1. Where quality assurance put the responsibility of checking quality on the buyer, statistical quality control shifts that responsibility onto the manufacturer. 
*a. True
b. False

2. The father of statistical quality control was Walter Shewhart. 
*a. True
b. False

3. Shewharts disciples, Deming and Juran, went to Germany after WWII to implement his ideas in corporations like Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz. 
a. True
*b. False

4. Variables that can only take two values (0 or 1) are called dichotomous variables. 
a. True
*b. False

5. The collection of historical data consists of getting a minimum of 30 samples from the process for which the SPC process is being started. 
*a. True
b. False

6. In SPC with attributes, the calculation of statistics on the historical data consists of determining the mean proportion of defectives, and its standard deviation. 
*a. True
b. False

7. The normal curve is an approximation of the distribution of all possible vallues of the statistics for a process for which an SPC with attributes is approporiate. 
a. True
*b. False

8. The proportion of the samples for which the percentage of defectives fall between the mean minus one standard deviation and the mean plus one standard deviation is approximately 75 percent. 
a. True
*b. False

9. The control chart of a process for which SPC with attributes is used is called a d-chart. 
a. True
*b. False

10. There are five standard deviations between the Upper Control Limit and the Lower Control Limit. 
a. True
*b. False

11. A process for which one sample data falls below the Lower Control Limit is said to be out of control. 
*a. True
b. False

12. The probability that seven consecutive samples ``fall above (or below) the mean of a control chart is less than 1 percent. 
*a. True
b. False

13. The number of samples needed to build the historical data for a process that uses SPC with variables is greater than the number of samples needed to build the historical data for a process that uses SPC with attributes. 
a. True
*b. False

14. The mimumum sample size for SPC with variables is 6. 
a. True
*b. False

15. The range of measurements in a sample is used to estimate the standard deviation in the sample. 
*a. True
b. False

16. A process is ``capable if its Cpk is lower than 1. 
a. True
*b. False
 
17. A process is six-sigma capablehat is, has a percentage of defectives lower than 5 per billionwhen its Cpk is. equal to 2
*a. True
b. False

18. Bill Smith, the individual who coined the Six Sigma concept, worked for General Electric. 
a. True
*b. False

19. Yellow belts have less experience than green belts. 
*a. True
b. False

20. Taguchi methods are used to design quality standards, such as ISO 9000 and IATF 16949 . 
a. True
*b. False


1. Until the 1980s, quality was the responsibility of the buyer, who used sampling techniques to determine whether:
~ Until the beginning of the 1980s, buyers had quality-assurance processes, with which they checked shipments by taking samples from them. 
@ Until the beginning of the 1980s, buyers had quality-assurance processes, with which they checked shipments by taking samples from them. 
*a. an entire shipment met quality requirements. 
b. goods in a shipment should be accepted or rejected. 
c. military standards had been met. 
d. the manufacturer had put a quality-control system in place. 
e. the goods had been manufactured under an ISO standard. 

2. Which company was among the first to adopt statistical-process-control techniques under the impetus of W. Edwards Deming? 
~ Toyota was among the first companies to implement this system, along with several other companies in Japan. 
@ Toyota was among the first companies to implement this system, along with several other companies in Japan. 
a. General Motors. 
b. Ford Motor Company. 
c. Mercedes-Benz AG. 
*d. Toyota Motors. 
e. Rolls-Royce. 

3. In a statistical-process-control system with attributes, the size of the samples taken for the historical data must be:
~ Historical data for SPC with attribute consists of a minimum of 30 samples, each of a size of at least 50 products. 
@ Historical data for SPC with attribute consists of a minimum of 30 samples, each of a size of at least 50 products. 
a. at least four or five products. 
b. no more than thirty products. 
c. at least thirty products. 
d. no more than one hundred products. 
*e. at least equal to 50 products. 

4. In a process using SPC with attributes, a product is called defective when:
~ A defective product is non conforming.  It does not meet the standards of the customer, but it generally still works and is certainly not dangerous. 
@ A defective product is non conforming.  It does not meet the standards of the customer, but it generally still works and is certainly not dangerous. 
*a. It does not meet the quality standard(s) of the customer. 
b. It does not work as intended. 
c. It would be dangerous to use it. 
d. It does not look correct. 
e. It is larger or smaller than expected. 

