Quality control assessment of M&M color distribution in packaging

Masterfoods Quality Control Assessment

Masterfoods in a retail food processing plant that relies on a combination of machinery and human operation of said machinery in order to individually package, encase and prepare foodstuffs for distribution. The system's efficiency and expediency are the top determinants of the quality of operations. Therefore, it is incumbent upon me as the quality control manager to ensure that both efficiency and expediency are reflected in the output of foodstuffs. The quality control test report below is a demonstration of how this process is undergone.

Project Part 1: Sampling Method

Part 1 provides a sampling method intended to serve as a basic representation of the process of quality control and color proportion analysis. Here, three 1.69oz bags of M&Ms are employed and counted to deliver some basic representative figures. Particularly, there are an average of 56.3 candies per bag, with a decided consistency in the count of each bag. By contrast, color proportions in the three bags are highly inconsistent.

Project Part 2: Method, Analysis, Results

Part 2 provides an expanded analysis with some of the figures accounted for in the first sampling expanded to include a 104 bag quality control test sample. Here, the number of candies in a bag and the number of each color represented by each bag are outlined for the entire test sample. The figures found here will serve as the bases for calculations made in subsequent tests, including the basic finding that in the sampled bags, there was an average of 11.7 blue candies, 11.3 orange candies, 11.0 green candies, 7.7 yellow candies, 7.3 red candies and 7.2 brown candies.

Project Part 3: Method, Analysis, Results

Part 3 tests the veracity of the claims that there are an average of 54 candies per bag and that there are an average of 24% blue candies in each bag. In order to confirm or refute this claim, the table here determines that 104 bags and the corresponding number of total candies and candies by individual color will require assessment in order to obtain a 95% confidence interval.

Project Part 5: Method, Analysis, Results

Because Red and Brown candies are expected to amount to roughly 13% of each bag, one dimension of quality control is denoted in their equality to one another. Part 5 finds that in the 104 bags tested, and with 5851 candies accounted for in total among the tested bags, there were 761 red candies and 748 brown candies. The difference between the two is statistically insignificant, with red candies amounting to .130063 of the bag and brown candies amounting to .127841. Not only are these numbers in extremely close proximity to one another, but both are rounded to equal exactly 13% of the bag. This denotes a successful quality control test.

Quality Control:

Among the possible explanations for the failure of the batch evaluated in Part 4 is an error on the part of machinery. Particularly, the sorting mechanisms which are designed to maintain a count of the M&M's produced and distributed to bags may require some external maintenance. Because a great deal of the process is automated, machines do require regular maintenance and attention. As is demonstrated here, even a slight failure in the area of calibration can result in entire batches of below-standard product output.

Another explanation is that the failure was precipitated by human error. Conceivably, misuse of the machinery or an absence of concentrated oversight as the machine operates may have contributed to the missed count. Here, the methods of improved training or greater managerial oversight on the production floor may contribute significantly to improved results on the part of the personnel that must conduct and operate sorting and packaging machinery.

A third and common type of error, and perhaps the likeliest in this instance, is a computing error. The packaging system will rely heavily on the input of figures conforming to expected portions and proportions per bag. An error where the input of such figures is concerned will have a determinant impact on the way that candies are distributed. There is, therefore, also an imperative to ensure that the IT system used to guide production is itself subjected to extensive and painstaking investigation for the source of the error.

Conclusion:

Ultimately, the failure represented in Part 4 of testing illustrates the high level of quality control and oversight which is required to release a product into the marketplace. Especially where a product of tremendous familiarity and customer loyalty is concerned, the oversight provided for such details as the distribution of color is tantamount to the achievement of a product that is both consistent and, consequently, is consistently successful.