Engineering Metrology

and Measurements

N.V. Raghavendra
L. Krishnamurthy

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 Chapter 11

Inspection & Quality

Control

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 Inspection
 Inspection is the scientific examination of work parts to ensure
adherence to dimensional accuracy, surface texture and other
related attributes.

 It is an integral part of quality assurance mechanism, which

ensures strict adherence to the stated design intent.

 The ASTME (American Society of Tool and Manufacturing

Engineers) defines inspection as “the art of critically examining
parts in process, assembled sub-systems, or complete end
products with the aid of suitable standards and measuring
devices which confirm or deny to the observer that the
particular item under examination is within the specified limits
of variability”.
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 Inspection
Specifying the Limits of Variability

 The whole question of inspection arises because of

variability in production processes. No production
process, whether it is machining or forging or casting,
can assure 100% conformance to intended dimensions
and surface quality.

 For this precise reason, dimensional tolerance is

provided for all manufactured components

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 Dimensions and Tolerances
 A dimension is the statement of intended size of a particular
feature, while measurement is the statement of actual size

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 Tolerances
Tolerance can be defined as “the total permissible variation of
a given dimension”. Thus, tolerance in a way shifts the
responsibility of manufacturing quality components and
products to the production engineer

Engineering tolerances may be broadly classified into three

groups:

 Size tolerances
 Geometric tolerances, and
 Positional tolerances

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Selection of Gauging Equipment
Recommended Gauges based on Tolerance Level

Sl. No. Tolerance value Recommended gauges/measuring devices

(mm)
1 0.1 - 1 Steel rule
2 0.05– 0.1 Plug and ring gauges, vernier caliper,
micrometer, dial indicator, etc.
3 0.01 – 0.05 Vernier micrometer, autocollimator, gauge
blocks, optical devices, pneumatic gauges,
etc.
4 0.001 – 0.01 Electronic gauges, interferometers, laser
based devices, etc.

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 Gauge Control
 Thousands of components need to be inspected every day in
a typical engineering industry. It is important to ensure that
right gauges are available at the right time at the right place.

 While the design and fabrication of gauges is the job of the

tool design department, the issue and maintenance of gauges
is taken care by a gauge control section in the quality control
department (QCD).

 The major responsibility is to monitor the condition of gauges

and other inspection equipments, carry out periodic
calibration and ensure that they are replaced immediately
after they are found to be unfit for use.

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Quality Control & Quality Assurances

 The primary objective of quality control (QC) is to ensure

conformance to design specifications in terms of
dimensions, tolerances, surface texture, etc., at each and
every stage of manufacturing process. QC includes the
activities from the suppliers, through production, and to
the customers

 Quality assurance (QA) pertains to the overall

management plan to guarantee the integrity of data. It is a
comprehensive approach to build a scientific and reliable
system to assure quality.

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Quality Control & Quality Assurances
Sl. No. Quality Control
1 Finding deviations from stated
quality standards and fixing
them
2
Puts major responsibility on
3 quality control inspectors
4 This is basically a line function
Activities are: testing,
inspection, drawing control
charts, etc
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Quality assurance
Improving the quality control
process rather than fixing errors
in manufacturing
Shifts responsibility to middle
level and top level managers
This is basically a staff function
Major activities are: defining
quality process, quality audit,
selection of tools, etc
 Statistical Quality Control
 Ideally, it is necessary to inspect each and every raw
material, semi-finished and finished components at each
and every stage of production.

 This is easier said than done, because this task will assume
Herculian proportion in a large industry.

 Statistical techniques provide a reliable and economical

method for ensuring quality control.

 Ensuring quality control by employing statistical tools has

come to be called statistical quality control (SQC).

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 Importance of Sampling
 SQC is based on sampling. A sample is defined as a
representative portion of a group taken as evidence of the
quality level or character of the entire group.

 However, there is always the risk that a sample that is drawn

may not be representative of the group. This aspect has lead
to the development of a number of sampling theories, with
the objective of ensuring selection of representative
samples.

 The quality control engineer has to be judicious in selecting

the appropriate sampling method as well as suitable sample
size.

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 Sampling Methods

There are four popular sampling methods:

 Simple random sampling

 Constant interval sampling
 Stratified sampling, and
 Cluster sampling

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 SQC by Attributes
 In SQC, a qualitative variable that can take on only two
values is called an attribute. The attribute most frequently
used is that of conformance or non-conformance of units of
output to the process specification.

