ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
HOW QC SAMPLING RELIES ON ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS
AQL is based on acceptance sampling, a statistical QC sampling
method for determining whether to accept or reject a production lot
based on a representative sample size.
AQL is basically defined as the lowest or worst quality level, or limit,
that is acceptable in an order of goods. This is generally measured in
quality defects found, or pieces found with quality defects, in the
inspected sample size. And this ratio of defects found per total
sample size helps determine whether the order passes or fails
inspection.
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
HOW QC SAMPLING RELIES ON ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS
Two potential problems can result from using the wrong sample size
for inspection:
•Inspecting too few pieces to accurately assess the total order. You
risk discovering only after receiving the total shipment at your
warehouse that there are more defects than you anticipated based
on the inspection result.
•Inspecting too many pieces than necessary to accurately assess
the total order. This can raise your QC costs and delay production or
shipping.
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
HOW QC SAMPLING RELIES ON ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS
Which AQL standard is best for you?
The most common AQL standard for the consumer goods industry is
ANSI-ASQ Z.14 was developed by the American National Standards
Institute (ANSI) and the American Society for Quality (ASQ).
The ANSI-ASQ Z.14 AQL. Table will help you determine:
•The appropriate sample size you need to inspect, determined by
your lot size
•The maximum number of defects you will accept in the order,
sometimes known as an “accept point”, as determined by your
defect tolerance, or AQL
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
HOW QC SAMPLING RELIES ON ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS
Knowing these empowers you to make an informed decision to
accept or reject the entire lot based on the results of inspecting a
sample. But how large should your sample size be? The AQL table
outlines several different sample sizes, which vary slightly in size and
risk. While all the sample sizes are statistically valid, some will
provide more insight into order quality than others. It’s up to you to
select your desired sample size based on your appetite for risk.
How do you know which sample size best matches your order,
budget and appetite for risk? Let’s take a closer look at the AQL
inspection levels.
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
WHAT ARE THE THREE AQL GENERAL INSPECTION LEVELS?
There are three general AQL inspection levels: “GI”, “GII” and “GIII”.
Each indicate sample sizes for a non-destructive inspection.
The inspector generally inspects the entire sample size for quality
issues related to performance, function and visual appearance. Any
quality defects found during inspection contribute to the overall
“pass” or “fail” result.
You can find GI, GII and GIII sample sizes for your lot size in the AQL
table. This first part of the AQL table helps you determine your AQL
inspection level and sample size. We’ll explain later how the second
part of the table helps you determine how many defects you should
accept in the sample size.
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
Higher inspection levels generally correspond to larger sample
sizes, with GIII being the highest.
For example, let’s consider a lot size of 5,000 pieces, represented
in the table below within the range 3,201 to 10,000. The three
inspection levels each result in a different sample size, denoted by
a different letter—“J”, “L” and “M” in this case.
These letters correspond to three different sample sizes—80,
200 and 315 pieces, respectively, as shown in the second part of
the AQL chart below.
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
GI INSPECTION LEVEL
GI inspection level offers the smallest sample sizes of the three
general inspection levels. Considered the “budget option”, GI may
be your best option if you’re particularly short on time or money.
GI may be adequate in cases where:
You have strict budgetary constraints and can’t afford to send an
inspector to inspect for longer than one day
Products are of low value, such as promotional goods, or pose
minimal safety risks
Suppliers have a strong quality management system based on
ISO 9001 and a long and consistent history of meeting your
requirements.
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
GI INSPECTION LEVEL
Using the 5,000-piece lot size above, let’s say you choose the GI
sample size of J, or 80 pieces. This sample size then also
influences the number of defects you can accept in your order.
To determine your accept and reject points, you must first set
your acceptable quality levels for each defect type. Just as your
tolerance for defects can vary by the severity of each defect, so
you should select acceptable quality level for each.
Many importers set acceptable quality levels of 4 or higher for
“minor” defects for consumer goods. You might similarly choose
an AQL of 2.5 for “major” and 0 for “critical” defects, indicating a
lower tolerance for these more severe defects.
.
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
GI INSPECTION LEVEL
Let’s say you choose an AQL of 2.5 for major defects in our current
example. You would then have an accept point of 5 defects and a
reject point of 6 defects in the inspected sample of 80 pieces.
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
You can raise or lower your acceptable quality levels based on your
tolerance for quality defects. Remember, the higher your
acceptable quality level, the higher your tolerance for quality
defects in your order.
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
GII INSPECTION LEVEL
Inspection companies sometimes refer to the GII AQL inspection
level as a “normal” sample size. GII is the inspection level
importers most often choose, as GII achieves wider coverage scope
with relatively low cost.
GII inspection level is often especially fitting for the first inspection
of a lot. Seeing these first results can help you determine if GII is
still suitable going forward, or if you should raise or lower your
inspection level.
