ABSTRACT
Acceptance sampling has been used in some form since the 1920s. When a manufacturing concern purchases parts, when a restaurant purchases food, or when any other organization purchases raw material for further processing, it hopes to purchase only material meeting specifications. There is a certain amount of risk involved in using any sampling plan because all parts are not examined. This risk, which is present any time sampling inspection is performed, can be quantified when acceptance sampling is used. The chapter concentrates the basic statistical procedures rather than the inspection procedures and quality assurance program that must accompany the inspection plans. Comparison of sampling plans usually focuses on two factors — overall quality after inspection of many lots of material and inspection costs. The operating characteristic curve (OC curve) shows the relationship between lot quality and the likelihood of accepting the lot for a given sampling plan.
