PART II - QREVIEW SOLUTIONS
BASIC QUALITY CONCEPTS
PART II - QREVIEW SOLUTIONS
BASIC QUALITY CONCEPTS
1. Certification of a company to the ISO 9002 standard does not include which of the following requirements?
b) Design control
Servicing, design control, contract review and internal quality audits are all requirements of ISO 9001. The only change in ISO 9002 is the elimination of design control. ISO 9002 is intended for organizations that do not design products.
2. A quality control program is considered to be
d) a system of activities to provide quality of products and services.
A quality control program is more than a set of procedures, step by step lists of check points or summaries of policies and data. It includes all activities performed to ensure that products and services meet quality requirements.
3. The "quality function" of a company is best described as
b) that collection of activities through which "fitness for use" is achieved.
The quality function of a company is a collection or system of activities to ensure quality.
“Fitness for use” is an outcome of all these activities.
4. In preparing a product quality policy for your company, you should do all of the following except
c) include procedural matters and functional responsibilities.
Procedures are separate documents, but the quality policy may state that procedures need to be included in the system. Functional responsibilities are also usually a separate document but the quality policy may have a provision that they must exist.
5. What natural phenomenon created the necessity to control product and process quality?
b) Variation
It is because of variation that the science of quality control exists. All measurements exhibit variation and this is why it is necessary to control product and process quality.
6. The three basic elements of a quality system are
b) Quality Management, Quality Control and Quality Assurance
Quality Management is the means of implementing and carrying out quality policy.
Quality Control monitors and improves the conformance of products, processes and services. Quality Assurance takes action to assure that products or services will satisfy the specified requirements.
7. What are the two basic categories of quality?
a) Design and Conformance Quality
Design quality defines the level of characteristics that go into the product. Conformance quality measures how well the design intent is met.
8. The Law of Large Numbers states that
c) individual occurrences are unpredictable and group occurrences are predictable.
The number of marriages, births and deaths in the United States next year can be predicted with some degree of accuracy, but exactly who will get married, who will be born or who will die cannot be predicted. This concept can be applied to a manufacturing process. A statistical study can determine that products from a certain process are on average two percent defective, but in any sample, the specific parts that will be defective cannot be predicted.
9. Statistical quality control is best described as
c) the study of the characteristics of a product or process, with the help of numbers, to make them behave the way we want them to behave.
The word statistical means having to do with numbers, or more specifically, with drawing conclusions from numbers. The word quality means much more than the goodness or defectiveness of the product. It refers to the qualities or characteristics of the product or process being studied. The word control means to keep something within boundaries or to regulate it so that its outcome may be predicted with some degree of accuracy.
Basic Quality Concepts 49
10. Which of the following is the most important element in Statistical Quality Control?
a) The Feedback Loop
In statistical process control, the feedback loop is between the process control function and the device that regulates the process or the person responsible for adjustments.
Continuous feedback and the appropriate corrective action are what make statistical quality and process control work to achieve the desired results.
11. When measurements are accurate and precise,
b) the data are clustered closely around the central value.
Accurate measurements fall within an acceptable range but are distributed randomly within that range. Precise measurements have minimum variation, which means that they are clustered close together. Accurate and precise measurements would then imply that the data is clustered closely around the central value.
12. All of the following are included in a quality system except d) employee salaries.
Document control, corrective action and management responsibility are all essential parts of a quality system according to the ISO 9001/Q9001 quality systems standards.
Companies usually develop a specific policy for employee salaries.
13. Which of the following best describes a statistical distribution?
a) A model that shows how data are distributed over a range of measurements.
Because of variation between measurements of individual parts, data when plotted will form a distribution. A distribution model describes how the data are dispersed. A plot of the distribution will show a center value and the range of measurements.
14. Which of the following are two types of data used in statistical quality control?
c) Variables and Attributes Data
Data classified as good/bad, pass/fail, go/no-go, etc., are called attribute or discrete data. When actual measurements are taken and recorded, the data are called variables or continuous data.
15. The primary reason for evaluating and maintaining surveillance over a supplier's quality
program is to
d) make sure the supplier's quality program is functioning effectively.
