve just about any problems if they work at it long
enough
Work for long time on a problem before they give up
Read problem carefully, often several times, to be certain of what is
asked
Break problems into small steps, solve the steps one by one, and
look for relationships as they work
Organise their work carefully so they can stop at any point and trace
their steps
Check their steps along the way and check their final answer
Use mental models or drawings to visualise the problems, and try to
remember simpler problems that are related
Q UAL I T Y

PROBLEM SOLVING APPROACH

Traditional
Supernatural

Scientific

Intuition
Q UAL I T Y

SCIENTIFIC PROBLEM SOLVING APPROACH

A disciplined process ( e.g PDCA)
Extensive data collection
Utilize suitable statistical tools to perform data analysis
and monitoring ( e.g 7 QC Tools)
Conclude facts based on analysed results
Periodically review results

Q UAL I T Y

PDCA APPROACH

PLAN

WHAT

Definition of problem

WHY

Analysis of problem

HOW

Identification of causes
Planning countermeasure

DO
CHECK
ACT

Implementation

Confirming effectiveness

Standardizations
Q UAL I T Y

PDCA Vs QC 7 TOOLS

Q UAL I T Y

CHAPTER 2

CHECKSHEET

Q UAL I T Y

Description
Structure form for collecting and analyzing data. It can
be used to confirm and record that steps of a process
was done

Purpose
Check sheets are used to systematically collect data.
The data collected may be used to plotting histograms,
pareto charts, etc.
Can be used as an inspection checksheet, to ensure
that all related items are checked.
Q UAL I T Y

TWO BASIC TYPE OF CHECKSHEET

Data collecting checksheet
- Process distribution
- Defective items
- Defect location
- Defect cause
Confirmation checksheet
- Inspection
Q UAL I T Y

Data Collecting Checksheet (1)

PROCESS DISTRIBUTION CHECKSHEET
Used for continuous data e.g weight, length, time,
energy etc.
Used when individual data are not of major importance.
Used when need to establish the distribution and
relationship to the specifications.

Q UAL I T Y

SAMPLE CHECKSHEET FOR PROCESS DISTRIBUTION

Q UAL I T Y

PROCESS DISTRIBUTION
CHECKSHEET ANALYSIS
Distribution resemble bell shape, single-peaked,
symmetrical ?
Centre of the distribution at nominal value ?
The spread of the data wider than the specification
limits ?

Q UAL I T Y

CONFIRMATION CHECKSHEET
Used to confirm that the requirements
are fulfilled.
Used to enable all necessary items are
checked without omission.

Q UAL I T Y

EXAMPLE OF CONFIRMATION CHECKSHEET

Q UAL I T Y

DISADVANTAGE OF CHECKSHEET
Cannot reveal any changes overtime.
Possibility of checks not entered by data
collector.
Need to analyse several sheets arranged in
chronological order to determine the trend.
Misinterpreting the data due to different
influencing conditions are present.
Q UAL I T Y

CHAPTER 3

PARETO CHART

Q UAL I T Y

DESCRIPTION
Pareto chart is a bar graph with a cumulative
curve
The length of the bars represent frequency of
occurrence or cost.
The pareto chart visually shows which are the
most significant problems, cause or situations.

Q UAL I T Y

HISTORY
Vilfredo Pareto, a 19th century economist
observed that 80% of wealth was owned by only
20% of the populations.
1950 Dr. J.M.Juran discovered that if quality
problems were arranged in order of frequency of
occurrence, relatively few causes accounted for
the bulk of the problems.

Q UAL I T Y

PARETO CHART APPLICATION

Identify the major problem or concern for
improvements.
Can be applied for improvement in all areas.
Shows whether the actions taken are effective.

Q UAL I T Y

CONSTRUCTION OF PARETO CHART

Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4

Step 5

Determine the problem to be studied

Identify the data to be used, frequency
cost, etc
Identify the categories
Decide the period for data collection
( If comparing the results or different
Pareto chart, the time period should be
the same)
Collect the data and total the frequency
of occurrences in each category
Q UAL I T Y

Step 6
Arrange the categories in descending order, calculate the
percentage and cumulative percentage for each category.
Example : Cause of Machine Breakdown
Frequency Occur

Frequency %

Cumulative
%

Component failure

20

(20/47) x 100 = 42.6

42.6

Program Hang

14

29.8

72.4

Elec. Contact

8.5

80.9

Elec. Component

6.4

87.3

Jammed

6.4

93.7

Operation

4.2

97.9

Others

2.1

100

47

100
Q UAL I T Y

Step 7
On a piece of graph, draw the vertical axis and horizontal
axis.

