3.1 Benchmarking: is a systematic comparison of organizational processes and performance to create new standards or to improve processes. Benchmarking models are used to determine how well a business unit, division, organization or corporation is performing compared with other similar organizations. A benchmark is often used for improving communication, professionalizing the organizationprocesses or for budgetary reasons. The chart below shows the process of benchmarking: Poor quality of teaCause & effect diagrams: are often called Ishikawa and sometimes Fishbone because of their skeletal appearance. The effect is considered to be the head, and potential causes and sub-causes of the problem, or quality characteristiccondition to be the bone structure of the fish. And they are typically used by QCs. Here is a 4M diagram example for the Haoming Tea Production Ltd in my hometown: Materials Method Raw tea Storage period Supervision Freshness Board of the company Management Fertilizer DecisionPoor tea quality Workers Empowerment Training Machines Modern skills Computelise Skills Equipment TechnologyManpower Machinery Flow diagrams: is a diagrammatic representation of the steps in a process sequence. It shows the order in which the separate operations take place, with easily recognized symbols to show the nature of each operation. It is used at the beginning of the process, and it helps the individuals to understand how the process works. The chart below is the flow diagram of ball-point pen assembly. Histograms: is a way of summarizing data that are measured on an interval scale (either discrete or continuous). It is often used in exploratory data analysis to illustrate the major features of the distribution of the data in a convenient form. It divides up the range of possible values in a data set into classes or groups. The chart below shows the employees training scores of a company from 0 to 100 frequencies: Pareto diagram: The Pareto chart is a specialized version of a histogram that ranks the categories in the chart from most frequent to least frequent. A Pareto Chart is useful for non-numeric data, such as cause, type, or classification. This tool helps to prioritize where action and process changes should be focused. If one is trying to take action based upon causes of accidents or events, it is generally most helpful to focus efforts on the most frequent causes. The example chart below shows the relationship between defect classes such as dimension out, poor surface finish, and loose joints with the relative frequency. Scatter diagram: is used to display a relationship that may exist between two factors or variables. Although the Scatter Diagram cannot determine the cause of such a relationship, it can show whether or not such a relationship exists, and if so, just how strong it is. Scatter diagrams may be used in examining a cause-and-effect relationship between variable data. The chart below is an example of this weak type of positive correlation, which is said to exhibit just a possible positive correlation. It shows the correlation between elapsed time and time of the day. Check sheets: Check sheets allow the user to collect data from a process in an easy, systematic, and organized manner. Check sheets are some of the most common tools used for collecting data. They allow the data to be collected in an easy, systematic, and organized manner. Also, data collected using check sheets can be used as input data for other quality tools such as Pareto diagrams. The chart below is a Defective Item Check Sheet. It shows what types of problems or defects are occurring in the process. Defect TypeInsufficient SolderCold SolderSolder BridgeBlow HolesExcessive SolderFrequencyxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxTotal523823.2Affinity diagram: an affinity diagram is used to gather large amount of language data (ideas, issues, and opinions) and to organize them into groupings based on their natural relationships. In other words, it is a form of brainstorming. The steps of making a affinity diagram are as follows: Identify the problem. Generate ideas. Cluster your ideas (on cards or paper) into related groups. Create affinity cards. Cluster related affinity cards. The chart below indicates the issue statement within a company, and all the ideas among the headers. . Interrelationship diagrams: the tool is designed to take a central idea, issues or problem, and map out the logical or sequential l