Production & Operation Ch. 16-18

If the normal time taken to complete an activity is 6 weeks at a cost of $1,800 and the crash time is 3 weeks at a cost of $2,400, then the crash cost per week for the given activity is _____.

$200

If an activity can be completed in 10 weeks at a cost of $3,200 instead of the normal time of 12 weeks at a cost of $2,400, then the crash cost per week for the given activity is _____.

$400

In the context of designing control charts, which of the following is true of a sample size?

A large sample allows small changes in process characteristics to be detected with higher probability than a small sample size.

Which of the following is a component of a control system?

A performance standard or goal

Which of the following is true of a typical functional organization?

A project cuts across organizational boundaries in a typical functional organization.

_____ is one in which employees at a given operation go to the source of required parts, such as machining or subassembly, and withdraw the units as they need them.

A pull system

The equation used to calculate the number of Kanban cards required in a system is , where α denotes _____.

a form of safety stock

In the context of projects, _________ are discrete tasks that consume resources and time.

activities

In the context of control charts, a process is in control when:

all points fall on the center line of the control chart.

The number of Kanban cards required in an operating system can be calculated by dividing the:

average daily demand during lead time plus a safety stock by the number of units per container.

_____ is defined as the process of producing large quantities of items as a group before they are transferred to the next operation.

batching

In the context of control charts, the _____ is used to control the total number of nonconformances per unit when the size of the sampling unit or number of opportunities for errors is constant.

c-chart

_____ is the result of complex interactions of variations in materials, tools, machines, information, workers, and the environment.

common cause variation

In the project management life cycle, the _________ involves collecting and assessing status reports, managing changes to baselines, and responding to circumstances that can negatively impact the project participants.

controlling stage

_____ is the shortest possible time in which a project activity can realistically be completed.

crash time

Which of the following is the first step of the project management life cycle?

defining

In the context of the net promoter score (NPS), scores of 6 or below represent _________ , unhappy customers who may spread negative comments.

detractors

The number of Kanban cards in an operating system is:

directly proportional to the amount of work-in-process inventory

A pure project organizational structure eliminates the duplication of resources across the organization.

false

In the context of Kanban systems, a withdrawal Kanban authorizes the gateway workstation to produce parts.

false

In-process control is typically performed by people who run the back-end processes.

false

Long setup times enable a manufacturer to have frequent changeovers and move toward single-piece flow, thus achieving high flexibility and product variety.

false

Project managers do not need technical expertise.

false

The Critical Path Method (CPM) allows us to investigate the effects of uncertainty of activity times on the project completion time.

false

The Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) was developed as a means of scheduling and controlling projects with constant activity times.

false

The earliest time that an activity can be completed is equal to the latest time it can begin minus the time to perform the activity.

false

The value of the process capability index, (C p), depends on the mean of the process.

false

Total productive maintenance (TPM) seeks to reduce worker ownership of the equipment by excluding employees from maintenance activities.

false

A salon and spa chain periodically analyzes its service times to check for variation in service processes. To do this, it uses R-charts. Seven samples, each containing observed service time with three different customers, were collected. The average mean and the average range of the service times are found to be 9.924 and 0.957, respectively. If D 4 for the R-chart is 1.924, the upper control limit ( ) for the R-chart will be:

greater than 1.5 but less than or equal to 2.0.

In the airline industry, _____ is the largest form of waste.

idle time

In the context of statistical process control and variation, if no special causes affect the output of a process, we say that the process is _________.

in control

Overadjusting a process that is in control will:

increase the variation in the output.

Which of the following is true of crashing a project?

it increases the total cost of the project

A _________ is a flag or a piece of paper that contains all relevant information for an order, such as part number, description, process area used, time of delivery, quantity available, quantity delivered, production quantity, and so on.

kandan

Jim, a quality control manager at an apparel manufacturing company, studies and monitors quality using R-charts. He discovers a quality problem with the construction of zippers. Jim proposes that 25 samples of eight observations each be collected on a daily basis. He plans to prepare an R-chart to monitor the variation in the size of the zippers. The data collected shows that the mean length of the zippers is 15 inches and the average range is 0.5 inches. If D 3 for the R-chart is 0.136, the lower control limit (LCL R) for the R-chart will be:

less than or equal to 1.

The time taken for guests to check out at a hotel front desk was measured over the course of several weeks. The management believes that the target time for checking out guests should be between 2 and 3 minutes with a target of 2.5 minutes. The data gathered for the actual process had a mean time of 2.75 minutes with a standard deviation of 0.45 minutes. The process capability index will be:

less than or equal to 1.

