Quality controls are very important for any company, but they are especially popular in manufacturing companies. Would you like to know how you can improve your quality controls? We show you the AQL calculator. Quality control is of vital importance in industrial processes. This control allows monitoring the products and the productive activities of the company.

Without quality control, the viability of the company is in serious danger in the long term. Errors in processes produce defective products, defective products generate dissatisfied customers, and dissatisfied customers will cease to be customers sooner or later.

Given its importance, in this article, we will teach you the AQL calculator. A tool that will allow your company to improve its processes, reduce errors and, in the long run, improve its position in the market.

What is the AQL Calculator and How Does it Work?

AQL stands for Acceptable Quaility Limit. AQL is not actually a calculator, but a sampling process used in production orders to check the status of the same and check if it meets the customer’s specifications.

Once the process is completed, the customer can choose in an informed, transparent and objective way whether he wants to accept the order or not. Of course, in order to meet this goal, we need to complete the process. And this is where the AQL calculator comes in. Being tables, this tool facilitates, speeds up and makes the process more accurate.

AQL Tables To Make Sampling Calculator Process Easier

To begin with, we need to understand the two tables that give rise to the result.

AQL Table I: Sample Size Code Letters

The first table shows the sample size in the column. For example, the first row tells us that the lot size is between 2 and 8. From there, it tells us what is the letter in which we must look when carrying out quality control.

AQL Table II: Single Sampling Plans for Normal Inspection

For example, let’s imagine we have a batch of 400 apples. And we are going to perform the general inspection level I. What letter appears? The letter F. And what is the use of that letter? To interpret the second table:

Since we got the letter F, we go to row F. It first informs us that the sample size is 20. That is, of 400 apples, we will have to take 20 apples randomly.

Now suppose we agree with the customer a level 4 inspection. How do we know whether or not they accept the order? If we set the letter F and quality level 4, it indicates that with 2 apples with some incidence (or that do not meet any requirement), our order would be accepted. However, with that level of demand, if we had 3 apples in poor condition or that do not meet the requirements, our order would be rejected.

This process is what the AQL calculator does in a fully automated way. And that is why its use is recommended.

What are the Benefits of the AQL Calculator?

While it is not a perfect method, the standards have shown that it is one of the best processes to perform a quality control process. That is why it is worth highlighting the associated benefits of using this method using the AQL calculator.

  • This is a tested method. The ISO standard that includes everything we need to know about this method of inspection is ISO 2859.
  • It improves the efficiency of production processes, as it reduces errors.
  • It can improve business profitability.
  • If our results are good, we will improve bargaining power.
  • When order volumes are very large, it is impossible to adapt to ISO standards without such a tool.

Even with all the benefits, the AQL inspection method does not guarantee the absence of errors. It simply improves transparency and enables data-driven decisions. For example, by using it, customers can decide what level of defective products they are willing to accept according to the level of demand. The latter improves the long-term relationship between the parties and the conditions of the negotiation.