AbstractRenewal theory is used to study the effectiveness of a class of continuous sampling plans first introduced by Dodge. This approach provides a simple way of viewing and computing the long‐run Average Outgoing Quality (AOQ) and its maximum AOQL. More importantly, it is used to study the average outgoing quality in a short production run through an approximation formula AOQ*(t). Formulas for AOQ and AOQ*(t) are provided. By simulation, it is found that AOQ*(t) is sufficiently accurate in situations corresponding to actual practic