Pareto chart

How it is used

One of the seven basic quality tools. It is based on the Pareto principle, or 80/20 rule: roughly 80% of problems come from 20% of causes. Teams make a Pareto chart of defects or downtime reasons and attack the top bars first.

Example sentences

1. The Pareto chart shows that three defect types make up 75% of all complaints.

2. Let's make a Pareto chart of last month's downtime reasons before the meeting.

Common collocations

• Pareto chart of defects
• Pareto analysis
• 80/20 rule
• top three on the Pareto

Related terms

• root cause analysisA structured way of finding the deepest reason for a problem, so that it can be fixed for good instead of only treating the symptoms. Often shortened to RCA.
• fishbone diagramA cause-and-effect diagram shaped like a fish skeleton: the problem is the head, and the bones list possible causes in groups such as people, machine, method, material, measurement and environment.
• defectA fault in a product or part that means it does not meet its specification, such as a scratch, a crack, a wrong dimension or a missing component.
• downtimeTime when a machine or line is not producing even though it is scheduled to, because of a breakdown, a changeover, missing material or another problem.
• ABC analysisSorting stock items into three groups by value: A items are few but make up most of the value, C items are many but low in value, and B items are in between.

More terms: Process Improvement

• continuous improvement
• kaizen
• standard operating procedure
• 5 Whys
• PDCA cycle
• streamline