The integrated quality control model with product inspection and process improvement

Abstract

ABSTRACT Sampling inspection is one of preventive quality methods for decreasing waste of time and cost, but should be along with other quality control approaches to effectively enhance product quality. Determination of optimum process mean tends to reduce the bias of the central tendency of process characteristic from its target, and has been an important topic in quality system design. Pulak and Al-Sultan developed a single sampling rectifying inspection model to determine the optimum process mean, based on maximization of the expected total profit per item. Since setting the economic specification limits for process characteristic is considered a short-term approach for quality assurance and, on the other hand, quality investment is a long-term approach for process improvement, in the present paper, a modified product inspection model, which is modified from Pulak and Al-Sultan’s work, is firstly presented to simultaneously determine the optimum process mean and economic specification limits, based on maximization of the expected total profit per item. Then, quality investment is integrated into this modified model to obtain the optimum quality investment level.