Operations & Production Management

Red Top Cab Company receives multiple complaints per day about driver behavior. Over 9 days the owner recorded the number of calls to be 3, 0, 8, 9, 6, 7, 4, 9, and 8. What is the upper control limit for the 3-sigma c-chart? 9.03 8.45 24.00 0.00 13.35

13.35

If = 23 ounces, σ = 0.4 ounces, and n = 16, what will be the ±3σ control limits for the x-bar chart? 22.90 to 23.10 ounces 22.70 to 23.30 ounces 21.8 to 24.2 ounces 22.25 to 23.75 ounces 23 ounces

22.70 to 23.30 ounces

To become ISO 9000 certified, organizations must: document quality procedures. have an onsite assessment. have an ongoing series of audits of their products or service. All of these None of these

All of these

Acceptance sampling: may involve inspectors taking random samples (or batches) of finished products and measuring them against predetermined standards. may involve inspectors taking random samples (or batches) of incoming raw materials and measuring them against predetermined standards. is more economical than 100% inspection. may be either of a variable or attribute type, although attribute inspection is more common in the business environment. All of these are true.

All of these are true.

What is a set of quality standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization? ISO 14000 Deming Prize ISO 9000 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award IOS 2009

ISO 9000

Members of quality circles are: paid according to their contribution to quality. external consultants designed to provide training in the use of quality tools. always machine operators. all trained to be facilitators. None of these; all of the statements are false.

None of these; all of the statements are false.

What is a popular measurement scale for service quality that compares service expectations with service performance? SPC COQ SERVQUAL KAIZEN TQM

SERVQUAL

Suppose that a firm has historically been achieving "Three Sigma" quality. If the firm later changes its quality management practices such that it begins to achieve "Six Sigma" quality, which of the following phenomena will result? The average number of defects will be cut by 99.87%. The average number of defects will be cut by 99.9997%. The average number of defects will be cut by 99.73%. The specification limits will be moved twice as far from the mean. The average number of defects will be cut in half.

The average number of defects will be cut by 99.87%.

Arnold Palmer Hospital uses which of the following quality management techniques? Pareto charts flowcharts benchmarking just-in-time The hospital uses all of these techniques.

The hospital uses all of these techniques

Which of the following is true of a p-chart? The lower control limit is found by subtracting a fraction from the average number of defects. The lower control limit equals D3 times p-bar. The lower control limit indicates the minimum acceptable number of defects. The lower control limit is the same as the lot tolerance percent defective. The lower control limit may be at zero.

The lower control limit equals D3 times p-bar.

Which of the following statements regarding "Six Sigma" is TRUE? The Six Sigma program is for manufacturing firms and is not applicable to services. The Six Sigma program was developed by Toyota in the 1970s. Six Sigma means that about 94 percent of a firm's output is free of defects. Six Sigma certification is granted by the International Standards Organization (ISO). The term has two distinct meanings-one is statistical; the other is a comprehensive quality system.

The term has two distinct meanings-one is statistical; the other is a comprehensive quality system.

Which of the following is FALSE regarding control charts? Values above the upper control limits imply that the product's quality is exceeding expectations. Control charts are built so that new data can be quickly compared to past performance data. Control charts graphically present data. Control charts plot data over time. None of these is false.

Values above the upper control limits imply that the product's quality is exceeding expectations.

Plots of sample ranges indicate that the most recent value is below the lower control limit. What course of action would you recommend? Variation is not in control; investigate what created this condition. One value outside the control limits is insufficient to warrant any action. Lower than expected dispersion is a desirable condition; there is no reason to investigate. Since there is no obvious pattern in the measurements, variability is in control. The process is out of control; reject the last units produced.

Variation is not in control; investigate what created this condition.

Total quality management emphasizes: ISO 14000 certification. a commitment to quality that goes beyond internal company issues to suppliers and customers. the responsibility of the quality control staff to identify and solve all quality-related problems. a system where strong managers are the only decision makers. a process where mostly statisticians get involved.

a commitment to quality that goes beyond internal company issues to suppliers and customers.

Consumer's risk is the probability of: accepting a good lot. rejecting a good lot. rejecting a bad lot. accepting a bad lot. None of these

accepting a bad lot

Which of the following is not a typical inspection point? upon receipt of goods from your supplier before the product is shipped to the customer after a costly process when production or service is complete at the supplier's plant while the supplier is producing

after a costly process

The Central Limit Theorem: states that the average range can be used as a proxy for the standard deviation. is the theoretical foundation of the c-chart. allows managers to use the normal distribution as the basis for building some control charts. states that the average of assignable variations is zero. controls the steepness of an operating characteristic curve.

allows managers to use the normal distribution as the basis for building some control charts

The process of identifying other organizations that are best at some facet of your operations and then modeling your organization after them is known as: patent infringement. benchmarking. employee empowerment. copycatting. continuous improvement.