5. In a normal distribution, the percentage of the possible values of a statistic between the mean minus two standard deviations and the mean plus two standard deviations is approximately:  
~ The exact percentage is 95. 44 percent. 
@ The exact percentage is 95. 44 percent. 
a. 50 percent. 
b. 68 percent. 
c. 80 percent. 
*d. 95 percent. 
e. 99 percent. 

6. How far from the mean is the Upper Control Limit on a p-chart? 
~ The UCL and LCL are exactly three standard deviations away from the mean. 
@ The UCL and LCL are exactly three standard deviations away from the mean. 
a. One standard deviation
b. Two standard deviations
*c. Three standard deviations
d. Four standard deviations
e. its determined differently, not by using standard deviations

7. Which of the following situations signals an out-of-control process to the machine operator?  
~ All of these situations have a low probabililty of happening by chance; therefore they signal that something is causing them, and the process is out of control. 
@ All of these situations have a low probabililty of happening by chance; therefore they signal that something is causing them, and the process is out of control. 
a. One sample below the Lower Control Limit. 
b. Two consecutive samples just below the Upper Control Limit. 
c. Seven consecutive samples below the mean of the p-chart
d. A downward trend in the data points
*e. All of the situations in this set of responses describe an out-of-control situation. 

8. In which case would an out-of-control situation be considered good, and something that the operator would want to investigate to find a way to reproduce the conditions under which it occurred, so that the process would improve?
~ A process that generates a proportion of defectives that is lower than normal is one that has improved and the operator should investigate what caused this improvement and attempt to reproduce it. 
@ A process that generates a proportion of defectives that is lower than normal is one that has improved and the operator should investigate what caused this improvement and attempt to reproduce it. 
a. A single sample near the Upper Control Limit on a p-chart. 
b. Two consecutive samples below the mean on a p-chart. 
c. Five consecutive samples between the mean minus one standard deviation and the mean plus one standard deviation on a p-chart. 
d. One consecutive sample above the Upper Control Limit on a p-chart. 
*e. One sample below the Lower Control Limit on a p-chart. 

9. In SPC with attributes, the variables that can only take two values, 0 and 1. How many values can the variables used in an SPC-with-variables system take? 
~ Variables in SPC with variables take an infinite number of values. 
@ Variables in SPC with variables take an infinite number of values. 
a. Several: generally around 5 or 6. 
b. Only a few: approximately 3 or 4. 
c. Only two as well: however different charts are used for statistical process control. 
*d. Infinite: they are no limits. 
e. there is no way to tell: it depends on the manufacturing process. 

10. Rather than calculate the standard deviation of a variable, SPC uses a susbstitute. What is it?
~ In order to approximate the standard deviation, SPC with variables uses the range and a coefficient whose value depends on the size of the sample to estimate the standard deviation. 
@ In order to approximate the standard deviation, SPC with variables uses the range and a coefficient whose value depends on the size of the sample to estimate the standard deviation. 
a. skewness. 
b. kurtosis. 
*c. range. 
d. median. 
e. variance. 

11. What are the names of the charts that are used to keep a process in control with an SPC-with-variables system?
~ SPC with variables uses two different charts: X-bar charts and R-charts. 
@ SPC with variables uses two different charts: X-bar charts and R-charts. 
*a. X-bar and R charts. 
b. X and R-bar charts. 
c. X and R charts. 
d. X-bar-bar and R charts. 
e. p and X charts. 

12. If a process generates a sample for which the range falls below the Lower Control Limit of the R chart, what should the operator do?
~ The process should be stopped and investigated because it is out of control. However, since the range of measurements is smaller than normal, it should be determined why it has improved. 
@ The process should be stopped and investigated because it is out of control. However, since the range of measurements is smaller than normal, it should be determined why it has improved. 
a. Stop the process because the process is out of control on the X-bar chart. 
b. Stop the process because the process is out of control on the R chart and investigate what went wrong to correct it. 
c. Stop the process because the process is out of control on both the X-bar chart and the R chart. 
d. Do nothing. The process is only out of control on one chart, the R chart. 
*e. Stop the process because the process is out of control on the R chart and investigate what caused the process to get better. 

13. In order to ensure that a process manufactures parts that are conform, the process must be: 
~ In order to produce parts that are conform, the manufacturing process must be capable and in control. 
@ In order to produce parts that are conform, the manufacturing process must be capable and in control. 
a. in control. 
b. capable. 
*c. in control and capable. 
d. in control and well designed. 
e. capable and well designed. 

