Deck 16: Sustainable Operations Management Preparing for the Future

Question 1

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 1

It makes the supply chain more vulnerable to performance breakdowns.

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

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 3

Inspections after each piece is produced

Question 4

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 5

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 6

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 7

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 8

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 9

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 10

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 11

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 12

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 13

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 14

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 15

Achieving the goal of producing at the output rate that 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 16

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 17

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 18

Misuse of automation is a root cause of which of the following types of waste?

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

Question 19

Which two of the following 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 20

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 21

An initial step in implementing lean is:

A)Lower the break-even point so smaller quantities can be economically produced.
B)Outsource any non-core activity that can be done more efficiently by a supplier than by the firm.
C)Increase the contribution margin of product being sold.
D)Empower Kaizen teams to improve specific processes/activities.

Question 22

What is the possible impact of lean systems,if taken to its extreme,on supply chain risk?

A)No impact - they are not related
B)Positive impact - lean reduces risk
C)Negative impact - lean increases risk
D)Yet to be determined - the data is not yet in

Question 23

Lean design strives to achieve which of the following objectives?

A)Design products at the lowest cost
B)Design products that can be built with existing equipment
C)Design products that exactly meet customers' needs
D)Design products with the fewest number of options

Question 24

A lean systems culture is one that:

A)Focuses on maximizing output while minimizing input.
B)Produces mass-market products with wide appeal or applicability.
C)Places high value on respect for the people in the system.
D)Values accountability for errors and requires conformance.

Question 25

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 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

The goal of total productive maintenance is:

A)To fix equipment breakdowns before they happen.
B)Rigorous equipment design and upkeep.
C)Disciplined adherence to operating procedures.
D)Zero unplanned downtime.

Question 28

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 29

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 30

Kaizen events are most effective when applied to problems involving which of the following elements?

A)Processes
B)Products
C)Customers
D)Measures

Question 31

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

A)Encourage use of unique components.
B)Specify value for each specific product.
C)Pursue perfection.
D)Let the customer pull value from the producer.

Question 32

The use of Lean and Lean Systems is most supportive of which of the following competitive priorities,as described in Chapter 2?

A)Quality
B)Cost
C)Timeliness
D)Innovation

Question 33

Responsibility for a Kaizen event is in the hands of:

A)A manufacturing/industrial engineer
B)A member of top management
C)A facilitator
D)An employee of the process being studied
E)None of these

Question 34

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 35

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

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

Question 36

What is the defining objective of lean?

A)Eliminating waste and its causes
B)Reducing process variance
C)Producing a product that a customer will want
D)Reducing cost

Question 37

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 38

Footprinting 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

Question 39

Which phrase/word best captures what lean is?

A)A set of effective,well defined tools designed to reduce waste
B)A quantitative methodology for attacking variance
C)A procedure to be used within operation management and supply chain systems
D)A corporate philosophy