Deck 14: Lean Supply Chains

Question 1

Uniform plant loading is where you schedule production with different amounts of the same product each day of the week to permit variation to meet changing demand requirements.

Answer 1

False
Explanation: (Uniform plant loading is) building the same mix of products every day in small quantities.Thus, a total mix is always available to respond to variations in demand.

Question 2

In the textbook, the expression "quality at the source" means that we need to purchase the best quality a supplier or vendor can provide.

Answer 2

False
Explanation: Quality at the source means do it right the first time and, when something goes wrong, stop the process or assembly line immediately.

Question 3

One of the aims of value stream mapping to eliminate waste in a process.

Answer 3

True
Explanation: With value stream mapping, identification of wasteful processes and flows can be made so that they can be modified or eliminated, and the manufacturing system can be made more productive.

Question 4

Lean production replaced JIT in the 1990s because JIT did not address the problem of reducing waste.

Question 5

Group technology is a philosophy wherein similar parts are grouped together and the processes required to make the parts are arranged as a work cell.

Question 6

JIT manufacturing forces a firm to work with a lower water level despite safety hazards.

Question 7

Lean production requires a "push and pull" system of inventory replenishment.

Question 8

Henry Ford used JIT concepts as he streamlined his moving assembly lines to make automobiles in the early 1900s.

Question 9

Value stream mapping is used to visualize product flows through various processing steps.

Question 10

Group technology cells help to eliminate movement and queue (waiting) time between operations.

Question 11

A principle of value stream mapping is to concentrate on speeding up value-added operations.

Question 12

Lean production makes implementing green strategies in manufacturing processes more difficult.

Question 13

Group technology includes the set of psychological tests and training exercises given to group workers to ensure a high level of teamwork.

Question 14

JIT production means that we produce the product before it is required so the customer does not wait for the product.

Question 15

"Quality at the source" requires factory workers to become their own inspectors.

Question 16

Uniform plant loading is a process of smoothing the production activity flow to dampen the reaction waves that normally occur in response to schedule variations.

Question 17

Lean production is an integrated set of activities designed to achieve high-volume production using minimal inventories of raw materials, work-in-process, and finished goods.

Question 18

The goal of JIT production is to drive all inventory queues lower.

Question 19

JIT is typically applied to nonrepetitive manufacturing.

Question 20

Lean production is a management philosophy and a pull system throughout the plant.

Question 21

Firms in Japan tend to have short-term relationships with their suppliers and customers.

Question 22

One of the many lean techniques that have been successfully applied in service firms is leveling facility load.

Question 23

Kanban means "symbol" or "box" in Japanese.

Question 24

One of the many lean techniques that have been successfully applied in service firms is the eliminating of unnecessary activities.

Question 25

Value stream mapping is used to identify all of the value-adding as well as non-value-adding processes that materials are subjected to within a plant.

Question 26

A kanban control system uses a signaling device to regulate JIT flows.

Question 27

One of the few lean techniques that does not work well in service firms is demand-pull scheduling.

Question 28

"Kanban squares" is an educational game played in kanban training sessions.

Question 29

The term "freeze window" refers to the practice of building quality into the process and not identifying quality by inspection.

Question 30

Preventive maintenance is emphasized in lean production to ensure that flows are not interrupted by downtime or malfunctioning equipment.

Question 31

Value stream mapping involves materials, not information.

Question 32

One of the many lean techniques that have been successfully applied in service firms is the upgrading of housekeeping.

Question 33

Respect for people is a key to Toyota's improvement ideas in manufacturing.

Question 34

A kaizen burst is an overfilled kanban container.

Question 35

A kaizen burst is a symbol on a value stream map.

Question 36

In Japanese manufacturing, automation and robotics are used extensively to perform dull or routine jobs so employees are free to focus on important improvement tasks.

Question 37

Company unions in Japan exist to foster a cooperative relationship with management.

Question 38

One of the many lean techniques that have been successfully applied in service firms is the upgrading of quality.