Purchased parts have a significant impact on the quality of a final product. It is important that supplier's have an effective quality program in place. An effective quality program and specific product quality are closely related.
16. Which one of the following are ISO 9001 requirements?
b) Quality Manual
A quality manual will usually address the elements of the ISO standard. Specific quality tools and instructions are not included as part of the ISO requirements.
17. Which of the following does not generate product-quality characteristics?
b) Inspector
A designer, machinist and equipment engineer all play a role in the manufacture of a product and therefore have the ability to generate product-quality characteristics. An inspector only examines a product and cannot alter it in any way.
18. Incoming material inspection is based most directly on b) purchase order requirements.
In since incoming inspection is concerned with the quality of purchased products, the requirements should be listed on the purchase order.
19. The acronym ISO means c) equal.
The International Organization for Standardization is also known as ISO. ISO is not an acronym for this organization but it is a Latin word which translates to equal.
20. Products should be subjected to tests which are designed to
c) approximate the conditions to be experienced in customer's application.
Products need to be tested in the environment where they are used. Various other types of tests can be performed for prove in, but every condition varies to some degree and the best way to prove a product is under actual working conditions.
21. The advantage of a written procedure is
Basic Quality Concepts 51
c) it is a perpetual coordination device.
A written procedure allows everyone concerned to know exactly what is required. It may always be referred to when coordinating activities. Unwritten procedures usually cause confusion because of communication failure.
22. In spite of the Quality Engineer's best efforts, situations may develop in which his decision is overruled. The most appropriate action would be to
c) document findings, report them to superiors and move on the next assignment.
Human conflict can be minimized but never eliminated. There may be times when engineering decisions are overruled or employee suggestions not adopted. In these cases, the findings should be documented for possible review at a later date, then the engineer or employee can move on to the next assignment. In any conflict, whether it is between management and employees, between management and unions, or between employees, good judgement must be used.
23. If a test data does not support a Quality Engineer's expectations, the best thing to do is c) re-evaluate the expectations of the test based upon the data.
Objective data that has been collected should never be altered or the analysis of the data should never be modified to fit expectations. The expectations were just probably not realizable for the application under test.
24. In case of conflict between contract specifications and shop practice, d) contract specifications normally apply.
Contract specifications take precedence over all other practices. Any deviation from the specifications must be negotiated with the customer.
25. A quality audit program should begin with
d) a charter of policy, objectives and procedures.
All quality programs must have clear policies, objectives and documented procedures.
Without these, the effort will be aimless.
26. Auditors should report to someone who is independent from c) the function being audited.
It is good policy for auditors to not have a vested interest in the activity being audited.
For example, the fox guarding the chicken coop will usually result in fewer chickens.
27. Analysis of data on all product returns is important because d) All of the above.
Analysis of data on all product returns is important because it may provide feedback as to how a customer's specific application of the product may affect the product quality. It will also help to determine failure rates based on the longevity of the product. Immediate feedback and analysis may be obtained for the specific products returned as opposed to collecting data over some specified time and generalizing product problems.
28. All of the following are considerations when a total quality management (TQM) program is implemented except
c) the manager responsible for product quality.
No one person is responsible for product quality in a TQM program. TQM involves the use of statistical techniques, continuous improvement and total involvement by all.
29. According to Juran, all of the following are widespread errors in perception that have led many managers astray except
d) return on investment is everything.
Juran has listed many widespread errors in perception in his books (Juran on
Leadership for Quality, 1989), but does not include "return on investment is everything."
This statement may not necessarily lead managers astray.
30. An essential technique in making training programs effective is to
c) feedback to the employee meaningful measures of his performance.
Feedback lets an employee know whether the concepts learned from training have been grasped. This helps the employee know where their strengths and weaknesses are. It also can help the employee gain confidence in their abilities.
31. An engineer has the job of providing a written plan of quality related tasks to his manager, including a detailed timeline, for the following year. Which of the following tools should be used?
c) Gantt Chart
Gantt charts are typically horizontal bar charts, where each bar represents a task that spans from the beginning time to the ending time. Histograms and frequency
distributions are analytical tools and a flow chart is typically used for relationship modeling.