14. A process that is six-sigma capable is one that has a Cpk of:
~ A process that is six-sigma capable has a Cpk of 2. 
@ A process that is six-sigma capable has a Cpk of 2. 
a. 1.0
b. 1.5
*c. 2
d. 2.5
e. 3.0

15. Even though the six-sigma capability of a process would theoretically yield a 0. 002 defects per million, black belts consider that it will yield 3. 4 defects per million, equivalent to a 4. 5-sigma capability or a Cpk of 1. 5. Why are the black belts more conservative? 
~ The black belts are considering a possible shift in the process over time, of as much as 1. 5 standard deviations (1. 5 sigmas). 
@ The black belts are considering a possible shift in the process over time, of as much as 1. 5 standard deviations (1. 5 sigmas). 
a. Errors in measurements of means and ranges. 
b. Errors in calculations of the capability coefficient Cpk. 
c. Possible exaggerations on process capabilities by vendors. 
*d. A possible shift in the mean of the process over time. 
e. Wear and tear on the parts as they are used. 

16. Process improvements that are obtained through experiments that are using ANOVA (analysis of variance) techniques originally developed by Fisher are called: 
~ Genichi Taguchi used ANOVA techniques to create a methodology to improve processes and reduce their natural variation. 
@ Genichi Taguchi used ANOVA techniques to create a methodology to improve processes and reduce their natural variation. 
a. Fisher methods. 
b. Deming methods. 
c. Welsh methods. 
*d. Taguchi methods. 
e. Black-belt methods. 

17. International industry standards are coordinated by:
~ ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, is responsible for creating international standards. 
@ ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, is responsible for creating international standards. 
a. UN, the United Nations. 
b. UNESCO, the United Nations Engineering Standards and Cooperation Organization. 
*c. ISO, the International Organization for Standardization. 
d. ESTO, the Engineering Standards Treaty Organization. 
e. ISI, the International Standard Institute. 

18. ISO 9000 is a set of standards that do not define performance measures that a company must achieve, but rather is a standard of:
~ ISO 9001 is a standard of procedures. 
@ ISO 9001 is a standard of procedures. 
a. quality. 
b. capability. 
*c. procedures. 
d. documentation. 
e. principles. 

19. QS 9000, later renamed ISO 16949 and eventually IATF16949, incorporated ISO 9000 with what other standards?
~ QS 9000 was created by the merger of ISO 9000 standards (documentation of quality processes) and automobile industry standards on capability and process controls. 
@ QS 9000 was created by the merger of ISO 9000 standards (documentation of quality processes) and automobile industry standards on capability and process controls. 
a. ISO standards on the manufacturing of automobiles. 
b. American standards of automobile safety. 
c. European standards of fuel economy for automobiles. 
*d. Standards of capability (basd on Cpk) and process controls (SPC charts). 
e. UN standards for performance. 


Type: F
1. Quality assurance was the responsibility of purchasers until the 1980s. They used ____________________ standards to determine whether the goods provided by the buyer were conform to the buyers requirements. 
a. military

Type: F
2. The first step in the creation of a statistical process control is the collection of ____________________ data, during which the process is intentionally left alone. 
a. historical

Type: F
3. The statistic that is calculated in the samples collected for an SPC-with-attribute system is the  ____________________ of defectives. 
a. proportion
b. percentage
c. percent

Type: F
4. The p chart is a ____________________ chart used to determine whether a process is working as it did in the past. 
a. control

Type: F
5. The binomial distribution of the proportion of defectives in a process is approximated with a  ____________________ distribution. 
a. normal
b. standard normal
c. Gauss
d. Gaussian

Type: F
6. If two consecutive samples yield statistics that are close to the Upper Control Limit of a control chart, the process is said to be  ____________________ . 
a. out of control
b. out-of-control

Type: F
7. In an SPC-with-variable system, the operator determines the mean and ____________________ of the measurements in each sample. 
a. range

Type: F
8. A process that has a Cpk of 0. 8  is not ____________________. 
a. capable

Type: F
9. The people who are in charge of quality and quality improvement at  ____________________ called themselves black belts, and they eventually created more ranks, such as yellow belts and green belts. 
a. Motorola

Type: F
10. The British standard of procedure called BS 5750, that created a set of procedures to handle quality issues in companies, was eventually adopted worldwide under the name of  ____________________ . 
a. ISO 9000