Question 39

Using the formula in the textbook, the only parameters we need to determine the number of kanban card sets is the average number of units demanded over some time period, the container size, and the safety stock.

Question 40

Subcontractor networks are not very important in Japanese manufacturing.

Question 41

Which of the following are related to lean production?

A)A philosophy of waste elimination
B)Lean consumption
C)Never running out of inventory
D)The Wahei-Subaru method
E)Full use of capacity

Question 42

Automation is a key to lean procurement.

Question 43

In implementing a lean production system, you should work with suppliers to do which of the following?

A)Open facilities near your factory.
B)Focus workstation capacities.
C)Backflush.
D)Provide quality at the source.
E)Reduce lead times.

Question 44

Applying lean concepts in manufacturing balances increases in cost with quality improvement.

Question 45

In implementing a lean production system you should work with suppliers to do which of the following?

A)Calculate lead times.
B)Use quality circles.
C)Freeze windows.
D)Make frequent deliveries.
E)Achieve bottom-round management.

Question 46

In the textbook, Toyota's Fujio Cho identified which of the following types of waste to be eliminated?

A)Excess quality
B)Overproduction
C)Underproduction
D)Environmental
E)Over-thinking

Question 47

Applying lean concepts to logistics is difficult unless either the manufacturer or the customer owns the logistics activities.

Question 48

Group technology (GT) is credited with which of the following benefits?

A)Reducing waiting time between process operations
B)Improving inventory discipline
C)Reducing required workforce skills
D)Improved labor relations
E)Improved small group functioning

Question 49

You have been called in as a consultant to set up a kanban control system.The first thing you do is to determine the number of kanban card sets needed.Your research shows that the expected demand during lead time for a particular component is 1,200 per hour.You estimate the safety stock should be set at 5 percent of the demand during lead time.The tote trays used as containers can hold 2 units of stock, and the lead time to replenish an order is 10 hours.Which of the following is the number of kanban card sets necessary to support this situation?

A)5,000
B)5,500
C)6,300
D)6,500
E)7,000

Question 50

In the textbook, Toyota's Fujio Cho identified which of the following types of waste to be eliminated?

A)Excess quality
B)Motion
C)Excess capacity
D)Underproduction
E)Excess demand

Question 51

Which of the following statements holds true for kanban production control systems?

A)The authority to produce or supply additional parts comes from upstream operations.
B)In a paperless control system, containers can be used instead of cards.
C)The cards or containers make up the kanban push system.
D)They require substantial quantitative analysis prior to implementation.
E)They have not been successful outside of Japan and the United States.

Question 52

Which of the following address elimination of waste under lean production?

A)Info-matic warehouse networks
B)Outsourced housekeeping
C)Quality at the source
D)Backflush
E)Bottom-round management

Question 53

Which of the following is an element that addresses elimination of waste under lean production?

A)Production ahead of demand
B)Group plant loading technology
C)Kanban production control system
D)Minimized run times
E)Full capacity utilization

Question 54

To implement lean production schedules, a firm would do which of the following?

A)Have excess capacity.
B)Force demand.
C)Hire a consultant.
D)Achieve bottom-up management.
E)Implement kanban groups.

Question 55

In setting up a Kanban control system you need to determine the number of kanban card sets needed.If assume the expected demand during lead time is 50 per hour, the safety stock is 20 percent of the demand during lead time, the container size is 4, and the lead time to replenish an order is 8 hours, what number of Kanban card sets is needed?

A)60
B)80
C)90
D)120
E)150

Question 56

In setting up a kanban control system you need to determine the number of kanban card sets needed.If the expected demand during lead time is 25 per hour, the safety stock is 20 percent of the demand during lead time, the container size is 5, and the lead time to replenish an order is 5 hours, what the number of kanban card sets is needed?

A)5
B)20
C)27
D)30
E)34

Question 57

In the textbook, Toyota's Fujio Cho identified which of the following types of waste to be eliminated?

A)Underproduction
B)Excess quality
C)Preventive maintenance
D)Product defects
E)Kaizen

Question 58

When implementing a lean production system, a stabilized schedule is achieved using which of the following?

