SCM 303 Exam 2 (MSU SS'20)

The focus of the first step in the DMAIC process is on: - Process variability. - Cost. - Critical-to-quality characteristics. - Problem solving.

Critical-to-quality characteristics

The idea that variability is the source of most quality problems was a major contribution of which quality management thought leader? - Juran - Imai - Crosby - Deming

Deming

Which of these is not a cost of quality? - External failure cost - Prevention cost - Design cost - Inspection cost

Design cost

An application of the DMAIC process to product design is known as: - Design for Six Sigma. - Design for Quality. - Quality Function Deployment. - None of these answers are correct.

Design for Six Sigma

Lean design strives to achieve which of the following objectives? - Design products at the lowest cost - Design products that can be built with existing equipment - Design products that exactly meet customers' needs - Design products with the fewest number of options

Design products that exactly meet customers' needs

If a product includes features that customers care most about, we would say that it has high: - Conformance quality. - Design quality. - Reliability. - Aesthetics.

Design quality.

The Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle is best defined as: - A rigorous procedure for strategic planning. - A method used to guide problem identification and solution. - A method first proposed by Joseph Juran. - All of these statements apply to the definition.

A method used to guide problem identification and solution.

Which of the following is NOT a basic activity type in processes? - Delay - Operation - Reporting - Storage

Reporting

Which of these is a concept for reducing setup times? - RFID tags - Single minute exchange of die - Multi-product factories - Manufacturing production processes

Single minute exchange of die

Determination of the "best buy" is based on: - suitability for a given use. - a balance between price and quality. - technical considerations only. the internal user or specifiers perceptions. - trade-offs among stakeholders (e.g., marketing, operations, and supply).

trade-offs among stakeholders (e.g., marketing, operations, and supply).

Capacity is directly related to: (Choose all that apply) - Output - Machines - Time - Processes

Output, Machines, Time, Processes

An initial step in implementing lean is: - Lower the break-even point so smaller quantities can be economically produced. - Outsource any non-core activity that can be done more efficiently by a supplier than by the firm. - Increase the contribution margin of product being sold. - Empower Kaizen teams to improve specific processes/activities.

Outsource any non-core activity that can be done more efficiently by a supplier than by the firm.

Misuse of automation is a root cause of which of the following types of waste? - Overproduction - Process - Motion - Rework

Overproduction

A process having the same activity being performed by two or more resources simultaneously is said to have what kind of structure? - Serial - Parallel - Helping - Flexible

Parallel

Two dimensions of product quality are hard to measure objectively and are therefore subject to subjective assessment. One of those subjective dimensions is: - Reliability - Perceived quality - Support - Features

Perceived quality

The types of costs included in a cost of quality analysis include: - Production, delivery, and marketing. - Internal and external. - Direct and indirect. - Prevention, appraisal, and failure.

Prevention, appraisal, and failure.

ISO 9001: 2015: - provides common quality standards across all sectors of the United States economy. - was established by the International Supply Organization to focus quality efforts on supplier relationships. - defines the requirements a quality system must meet but does not dictate how they should be met. - was developed and first issued in the United States, and later adopted worldwide. - was designed to recognize U.S. organizations that excel in quality achievements and quality management.

defines the requirements a quality system must meet but does not dictate how they should be met.

The characteristic of a service that has the greatest impact on the ability to define, measure and control service quality is: - degree of tangibility. - nature of the demand. - monetary value of the service. - degree of repetitiveness. - direction of the service.

degree of tangibility

The best type of inspection to use is: - dependent on the nature of the purchase. - 100 percent inspection. - sequential sampling. - continuous sampling. - carried out by a commercial testing laboratory.

dependent on the nature of the purchase.

Quality improvement programs for goods are initiated by a desire to: - achieve ISO 9001 certification. - achieve ISO 14001 certification. - eliminate incoming inspection. - reduce incoming inspection. - increase prices.

eliminate incoming inspection.

A six sigma (6σ) approach to quality: - means there are no more than 25 defects per million opportunities. - was developed by Japanese companies in the 1950s. - has no connection to the concept of zero defects. - focuses on preventing defects by using data to reduce variation and waste. - has soft goals such as happier customers and employees.

focuses on preventing defects by using data to reduce variation and waste.

