Adjusting sample size and frequency of sampling to meet quality goals

With the goal of measuring and controlling how closely goods or services conform to a predetermined standard or to a mean, quality can be viewed as a fuzzy concept. Thus, fuzzy sets and systems become appropriate for assuring that quality is achieved. Quality assurance is, itself, dependent on a system of policies, procedures, and guidelines encompassing both internal and external factors that affect quality. Therefore, a fuzzy control system is a logical extension of the traditional quality assurance process. Use of a fuzzy controller allows for learning to take place in order to make appropriate decisions with respect to sample size and frequency of sampling. The fuzzy controller developed in this paper allows error and variations in error to be incorporated into determination of whether the sample size and/or frequency of sampling should be increased or decreased; slightly or significantly