Now let’s look at how a GII sample size of L, or 200 pieces, would
influence the accept and reject points for your order of 5,000
pieces.
The accept and reject points generally increase with the sample
size, assuming your acceptable quality levels stay the same. So with
an AQL of 2.5, your accept point increases to 10 defects, and your
reject point increases to 11 defects.
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
GIII INSPECTION LEVEL
The GIII inspection level provides the largest sample size for your lot
out of the three AQL inspection levels. Compared to the GI sample
size of 80 units for a 5,000-piece lot size, the GIII sample size is
nearly four times as large—315 pieces.
This general inspection level offers the largest scope and greatest
assurance of order status and quality with acceptance sampling.
Thus, GIII minimizes your risk of unknowingly accepting a shipment
with a higher portion of defective pieces than found during
inspection.
Returning to your 5,000-piece lot size, a GIII sample size of 315
pieces would lead to an accept point of 14 defects and a reject point
of 15 defects.
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
GIII INSPECTION LEVEL
You might consider using a GIII AQL inspection level if:
➢Your supplier has a history of poor quality
➢This is your first order with a supplier
➢This is the first order of a newly developed product ; or
➢The product is of particularly high value (e.g. luxury goods) or
poses particularly high risk (e.g. medical devices)
➢Some importers might find this inspection level cost prohibitive, as
it will take the inspector more time to check more goods.
➢Carefully consider the factory’s quality history, available inspection
manpower and QC budget when determining whether to use the
GIII inspection level for your order.
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
HOW DO AQL INSPECTION LEVELS COMPARE TO 100 PERCENT
INSPECTION?
Some importers go even farther than the GIII inspection level and
instead conduct a 100 percent inspection.
A 100 percent inspection might be cost prohibitive for importers,
especially those hiring a third party for inspection. Considering the
5000-piece lot size above, multiple inspectors may need several days
to check the entire order against your requirements.
A 100 percent inspection is more reasonable for smaller orders. In
fact, the ANSI/ASQ Z.14 standard indicates performing a 100 percent
inspection if the AQL sample size equals, or exceeds, your lot size.
Your supplier should also always conduct 100 percent inspection
themselves before an independent inspector checks the goods a
second time.
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
HOW DO AQL INSPECTION LEVELS COMPARE TO 100 PERCENT
INSPECTION?
This 100 percent inspection allows the supplier the opportunity to
proactively find and address any defects ahead of the shipment
date.
But factory QC staff rarely apply statistical QC sampling methods, nor
will they typically provide you a detailed inspection report. This is
why many importers choose to employ in-house or third-party QC
teams to conduct inspection using AQL samplimg before shipping.
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
WHEN SHOULD YOU USE SPECIAL INSPECTION LEVELS INSTEAD?
Special inspection levels are organized similarly to general inspection
levels in the AQL chart. And like general inspection levels, their sample
sizes are determined by the lot size and range from small (“S1”) to
large (“S4”).
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
The main difference between general and special inspection
levels is that special inspection levels generally point to much
smaller sample sizes. The typical sample size for a special
inspection level is just a handful of pieces.
These sample sizes are smaller because special inspection levels
are typically reserved for on site product test that are:
➢Destructive to the product, rendering it unsellable
➢Expensive or tedious to perform; or
➢Likely to yield similar results across all pieces in the order
Many importers mix and match general inspection levels, special
inspection levels and 100 percent inspection when determining
their inspection scope. For example, you might set different
inspection levels for the following checks, as shown in your QC
important to you.
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
HYBRID SYSTEM OF INSPECTION
Item function check: GII
Barcode scan check: S1
Re-inspection of reworked goods: 100 percent inspection
Other inspection checks that are evaluated on a simple
“conforming” or “nonconforming” basis, like packaging
requirements and measurements, also tend to influence the overall
inspection result. Always consider these checks in addition to the
AQL result when determining whether to approve a shipment.
You may want to consult a professional, third-party inspection
provider if you’re unsure which inspection level to use for your
order. They should be able to help you determine the most
efficient, but valuable, inspection scope for your order based on
which checkpoints and quality issues are most important to you.
ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVELS (AQL)
Exercise 01
ABC is a company import LED bulb form China to sale in local market.
They import bulb form same company for last five years the quality
of the bulbs were in acceptable level.
More customer complains received during last couple of month with
regard the last lot imported. The volume of the last lot was 500000
bulbs. The company decided to conduct the inspection for remaining
quantity which is 400000 bulbs and the due to competitiveness,
company sell the bulbs with limited profit margin.
(a) According to your view what is the best inspection type and the
level you proposed for above issue. Please provide the reasons for
select what you proposed.
(b) If the company selected to inspect the remained lot G1 and AQL
2.5 what is the maximum defective can occur to accept the lot.