Assigning projects exclusively to functional areas _____.

limits the effectiveness of projects that require a systems perspective

The lower and upper specification limits for a mustard filling machine are 10.50 and 12.00 ounces, respectively. The standard deviation is 0.05. The process capability index of the machine will be:

more than 4 but less than or equal to 5.

A hinge manufacturing company employs a Kanban system for a component part. The daily demand is 900 hinges. Each container has a waiting time of 0.05 days and a processing time of 0.37 days. The container size is 60 hinges, and the safety factor (α) is 10 percent. Given this data, the number of Kanbans necessary for the system is:

more than 4 but less than or equal to 8 Kanbans.

In the project management life cycle, the _____ involves such activities as forming a team, allocating resources, calculating costs, assessing risk, preparing project documentation, and ensuring good communications.

organizing stage

In the project management life cycle, the _____ requires identifying a project manager who provides the leadership to accomplish the project goal.

organizing stage

A television manufacturer wants to monitor the proportion of defective television sets that do not meet quality standards from a sample of 100 television sets. In the context of quality control charts, the manufacturer is most likely to use a(n) _____.

p-chart

In the context of the net promoter score (NPS), scores of 7 or 8 are associated with _________ , customers who are satisfied but may switch to competitors.

passives

The district magistrate of a city has decided to reconstruct the most frequented street of the city. He plans to block the street for the duration of the work, which will cause considerable inconvenience to the people of the city. The project has three parallel paths defined as the following: Path A-B-C-H will take 16 days. Path A-D-E-H will take 22 days. Path A-F-G-H will take 30 days. In the given scenario, which of the following statements is true?

path A-F-G-H is the critical path

Which of the following time estimates is obtained to determine the activity time if significant breakdowns or delays occur in a project?

pessimistic time

The relationship between the natural variation and specifications is quantified by a measure known as the _____.

process capability index

In the context of the seven major categories of waste classified by the Toyota Motor Company, not performing work correctly the first time leads to:

production defects.

A _________ is a temporary and often customized initiative that consists of many smaller tasks and activities that must be coordinated and completed to finish the entire initiative on time and within budget.

project

In the context of the Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), the beta probability distribution approach is practical because it:

provides much flexibility in characterizing the distribution of times.

A __________ produces finished-goods inventory in advance of customer demand using a forecast of sales.

push system

The task of _________ is to ensure that a good or service conforms to specifications and meets customer requirements by monitoring and measuring processes and making any necessary adjustments to maintain a specified level of performance.

quality control

In determining whether a process is in statistical control, the _____ is always analyzed first.

r-chart

Managers and employees strive to reduce the number of cards in a Kanban operating system through:

reduced lead time (p or w)

In the context of lean tools and approaches, _________ , one of the components of the 5S principles, refers to a clean work area.

shine

In the context of the 5S principles, _____ refers to ensuring that each item in a workplace is in its proper place or identified as unnecessary and removed.

sort

In the formula to calculate the process capability index, Cp =, σ is used to denote the:

standard deviation of a process.

In the context of the 5S principles, _____ means to keep a process going through training, communication, and organizational structures.

sustain

The critical path for a project is the sequence of activities that:

takes the longest time

In the context of project scheduling, if an activity has only one immediate predecessor, the earliest start (ES) time is equal to:

the earliest finish (EF) time of the immediate predecessor.

Which of the following stages of the project life cycle entails the scheduling of activities?

the planning stage

The horizontal and vertical axes in a project Gantt chart indicate:

time units and activities, respectively.

_________ is focused on ensuring that operating systems will perform their intended function reliably.

total productive maintenance

In the context of quality control practices in manufacturing, if supplier documentation is done properly, incoming inspection can be completely eliminated.

true

In the context of the Critical Path Method (CPM), latest start (LS) and latest finish (LF) times are computed by making a backward pass through the network, beginning with the ending project activity or activities.

true

Keeping special cause variation from occurring is the essence of statistical quality control.

true

Lean Six Sigma focuses on real dollar savings and has the ability to make significant financial impacts on an organization.

true

The only way the project completion time can be reduced is by crashing activities on the critical path.

true

In the context of lean tools and approaches, _____ are indicators for operating activities that are placed in plain sight of all employees so that everyone can quickly and easily understand the status and performance of the work system.

visual controls

Which of the following is true of long setup times?

waste manufacturing resources

A _____ allows project teams to drill down to the appropriate level of detail in defining activities.

work breakdown structure

Rose is in charge of advertising a new product launched by her company. She has defined the advertising for this product as an individual project that consists of seven activities. Following are the characteristics of these activities: Calculate the earliest completion time for the project using a Gantt chart.

