SQA Common 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the purpose of an 'incoming inspection' in a quality system?
- To verify that purchased materials meet specified requirements before use (Correct answer)
- To inspect finished goods before shipment to the customer
- To audit the supplier's manufacturing facility
- To test production equipment before use
Correct answer: To verify that purchased materials meet specified requirements before use
Incoming inspection evaluates received materials and components against purchase specifications to prevent nonconforming inputs from entering the production process.
Question 2: Which type of sampling plan uses a single sample to make an accept or reject decision for a lot?
- Single sampling plan (Correct answer)
- Double sampling plan
- Sequential sampling plan
- Skip-lot sampling plan
Correct answer: Single sampling plan
A single sampling plan inspects one random sample from a lot and uses the result to accept or reject the entire lot.
Question 3: In quality management, what is 'continual improvement' (as opposed to 'continuous improvement')?
- Improvement that occurs through a series of incremental steps over time, not necessarily without interruption (Correct answer)
- An uninterrupted, non-stop improvement process
- Improvement driven solely by customer complaints
- A one-time project to improve a specific process
Correct answer: Improvement that occurs through a series of incremental steps over time, not necessarily without interruption
ISO 9001 uses 'continual improvement' to mean recurring improvement through planned activities, acknowledging that improvement may have pauses between cycles.
Question 4: What is the function of a 'Supplier Corrective Action Request' (SCAR)?
- To formally request that a supplier investigate and correct a quality problem (Correct answer)
- To authorize a supplier to begin production on a new part
- To document a supplier's audit findings
- To approve a supplier's corrective action plan
Correct answer: To formally request that a supplier investigate and correct a quality problem
A SCAR is issued to a supplier when a nonconformance is detected, requiring them to identify the root cause and implement corrective actions.
Question 5: What does Acceptance Quality Limit (AQL) represent in sampling inspection?
- The maximum percentage of defects considered acceptable for a lot to be accepted (Correct answer)
- The minimum sample size required for a statistically valid inspection
- The maximum number of lots that can be rejected before a supplier is disqualified
- The percentage of lots inspected on a skip-lot basis
Correct answer: The maximum percentage of defects considered acceptable for a lot to be accepted
AQL defines the worst acceptable quality level; lots at or better than the AQL have a high probability of being accepted under the sampling plan.
Question 6: Which tool in quality management is used to visually display the relationship between a quality problem and its potential causes?
- Cause-and-effect (Ishikawa) diagram (Correct answer)
- Control chart
- Pareto chart
- Scatter diagram
Correct answer: Cause-and-effect (Ishikawa) diagram
The Ishikawa (fishbone) diagram organizes potential causes of a problem into categories such as Man, Machine, Material, Method, Environment, and Measurement.
Question 7: In SQA, what is the primary purpose of a 'lessons learned' review?
- To capture knowledge from a project to improve future quality performance (Correct answer)
- To assign blame for quality failures to responsible parties
- To document all defects found during a project for customer reporting
- To update training materials with new regulatory requirements
Correct answer: To capture knowledge from a project to improve future quality performance
Lessons learned reviews identify what worked well and what did not so that successful practices are repeated and mistakes are avoided in future projects.
SQA Common 5
What is the purpose of an 'incoming inspection' in a quality system?