Tools of Total Quality Management

Answer: B

10) If a sample of parts is measured and the mean of the measurements is outside the control limits, the process is: A) in control, but not capable of producing within the established control limits. B) out of control and the process should be investigated for assignable variation. C) within the established control limits with only natural causes of variation. D) monitored closely to see if the next sample mean will also fall outside the control limits. E) none of the above.

Answer: A

11) A quality circle holds a brainstorming session and attempts to identify the factors responsible for flaws in a product. Which tool do you suggest they use to organize their findings? A) Ishikawa diagram B) Pareto chart C) flowchart D) control charts E) activity chart

Answer: A

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

Answer: Cause-and-effect, or Fishbone or Ishikawa

14) ________ diagrams use a schematic technique to discover possible locations of quality problems.

Answer: Control charts

15) ________ are graphical presentations of data over time that show upper and lower control limits for processes we want to control.

Answer: There will generally be some causes with much higher frequencies than others. The frequency plot will clearly show which cause has the highest frequency.

16) Explain how a Pareto chart can identify the most important causes of errors in a process.

Answer: C

3) Pareto charts are used to: A) identify inspection points in a process. B) outline production schedules. C) organize errors, problems, or defects. D) show material flow. E) show the range of values of a measurement and the frequency with which each value occurs.

Answer: A

4) The "four Ms" of cause-and-effect diagrams are: A) material, machinery/equipment, manpower, and methods. B) material, methods, men, and mental attitude. C) named after four quality experts. D) material, management, manpower, and motivation. E) mentality, motivation, management, and manpower.

Answer: B

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

Answer: B

6) The process improvement technique that sorts the vital few from the trivial many is: A) Taguchi analysis. B) Pareto analysis. C) benchmarking. D) Deming analysis. E) Yamaguchi analysis.

Answer: A

7) A production manager at a pottery factory has noticed that about 70 percent of defects result from impurities in raw materials, 15 percent result from human error, 10 percent from machine malfunctions, and 5 percent from a variety of other causes. This manager is most likely using: A) a Pareto chart. B) a scatter diagram. C) a quality loss function. D) a cause-and-effect diagram. E) a flowchart.

Answer: B

8) A customer service manager at a retail clothing store has collected numerous customer complaints from the forms they fill out on merchandise returns. To analyze trends or patterns in these returns, she has organized these complaints into a small number of sources or factors. This is most closely related to the ________ tool of TQM. A) quality loss function B) cause-and-effect diagram C) scatter diagram D) histogram E) process control chart

Answer: A

9) A fishbone chart is also known as a: A) cause-and-effect diagram. B) poka-yoke diagram. C) Kaizen diagram. D) Kanban diagram. E) Taguchi diagram.

Answer: TRUE

1) Pareto charts are a graphical way of identifying the few critical items from the many less important ones.

Answer: D

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

Answer: TRUE

2) A cause-and-effect diagram helps identify the sources of a problem.