A)Level scheduling
B)Demand pull
C)Freeze window
D)Reduced lot sizes
E)Bottom-round management

Question 59

You have been called in as a consultant to set up a Kanban control system.The first thing to do is to determine the number of Kanban card sets needed.Your research shows that the expected demand during lead time for a particular component is 150 per hour.You estimate the safety stock should be set at 25 percent of the demand during lead time.The tote trays used as containers can hold 8 units of stock, and the lead time it takes to replenish an order is 2 hours.Which of the following is the number of Kanban card sets necessary to support this situation?

A)42
B)47
C)68
D)89
E)94

Question 60

In designing a lean production facility layout, a designer should do which of the following?

A)Design for work flow balance.
B)Locate flexible workstations offline.
C)Link operations through a push system.
D)Balance capacity using job shop analysis.
E)Always keep operations on a single floor of the factory.

Question 61

Which of the following is a lean production technique that is not reported in the textbook to have been successfully applied in service firms?

A)Organization of problem-solving groups
B)Upgraded housekeeping
C)Upgraded quality
D)Frozen windows
E)Elimination of unnecessary activities

Question 62

Name Fujio Cho's seven prominent types of waste to be eliminated.(1) ___________________
(2) ___________________
(3) ___________________
(4) ___________________
(5) ___________________
(6) ___________________
(7) ___________________

Question 63

Explain why lean manufacturing requires a stable demand environment.

Question 64

Which of the following is not listed in the textbook as a component of a lean supply chain?

A)Lean customers
B)Lean management
C)Lean logistics
D)Lean warehousing
E)Lean procurement

Question 65

Imagine comparing a manufacturing operation using regular lot-sizing and the same operation with a kanban/lean production approach.What would be your expectations of the difference between the total cost (i.e., inventory holding costs + setup/ordering costs) of each?

A)Inventory holding cost will increase nonlinearly with inventory.
B)Total costs will be lower for the regular lot-size operation.
C)Total costs will be lower for the kanban/lean production operation.
D)The order quantity will be larger for the kanban/lean production approach.
E)As long as the total quantity is the same, total costs will be the same.

Question 66

To develop a lean manufacturing system a firm might do which of the following?

A)Eliminate anything that does not add value for the customer.
B)Standardize product configurations.
C)Process design with product design.
D)Adopt a kaizen philosophy.
E)Implement top-down management controls.

Question 67

An activity where the parts that go into each unit of a product are periodically removed from inventory and accounted for based on the number of units produced is called which of the following?

A)Frozen window
B)Backflush
C)Level schedule
D)Group technology
E)Kanban

Question 68

To implement a flow process in developing a lean system a firm might do which of the following?

A)Improve capacity utilization.
B)Build product in anticipation of demand.
C)Reduce setup/changeover time.
D)Eliminate some fixed costs.
E)Implement groupware.

Question 69

In a lean production system, we expect to see which of the following?

A)No extra inventory
B)Extra inventory of critical parts held "just-in-case"
C)More parts and fewer standardized product configurations
D)Managers being held responsible for quality of the work turned out
E)Closer management-labor relationships

Question 70

In setting up a kanban control system, you need to determine the number of kanban card sets needed.If the expected demand during lead time is 50 per hour, the safety stock is 20 percent of the demand during lead time, the container size is 4, and the lead time to replenish an order is 2 hours, what number of kanban card sets is needed? ___________________

Question 71

In setting up a kanban control system, you need to determine the number of kanban card sets needed.If the expected demand during lead time is 24 per hour, safety stock is 10 percent of the demand during lead time, the container size is 5, and the lead time to replenish an order is 5 hours, what number of kanban card sets is needed? ___________________

Question 72

Which of the following is a lean production technique that has been successfully applied in service firms?

A)Decision trees
B)Leveling the facility load
C)Linear programming
D)Fully utilized capacity
E)Backflushing

Question 73

As lean production methods reduce changeover and setup times and thus enable smaller economic lot sizes and less work-in-process inventory, is the importance of quality increased or decreased? Why?