Abstract
The effect of serial correlation on acceptance sampling plans by variables has been examined in this paper assuming the quality measurements follow an AR(p) process. The effect of serial correlation can be examined by comparing OC curves, sample size and producer's risks, ∝, with that of the independent case when the process standard deviation, σ, is known. When σ is unknown and for large n, sampling plans can be constructed using the central limit theorem. However, for σ unknown and for small n, there is no satisfactory method of obtaining sampling plans.