 For example in gauging, the GO gauge checks the maximum

material limit of a component whereas the NO GO gauge
checks for minimum material limits.

 Thus, the inspection is restricted to identifying whether a

component is within tolerance limits or not.

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 Control Charts
 The basic objective of SQC is to identify a parameter that is easy to
measure and whose value is important for the quality of the process
output, plot it in such a way that we can recognize non-random
variations, and decide when to make adjustments to a process. These
plots are popularly called control charts.

 A typical control chart has a central line, which may represent the mean
value of measurements or acceptable percentage defective, and two
control limits, upper control limt (UCL) and lower control limit (LCL). The
two control limits are fixed based on statistically acceptable deviation
from the mean value, due to random variations.

 If a process is in control, all observations should fall within the control

limits. Conversely, observations that fall outside the control limits
suggest that the process is out-of-control.
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 Control Charts
Control Chart for Attributes
( ‘p’ chart)

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 SQC by Variables
An effective way to understand natural capability is by plotting the
normal distribution curve.

Normal distribution has gained popularity in practical applications

because it is close to observed frequency distributions of many
phenomena such as physical processes (dimensions and yields) and
human characteristics (weights, heights, etc)
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R Charts : Control Charts for Process variability
In R chart, we plot the values of sample ranges for each of the
samples. The central line is placed at
and the control limits are calculated from the sampling distribution.

R Charts: Control Charts for Process Variability

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 Total Quality Management
Total quality management (TQM) is the management approach of an
organisation, centered on quality, based on the participation of all
members and aiming at long-term success through customer
satisfaction, and with benefits to all members of the organisation and
to society”.

TQM has three basic tenets:

 It is total, involving all departments/groups in the organisation at all

levels
 It relates to quality in the broader sense of organisational
excellence, and does not just refer to product quality
 It is a management function and is not just confined to a technical
discipline

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 Main Concepts of TQM
Sl. No. Concept
1 Customer focus
2 Continuous improvement
3 Employee empowerment
4 Use of quality tools
5 Product design
6 Process management
7 Managing supplier quality
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Main Idea
Goal is to identify and meet customer needs.
A philosophy of never-ending improvement.
Employees are expected to seek out, identify,
and correct quality problems.
Ongoing employee training in the use of
quality tools.
Products need to be designed to meet
customer expectations.
Quality should be built into the process;
sources of quality problems should be
identified and corrected.
Quality concepts must extend to a company’s
suppliers.
Use of Quality
Tools

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 Six Sigma

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 Six Sigma Approach

• Define

• Measure

• Analyse

• Improve

• Control

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 Quality Standards
 ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) is an
international organization whose purpose is to establish
agreement on international quality standards. It currently has
members from 91 countries, including India.

 In 1987, the ISO published its first set of standards for quality
management called ISO 9000. ISO 9000 consists of a set of
standards and a certification process for companies. By receiving
ISO 9000 certification, companies demonstrate that they have
met the standards specified by the ISO.

 This provides assurance to the customers, both consumers and

industrial, that the company has internationally accepted quality
standards and systems in place.

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 List of published standards of ISO/TC 176

Standard Scope
ISO 10002:2004 Quality management, Customer satisfaction, guidelines for
complaints handling in organisation

ISO 10005: 2005 Quality ,\management systems, guidelines for quality plans

ISO 10006: 2003 Quality management systems, guidelines for quality

management in projects

ISO 10007: 2003 Quality management systems, guidelines for configuration

management

ISO 10012: 2003 Measurement management systems, requirements for

measurement processes and measuring equipment

ISO/TR 10013: 2001 Guidelines for quality management system documentation

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 List of published standards of ISO/TC 176

Standard Scope
ISO 10014: 2006 Quality management, guidelines for realising financial
and economic benefits

ISO 10015: 1999 Quality management, guidelines for training

ISO/TR 10017: 2003 Guidance on statistical techniques for ISO 9001: 2000

ISO 10019: 2005 Guidelines for selection of quality management system

consultants and use of their services

ISO/TS 16949:2002 Quality management systems, particular requirements for

the application of ISO 9001: 2000 for automotive
production and relevant service part organisation

ISO 19011: 2002 Guidelines for quality and/or environmental management

systems auditing

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Quality Management Principles ISO 9000

 Customer Focus

 Leadership

 Process Approach

 Team Approach

 Continuous Improvement

 Forging mutually beneficial relationships with Suppliers

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