We all know that quality is everyone's responsibility; however,
getting everyone to participate is difficult. People need tools
to help them identify quality problems and plan corrective
action. Let's review seven tools that are helpful in the quality
management process. The first tool is the check sheet. A check
sheet is any blank form used to tally quality data and includes
time of observation, problems discovered, and number of
occurrences of each problem. The second tool is the histogram. A
histogram is a vertical bar chart representing a tabulation of
data arranged according to size. This tabulation of data is
commonly known as a frequency distribution. The frequency
distribution can take a number of shapes. A "normal," or bell-
shaped curve indicates that most of the data collected are
centered around an average value. A skewed, or off-center, shape
indicates that most data are not centered around an average
value, but toward either the high or low limit of the range.
Skewed data can result when a machin