Deck 8: Lean Systems

Question 1

Which of the following would you NOT expect to find in a company attempting to implement lean/just-in-time production?

A)Emphasis on flexible, cross-trained workers
B)Inspections after each piece is produced
C)Frequent changeovers from one product to another
D)Emphasis on preventive maintenance for equipment

Answer 1

Inspections after each piece is produced

Question 2

We observe a man working on a setup. During the process of setting up, the man positions the die at a first position. He then runs through a few pieces to check whether or not they are acceptable. He then repositions the die and repeats the process. What we have observed is which of the following forms of waste?

A)Processing waste
B)Waste from product defects
C)Inventory waste
D)Waste of motion

Answer 2

Processing waste

Question 3

Applying lean systems to supply chain relationships has which of the following risks?

A)It encourages companies to buy at the lowest unit price.
B)It encourages firms in the supply chain to hold extra inventory to protect themselves from failure.
C)It makes the supply chain more vulnerable to performance breakdowns.
D)All of these.

Answer 3

It makes the supply chain more vulnerable to performance breakdowns.

Question 4

Lean systems applications have found the most acceptance and adoption in:

A)Service firms.
B)Entire supply chains.
C)Design activities.
D)Manufacturing firms.

Question 5

When lean systems are implemented:

A)Variable costs tend to increase, while fixed costs tend to decrease.
B)Fixed costs tend to increase, while variable costs tend to decrease.
C)Fixed and variable costs both tend to decrease.
D)Contribution margin tends to decrease.

Question 6

Which of the following two areas does lean/just-in-time production focus its attention on?
I. Cost
II. Quality
III. Variance
IV. Waste

A)I and III
B)II and IV
C)I and II
D)III and IV

Question 7

John Jones is a plant manager. He believes his plant is guilty of "waste of overproduction." Which of the following symptoms might he have observed that led to this belief?

A)Idle equipment.
B)Excess inventory.
C)High customer returns of products.
D)All of these.

Question 8

A production kanban authorizes a worker to:

A)Add an empty bin.
B)Withdraw a standard lot of a specific item.
C)Withdraw any item he feels is needed.
D)Replenish an empty bin.

Question 9

Most of the tools and techniques used in lean systems seek to:

A)Reduce variability from the system.
B)Reduce the operator's discretion.
C)Improve product quality.
D)None of these.

Question 10

Which of the following most accurately describes the role of quality in a lean/just-in-time manufacturing environment?

A)High quality is an important waste reduction tool. Reducing defects reduces wasted material and capacity, and reduces the need for safety stocks.
B)Quality has little to do with JIT. JIT is primarily a scheduling and inventory control tool.
C)The important thing is to screen the defects out of incoming components and raw materials. If this is done, the production process can carry on without much concern for quality.
D)Because everything is being done just in time, there is no time to worry about quality during the production process. Instead, we rely on screening out defects during finished goods inspection.

Question 11

In the lean systems approach, as a system improves, it should have ____________ inventory on hand.

A)More
B)The same amount of
C)Less
D)Twice the amount of

Question 12

Unnecessary automation is an example of which of the following forms of waste?

A)Overproduction
B)Process
C)Motion
D)Rework

Question 13

As lean systems thinking is implemented, the amount of training that employees receive:

A)Tends to be about the same as with other manufacturing philosophies.
B)Tends to increase.
C)Tends to be reduced dramatically, replaced instead by continuous improvement.
D)Is focused exclusively on statistical process control.

Question 14

In our accounting department one of the actions taken by a clerk has been to identify the most frequently used forms and to put them in an area where they can be easily accessed. The other less frequently used forms have been tagged and put in their own separate area. This action likely occurred from the use of which lean tool?

A)A 5-S program
B)Kanban scheduling
C)Jidoka
D)Poka-yoke

Question 15

McGreen Burger Shop sells about two burgers per minute. Although the cook can cook up to 10 burgers per minute, he starts to cook another burger only after the salesperson removes a burger from the ramp. The ramp is large enough to hold only five burgers and keep them warm until a sale is made. This is an example of a:

A)Pull system.
B)Push system.
C)Group technology.
D)Poka-yoke.

Question 16

Zanadu Corp. produces several different colors of a product on a single production line. It used to take several hours to switch colors, but now Zanadu has found a way to prepare for changing colors in a few minutes. This was most likely accomplished by:

A)TAKT time flow balancing.
B)Implementing andon lights.
C)Converting internal to external setups.
D)Converting external to internal setups.

Question 17

A standard electrical plug fits into an outlet in only one way because one of the two prongs is larger than the other. This ensures that people will insert the plug properly to create a grounded circuit. This is an example of:

A)Cause-and-effect analysis.
B)Kanban.
C)Poka-yoke.
D)A benefit of Pareto analysis.

Question 18

In a lean system, waste is any action that

A)Costs money.
B)Could be done by an outside supplier.
C)Does not generate value.
D)Must be performed manually.

Question 19

Johnson Corp. has so strongly embraced the lean philosophy that it wants to apply the approach to all processes in the organization. Doing this may actually have the most severe negative impact on:

A)Radical product innovation.
B)Incremental product innovation.
C)TAKT time.
D)All of these.

Question 20

Achieving the goal of producing at the output rate which matches the rate of customer demand is the goal of:

A)Jidoka.
B)Poka-yoke.
C)Total productive maintenance.
D)Takt time flow balancing.

Question 21

Which of the following lean principles best communicates the notion of demand synchronization?

A) Produce only the products that the customer wants.
B) Build with perfect quality.
C) Build only as quickly as customers want them.
D) Build only with features that the customers want and no others.

Question 22

The purpose of the kanban card is to:

A)Be a signal from the user authorizing the maker to start producing the required parts.
B)Keep track of defective products.
C)Inform the maker of the exact specification of the required parts.
D)Keep track of the total labor hours spent on a finished product.

Question 23

Which of the following is an important belief found in lean cultures?

A)Inventory is to be reduced.
B)Cost must be reduced.
C)Management must be done through the use of appropriate tools and procedures.
D)Waste is a symptom.

Question 24

Taichi Ohno, the founder of lean/just-in-time, when he came to America in the 1950s was most impressed with which of the following American developments?

A)The assembly line
B)Ford's River Rouge assembly plant
C)The productivity of American workers
D)The American supermarket

Question 25

C-TPAT or Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism is a program designed to manage the flow of orders across borders. It is an example of which of the following risks for lean supply chains?

A)Operational/technological
B)Social
C)Economy/competition
D)Legal/political

Question 26

In which operational setting has lean/just-in-time experienced the lowest levels of acceptance/implementation?

A)Manufacturing
B)Services
C)Across the supply chain
D)Turbulent business settings

Question 27

Which of the following are NOT associated with quality at the source?

A)Total productive maintenance
B)Jidoka
C)Stop-and-fix systems
D)Andons (trouble lights)

Question 28

We have a situation where we have many different processes; high quantities are required to deliver the product's value both on the factory floor and in the customer's use. Which of the following categories of waste in product design have we encountered in this situation?

A)Complexity
B)Precision
C)Danger
D)Sensitivity

Question 29

Which of the following is NOT one of the product/process design principles associated with lean/just-in-time production?

A)Encourage use of unique components.
B)Design products with as few parts as possible.
C)Design products that are easy to assemble.
D)Use flexible processes and cross-trained workers as much as possible.

Question 30

Tools at the point of use is an example of which of the following elements of the 5-S program?

A)Seiri/Sort/Clear out
B)Seiton/Straighten/Configure
C)Seiso/Scrub/Clean and check
D)Seiketsu/Systematize/Confirm