15

10

Q UAL I T Y

Step 8
Place the categories in the horizontal axis in the
descending order, the category having maximum count on
the left and so on. ( keep all the horizontal scale same
width for all categories )

Q UAL I T Y

Cause of Machine Breakdown

20

A - Component failure
B - Program Hang

15

C - Elec. Contact
D - Elec. Component

10

E - Jammed

F - Operation
G - Others

G
Q UAL I T Y

Step 9
Draw the right vertical scale for cumulative percentage, set
the maximum value (100%) on the scale corresponding to
the left vertical axis.
Plot the cumulative percentage line on the chart

Step 10
Give title to all the axis and chart

Q UAL I T Y

Cause of Machine Breakdown

100

F
R
E
Q
U
E
N
C
Y

C
U
M
.
P
E
R
C
E
N
T
A
G
E
%

50

20

A - Component failure
B - Program Hang

15

C - Elec. Contact
D - Elec. Component

10

E - Jammed

F - Operation
G - Others

G
Q UAL I T Y

SPECIAL NOTES :

Choose the categories carefully, ensure that the

categories represent the problem under study.
Eg : To study the high defective rate problem, the categories should
be the type of defect.

Make sure the terms used are consistent

between data collected and the Pareto chart

The vertical may represent the followings : Number of defects, reworks or complaint from customer
Cost
Time lost or waiting
Cases of accident
Q UAL I T Y

SPECIAL NOTES (CONT.) :

The horizontal axis may represent the followings : Type of defects

Cause of defects
Different materials
Different locations, people, machine

The trick : study the data before start plotting the

pareto chart

Use Pareto chart to compare before and after

improvement, make sure the data collection
processes are the same.
Q UAL I T Y

EXERCISE 3a

Q UAL I T Y

CHAPTER 4

HISTOGRAM

Q UAL I T Y

Description
Histogram is a bar graph that shows the distribution of
a set of data
The shape of the histogram will tell the consistency of
one product or process behavior

Q UAL I T Y

Application
To show the variability of a process, product, material,
vendor, etc
To show the central tendency ( mode and mean ) of a
set of measurements.
To illustrate whether product specifications are met.
To understand the characteristics of the populations
from which the sample are taken.

Q UAL I T Y

CHARACTERISTICS
Data are displayed as a series of rectangles of equal
width and varying heights.
Width represents and interval within the range of data.
Height represents the number of data values within a
given interval.
Pattern of varying heights shows the distributions of
data values.
Pattern provide information on the process behavior.

Q UAL I T Y

SAMPLE OF HISTOGRAM
Frequency

60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Class

1st
Qtr

Interval
Q UAL I T Y

EXERCISE
Data 1 : 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9
Mean =

Range =

Std Dev =

Data 2 : 3, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.7, 5.7, 6, 6,6, 6,6.3, 6.3,6.3,6.4, 6.5, 9
Mean =

Range =

Std Dev =

Q UAL I T Y

CHAPTER 5

CAUSE AND EFFECT

DIAGRAMS
Q UAL I T Y

DESCRIPTION
Tool in allowing a team to identify, explore and
graphically display, in increasing details, all of the possible
causes related to a problem or condition to discover its
root cause(s)

Q UAL I T Y

HISTORY
Developed by Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa in 1943
Also known as fishbone diagrams or Ishikawa diagrams

Q UAL I T Y

APPLICATION
Enables a team to focus on the content of the problem,
not on the history of the problem or differing personal
interests of team members.
Creates a snapshots of the collective knowledge and
consensus of a team around a problem. This builds
support for the resulting solutions.
Focuses the team on causes, not symptoms.

