Development and Evaluation of Surveillance Sampling Plans

The problem of maintaining quality of inventory in the presence of deterioration is studied. Repeated application of sampling inspections together with replacement policies are used to maintain quality. The effect of such repeated applications can be measured in terms of the proportion of poor product existing at any time. In this paper, the sampling plans studied are those commonly used in acceptance sampling, and the replacement policy consists in replacing lots judged defective by the sampling procedure. The theory of Markov processes is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the sampling plans and replacement policy. As illustrations, special cases are considered. Graphs are provided for these cases.