Acceptable Quality Levels

AQL (acceptable quality level) is an arbitrary, self-imposed specification that allows manufacturers to monitor their production processes on an ongoing basis.

In the case of medical gloves, Product Standards demanded by health authorities define AQLS. These levels are usually adopted by end users.

Most standards around the world specify an AQL for holes of 1.5 in surgical gloves and 2.5 in examination gloves.

If the AQL is 1, the defect level from a very large number of samples will not be more than 1%. For example, a batch of one million units may contain up to 10,000 defectives. AQL1.5 allows 15,000 defectives, and AQL0.065 about 650.

However, this tells us very little about the defect level in a smaller lot. For example, in a box of 100 gloves the chances of having zero defects ranges significantly from almost 94% at AQL0.065 to only 8% at AQL2.5.

No. of Defects	AQL 0.065	AQL 1.5	AQL 2.5
0 1 2 3 4 5 6+	93.7% 6.1% 0.2%	22.1% 33.6% 25.3% 12.6% 4.6% 1.4% 0.4%	8.0% 20.4% 25.9% 21.7% 13.5% 6.6% 3.9%

As the table shows, the average risk of receiving 2 or more holes in 100 pieces is virtually nil at AQL0.065. The risk is around 71.6% at AQL2.5.

When purchasing Surgical Gloves, AQL figures should be borne in mind as being relative to the amount of security you require in your procedures.