Quality Associates, Inc., a consulting firm, advises its clients about sampling and statistical procedures
that can be used to control their manufacturing processes. In one particular application, a client gave
Quality Associates a sample of 800 observations taken during a time in which that client's process was
operating satisfactorily. The sample standard deviation for these data was 21; hence, with so much data,
the population standard deviation was assumed to be .21. Quality Associates then suggested that random
samples of Size 30 be taken periodically to monitor the process on an ongoing basis. By analyzing the new
samples, the client could quickly learn whether the process was operating satisfactorily. When the process
was not operating satisfactorily, corrective action could be taken to eliminate the problem. The design
specification indicated the mean for the process should be 12. The hypothesis test suggested by Quality
Associates follows.
Ho: M= 12
Ha: M (does not equal) 12
Corrective action will be taken any time Ho is rejected.
The following samples were collected at hourly intervals during the first day of operation of the new
statistical process control procedure. These data are available in the data set Quality.
Managerial Report 1. Conduct a hypothesis test for each sample at the .01 level of significance and determine what action, if any, should be taken. Provide the test statistic and p-value for each test. 2. Compute the standard deviation for each of the four samples. Does the assumption of 21 for the population standard deviation appear reasonable? 3. Compute limits for the sample mean I around y = 12 such that, as long as a new sample mean is within those limits, the process will be considered to be operating satisfactorily. If z exceeds the upper limit or if = is below the lower limit, corrective action will be taken. These limits are referred to as upper and lower control limits for quality control purposes. 4. Discuss the implications of changing the level of significance to a larger value. What mistake or error could increase if the level of significance is increased? Sample 1 11.55 11.62 11.52 11.75 11.90 11.64 11.80 12.03 11.94 11.92 12.13 12.09 11.93 12.21 12.32 11.93 11.85 11.76 12.16 11.77 12.00 12.04 11.98 12.30 12.18 11.97 12.17 11.85 12.30 12.15 Sample 2 11.62 11.69 11.59 11.82 11.97 11.71 11.87 12.10 12.01 11.99 12.20 12.16 12.00 12.28 12.39 12.00 11.92 11.83 12.23 11.84 12.07 12.11 12.05 12.37 12.25 12.04 12.24 11.92 12.37 12.22 Sample 3 11.91 11.36 11.75 11.95 12.14 11.72 11.61 11.85 12.16 11.91 12.12 11.61 12.21 11.56 11.95 12.01 12.06 11.76 11.82 12.12 11.60 11.95 11.96 12.22 11.75 11.96 11.95 11.89 11.88 11.93 Sample 4 12.02 12.02 12.05 12.18 12.11 12.07 12.05 11.64 12.39 11.65 12.11 11.90 12.22 11.88 12.03 12.35 12.09 11.77 12.20 11.79 12.30 12.27 12.29 12.47 12.03 12.17 11.94 11.97 12.23 12.25