Read the case description below, watch the 2 videos in this module that accompany the case.

Frito-Lay,the mutual-billion-dollar snack food giant, produces billions of poundsof product every year at its dozens of U.S. and Canadian plants. Fromthe farming of potatoes-in Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan-tofactory and to retail stores, the ingredients and final product of Lay'schips, for example, are inspected at least 11 times: in the field,before unloading at the plant, after washing and peeling, at the sizingstation, at the fryer, after seasoning when bagged (for weight), atcarton filling, in the warehouse, and as they are placed on the storeshelf by Frito-Lay personnel. Similar inspections take place for itsother famous products, including Cheetos, Fritos, Ruffles, and Tostitos.

Inaddition to these employee inspections, the firm uses proprietaryvision systems to look for defective potato chips. Chips are pulled offthe high-speed line and checked twice if the vision system senses themto be too brown.

The company follows the very strict standards ofthe American Institute of Baking (AIB), standards that are much tougherthan those of the U.S Food and Drug Administration. Two unannounced AIBsite visits per year keep Frito-Lay's plant on their toes. Scores,consistently in the "excellent" range, are posted, and every employeeknows exactly how the plant is doing.

There are two key metrics inFrito-Lay's continuous improvement quality program: (1) total customercomplaints (measured on a complaints per million bag basis and (2)hourly or daily statistical process control scores (for oil, moisture,seasoning, and salt content, for chip thickness, for fryer temperature,and for weight).

In the Florida plant, Angela McCormack, who holdsengineering and MBA degrees, oversees a 15-member quality assurancestaff. They watch all aspects of quality, including training employeeson the factory floor, monitoring automated processing equipment, anddeveloping and updating statistical process control (SPC) charts. Theupper and lower control limits for one check point, salt content inLay's chip, are 2.22% (UCL) and 1.98% (LCL), respectively. To seeexactly how the limits are created using SPC, watch the Frito LayControl Charts video in the Module below that accompanies this case.

In the Excel document (below in this Module) you are going to:

A.Create a new set of UCL and LCL measurements based on the below sampledata and using the provided population parameter for standard deviation.

B.Write a paragraph to Angela explaining whether or not the newsalination process (from which we obtained the sample data) isdelivering a new set of UCL/LCL measurements that is within thespecifications set by the current set of control limits. In other words,does the new set of UCL/LCL measurement exceed the prior limits(meaning it is unacceptable) or equals or is less than the currentspecifications?

C. Using the sample data build an SPC chart similar to the one contained in the second video in the Module below.

D. Answer the other two critical thinking questions about Frito Lay's chosen distribution method and quality demands.

Discussion Questions (to be answered in the Excel Spreadsheet)

1.Angela is now going to evaluate a new salt process delivery system andwants to know if the upper and lower control limits at 3 standarddeviations for the new system will meet the upper and lower controlsspecifications currently used (2.22 and 1.98). The population standarddeviation is s = .07 and each sample is n=4.

The data (in percent) from the initial trial samples are:

Provideyour findings to Angela (This should be done as a memo-type paragraphdescribing your method of researching the request and your results).

Follow-up Critical Thinking Questions:

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Frito-Lay drivers stocking their customers' shelves?

3. Why is quality a critical function at Frito-Lay?