benchmarking

Jars of pickles are sampled and weighed. Sample measures are plotted on control charts. The ideal weight should be precisely 11 oz. Which type of chart(s) would you recommend? both an x-bar chart and an R-chart p-chart an x-bar chart, but not an R-chart c-chart both a p-chart and a c-chart

both an x-bar chart and an R-chart

The number of defects after a hotel room cleaning (sheets not straight, smears on mirror, missed debris on carpet, etc.) should be measured using what type of control chart? x-bar chart R-chart p-chart c-chart either x-bar chart or R chart

c-chart

A successful TQM program incorporates all EXCEPT which of the following? benchmarking continuous improvement JIT employee involvement centralized decision-making authority

centralized decision-making authority

The philosophy of zero defects is: unrealistic. an ultimate goal; in practice, 1 to 2% defects is acceptable. the result of Deming's research. prohibitively costly. consistent with the commitment to continuous improvement.

consistent with the commitment to continuous improvement

Kaizen is a Japanese term meaning: a foolproof mechanism. just-in-time (JIT). continuous improvement. a fishbone diagram. setting standards.

continuous improvement

PDCA is most often applied with regard to which aspect of TQM? benchmarking employee empowerment continuous improvement Six Sigma JIT

continuous improvement

Which of the determinants of service quality involves having the customer's best interests at heart? courtesy responsiveness credibility tangibles access

credibility

Which of the determinants of service quality involves performing the service right the first time? courtesy credibility responsiveness reliability access

credibility

Acceptance sampling's primary purpose is to: decide if a lot meets predetermined standards. detect and eliminate defectives. estimate process quality. identify processes that are out of control. determine whether defective items found in sampling should be replaced.

decide if a lot meets predetermined standards

Building high-morale organizations and building communication networks that include employees are both elements of: Six Sigma certification. Taguchi methods. the tools of TQM. ISO 9000 certification. employee empowerment.

employee empowerment

Quality can improve profitability by reducing costs. Which of the following is not an aspect of reduced costs by quality improvements? flexible pricing increased productivity lower rework and scrap costs lower warranty costs All of these are aspects of reduced costs by quality improvements.

flexible pricing

Among the tools of TQM, the tool ordinarily used to aid in understanding the sequence of events through which a product travels is a: Taguchi map. Pareto chart. poka-yoke. check sheet. flowchart.

flowchart

Poka-yoke is the Japanese term for: fishbone diagram. continuous improvement. foolproof. card. just-in-time production.

foolproof

An operating characteristic (OC) curve describes: how many defects per unit are permitted before rejection occurs. the sample size necessary to distinguish between good and bad lots. the most appropriate sampling plan for a given incoming product quality level. how well an acceptance sampling plan discriminates between good and bad lots. None of these.

how well an acceptance sampling plan discriminates between good and bad lots.

When sample measurements falls inside the control limits, it means that: the process limits cannot be determined statistically. the process output exceeds the requirements. the process output does not fulfill the requirements. each unit manufactured is good enough to sell. if there is no other pattern in the samples, the process is in control.

if there is no other pattern in the samples, the process is in control

Acceptance sampling is usually used to control: the number of units of output from one stage of a process that are then sent to the next stage. the number of units delivered to the customer. the quality of work-in-process inventory. incoming lots of purchased products. All of these.

incoming lots of purchased products.

If a sample of items is taken and the mean of the sample is outside the control limits, the process is: likely out of control and the cause should be investigated. within the established control limits with only natural causes of variation. monitored closely to see if the next sample mean will also fall outside the control limits. in control, but not capable of producing within the established control limits. producing high quality products.

likely out of control and the cause should be investigated

All of the following costs are likely to decrease as a result of better quality EXCEPT: warranty and service costs. customer dissatisfaction costs. inspection costs. maintenance costs. scrap costs.

maintenance costs.

The causes of variation in statistical process control are: Type I and Type II. producer's causes and consumer's causes. cycles, trends, seasonality, and random variations. natural causes and assignable causes. mean and range.

natural causes and assignable causes

According to the manufacturing-based definition of quality: quality is the degree of excellence at an acceptable price and the control of variability at an acceptable cost. quality lies in the eyes of the beholder. quality depends on how well the product fits patterns of consumer preferences. even though quality cannot be defined, you know what it is. quality is the degree to which a specific product conforms to standards.

quality is the degree to which a specific product conforms to standards

Producer's risk is the probability of: accepting a good lot. rejecting a good lot. rejecting a bad lot. accepting a bad lot. None of these.

rejecting a good lot

What refers to training and empowering frontline workers to solve a problem immediately? service recovery benchmarking just-in-time kaizen poka-yoke

service recovery

Stakeholders who are affected by the production and marketing of poor quality products include: suppliers and distributors, but not customers. stockholders, employees, and customers. only stockholders, creditors, and owners. suppliers and creditors, but not distributors. only stockholders and organizational executives and managers.

stockholders, employees, and customers

According to the text, what is the most common choice of limits for control charts? ±2 standard deviations ±3 standard deviations for means and ± 2 standard deviations for ranges ±3 standard deviations ±1 standard deviation ±6 standard deviations

±3 standard deviations