13 weeks

The activities, their respective immediate predecessors, and activity times for a particular project are given in the table below. Determine the earliest completion time for this project using a Gantt chart.

16 weeks

Create & Sell Manufacturing Inc. uses a Kanban system for a component. The daily demand is 175 units. Each container has a combined waiting and processing time of 0.20 days. If the container size is 10 brackets and the safety factor is 11 percent, how many Kanban card sets should be authorized?

4 Kanban cards

A company is using a Kanban system with 2 containers, each holding 50 parts, between a downstream (using) and an upstream (producing) work center. The using work center can handle 250 jobs per day. The average elapsed time for the entire cycle is currently 0.25 days. The company is concerned about the safety factor for the operation. Which of the following is the safety factor (α) of the current operation?

60%

A manufacturer of automobile engines is designing a new Kanban system for engine #321. The demand for #321 is 75 parts per day, and the container can hold 8 parts at a time. The total processing and waiting time is 3 days. The manager wants a safety factor (α) of 2 or 200 percent. How many Kanbans are required in this system? If required, round your answer up to next whole number.

85

In the context of control charts, a process is out of control when the control chart:

No points are outside control limits.

Which of the following is a similarity between lean production and Six Sigma?

Both are driven by customer requirements

Efficient manufacturing plants use the 5S principles to:

Create a clean and well-organized work environment

In the airline industry, short setup and turnaround time translates into:

Higher asset utilization

In the context of the Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), which of the following is true of the beta probability distribution approach?

It allows managers to identify the best case, worst case, and most likely case for activity times

Which of the following is true of common cause variation?

It appears at random, and individual sources or causes cannot be identified or explained.

Which of the following is true of the Critical Path Method (CPM)?

It assumes that activities are independent of one another, with clearly defined start and finish dates.

Which of the following is true of a process that is in control?

It does not need any changes or adjustments.

In the context of project management, which of the following is true of a matrix organizational structure?

It facilitates communication across the organization.

Which of the following is true of process capability?

It has no meaning if a process is not in statistical control as special causes will bias the standard deviation.

In the context of project scheduling, which of the following is true of a Gantt chart?

It helps project managers monitor the daily progress of projects.

Which of the following is true of lean thinking?

It helps to drive a culture of waste elimination

Which of the following is true of the net promoter score (NPS)?

It is claimed to correlate strongly with market and revenue growth.

Which of the following is true of Six Sigma?

It is focused on effectiveness by reducing errors and defects.

Which of the following is true of a push system?

It leads to high work-in-process inventories and high levels of indirect labor and overhead

Which of the following is true of special cause variation?

It occurs sporadically and can be prevented.

Which of the following is true of total productive maintenance (TPM)?

It seeks to foster continuous efforts to improve equipment operation through employee involvement activities.

An operator wants to determine the standard deviation for a machine she operates. To do this, she wants to create a p-chart. Over a month's time, she collects 30 samples of 75 observations each and records the number of errors. The average proportion defective is found to be 0.024. Which of the following is the standard deviation ( ) of the machine?

Less than or equal to 0.1

Which of the following is the lower control limit for a c-chart (LCL c) with the average number of nonconformances per unit equal to 1.5?

Less than or equal to zero

_____ refers to the quick setup or changeover of tooling and fixtures in processes so that multiple products in smaller batches can be run on the same equipment.

Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED)

_____ is a methodology for monitoring the quality of manufacturing and service-delivery processes to help identify and eliminate unwanted causes of variation.

Statistical process control (SPC)

Which of the following is an assumption made by the critical path method (CPM)?

The activity time estimates are accurate and stable.

In the context of designing control charts, which of the following is true of small sample sizes?

They are desirable to keep the cost associated with sampling low.

Which of the following is a difference between lean production and Six Sigma?

Unlike lean production, Six Sigma is more concerned with less visible problems in processes.

In the context of the net promoter score (NPS), which of the following is a difference between promoters and detractors?

Unlike promoters, detractors defect at higher rates.

Which of the following is a characteristic of Just-In-Time (JIT) systems?

Very little inventory to hide problems and inefficiencies