Q UAL I T Y

TYPES
Dispersion Analysis
Process Classification
Cause Enumeration

Q UAL I T Y

TYPE 1 DISPERSION ANALYSIS

This is a three step process

Step 1
Write down the effect to be investigated and draw the backbone arrow
to it. In the example shown below the effect is Incorrect deliveries
Causes

Effect

Incorrect
deliveries

Q UAL I T Y

Step 2
Identify all the board areas of enquiry in which the
causes of the effect being investigated may lie. For
incorrect deliveries the diagram may then become:
Communication

Skills

Incorrect
deliveries

Transport

Procedures

Q UAL I T Y

Step 3
This step requires the greatest amount of work and
imagination because it requires you ( or you and your
team) to write in all the detailed possible causes in each
of the board areas of enquiry. Each cause identified
should be fully explored for further more specific cause
which, in turn, contribute to them.

Q UAL I T Y

Communication

Skills
Lack of information

Picking Slips
Telephone
Legibility

Order

procedure
documentation

product

Knowledge

Picking Slips
Lack of knowledge

ambiguity

literacy

Incorrect
Incorrect dept

deliveries

Incorrect person

consistency
Customer
Incorrect

database

Address
Not up-to-date
In correct program

Transport

carriers

efficiency
methods

manual
automated

correctness

reliability

Procedures
Q UAL I T Y

TYPE 2 PROCESS CLASSIFICATION

Machine
down during
test

Marketing
Plate

Loose Units
In box
Drop units

Lot
Labeling

Materials

Weighing

Testing and
Marketing

Labeling

Visual
Inspection

Merge Lots

Packing

Mixing
Product

Picking up loose units

Waiting conformation units
Stage too close
Change shift

Q UAL I T Y

TYPE 3 CAUSE ENUMERATION

All the possible causes are simply listed ( Brainstorming
session )
Once all the causes are listed, they are placed in the
major categories in the cause and effect diagrams
The advantage of this type of diagram is that all identified
causes are listed
The disadvantage is that it is sometime difficult to relate
all the causes listed to the categories

Q UAL I T Y

BRAINSTORMING

DESCRIPTION
A technique for tapping creative thinking during the
construction of cause and effect diagram
Maximize the brainpower of a team
Use to generate ideas/issues
Use to clarify ideas/issues

Q UAL I T Y

KEY STEPS IN BRAINSTORMING SESSION

Identify a facilitator
Clarify purpose of the session
Review rules of brainstorming
Generate ideas taking turns
Display ideas
Review ideas for clarification
Q UAL I T Y

ROLES OF FACILITATOR
Guide brainstorming session
Ask questions to excite thinking
Align when session goes off target

Q UAL I T Y

TWO PHASES
Generation
- Only ideas are generated and no clarification or
analysis carried out

Clarification
- Ideas generated are clarified if necessary for all to
understand and followed by evaluation of the ideas

Q UAL I T Y

PHASES 1 IDEAS GENERATION

Let all members speak freely
Keep to the rule
See problem from different angle
Note all viewpoints

Q UAL I T Y

BRAINSTORMING RULES
No criticism
The more ideas, the better
The wilder the ideas, the better
Hitch-hike on other ideas; if possible

Q UAL I T Y

PRECAUTIONS OF

BRAINSTORMING
A strong but not dominating facilitator
Keep each session to no more than 2 to 3
hour; preferably
Take relieve breaks after major sections

Q UAL I T Y

NOTE FOR CAUSE AND EFFECT

Do not confuse cause, effect and
countermeasure
Use the wisdom and knowledge of the team
Should not be only problem related, use it for
improvement
Use as a visual control
Be innovative when using Cause and effect
diagrams
Q UAL I T Y

READING THE CAUSE AND EFFECT DIAGRAMS

Pursue the causes actively

- the most probable may not be the most obvious

Ascertain cause before checking

countermeasure
Understand the casual relationship to enable
work progress
Badly arrange cause and effect diagram will
reduce effectiveness
Q UAL I T Y

USING A CAUSE AND EFFECT DIAGRAMS

Make use of team knowledge through
brainstorming sessions
Successful countermeasure to be mad into
standards
Train all to use diagrams
Continuously use Cause and effect diagram for
each new problem or opportunity
Q UAL I T Y

CAUSE AND EFFECT DIAGRAMS :

GUIDELINES
C5;23.DOC

Q UAL I T Y