Quality control in services is: - more difficult for standardized services delivered by low-skilled workers. - performed exactly the same for small, medium, and large service providers. - more difficult for customized services delivered by highly skilled workers. - especially difficult if the service is a combination of tangible and intangible. - most easily done on the buyer's premises after the service is delivered.

more difficult for customized services delivered by highly skilled workers.

Which phrase/word best captures what lean is? - A set of effective, well defined tools designed to reduce waste - A quantitative methodology for attacking variance - A procedure to be used within operation management and supply chain systems - A corporate philosophy

A corporate philosophy

The purpose of the kanban card is to: - Be a signal from the user authorizing the maker to start producing the required parts. - Keep track of defective products. - Inform the maker of the exact specification of the required parts. - Keep track of the total labor hours spent on a finished product.

Be a signal from the user authorizing the maker to start producing the required parts.

In process improvement projects, why should we focus our efforts on those processes that consume the most resources (e.g., labor, space, capital, etc.)? - Because those are the processes most visible to the customer - Because those are the processes that use our firm's core capabilities - Because that is where we get "the most bang for our buck." - All of these

Because that is where we get "the most bang for our buck."

Which of the following lean principles best communicates the notion of demand synchronization? - Produce only the products that the customer wants. - Build with perfect quality. - Build only as quickly as customers want them. - Build only with features that the customers want and no others.

Build only as quickly as customers want them.

ISO 9000 defines a set of internationally accepted standards for: - Product quality. - Quality control. - Operations management quality. - Business quality management.

Business quality management.

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? - Complexity - Precision - Danger - Sensitivity

Complexity

The degree to which the product meets its' design specifications is called: - Performance quality - Aesthetic quality - Conformance quality - Perceived quality - Total quality

Conformance quality

Which statement best describes the performance curve of a queuing system as system utilization approaches 100%: - It flattens out - Performance drastically improves - System performance is not impacted by utilization - Congestion and delays skyrocket

Congestion and delays skyrocket

"Zero defects" is a concept of quality management of which thought leader? - Deming - Juran - Crosby - Imai

Crosby

If you maintain inventory at a constant level and keep the throughput rate constant: - Cycle time will decrease - Customer delivery dates become more reliable - You are following a push operating system - Your processes are operating under normal conditions

Customer delivery dates become more reliable

Which two of the following effects directly result from bottlenecks? - Increase in costs and increase in defects. - Increase in output and increase in lead-times. - Decrease in inspections and increase in costs. - Decrease in output and increase in lead-times.

Decrease in output and increase in lead-times.

At the heart of the Six Sigma program is a five-step process called D-M-A-I-C. These letters denote a major activity that must be completed to achieve the objectives of Six Sigma. These activities are: - Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. - Define, Measure, Analyze, Inquire, and Compare. - Define, Measure, Analyze, Involve, and Cost. - Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Compare.

Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control.

ISO 9001:2015 provides a tested framework for a systematic approach to consistently delivering product that satisfies customers' expectations by: - dictating how quality requirements should be met in every organization. - dictating scope and flexibility for quality system implementation. - assuming all national cultures will meet quality requirements the same way. - assuming all business sectors will meet quality requirements the same way. - providing a set of standardized requirements a quality system must meet.

providing a set of standardized requirements a quality system must meet.

A sampling technique in which every element in the population has an equal chance of being selected is called: - additive sampling. - sequential sampling. - 100 percent testing. - random sampling. - cumulative sampling.

random sampling.

An example of an external failure cost is: - returns to suppliers. - warranty costs. - lost labor. - scrap and rework costs. - returns to suppliers and lost labor.

warranty costs.

Throughput is a? - Rate - Number - Time - Proportion

Rate

Benefits received from "economies of scale" include: (Choose all that apply) - volume purchases of materials and supplies - lower cost per unit produced - a steady stream of customer orders - the more you do something, the better you get at it

- lower cost per unit produced - the more you do something, the better you get at it

A process with Six Sigma quality is expected to produce how many defects? - 3.4 defects per million opportunities - 6 defects per million opportunities - 66,807 defects per million opportunities - Zero defects

3.4 defects per million opportunities

Some estimates place the total costs of quality to be: - insignificant to the cost of the final product. - 10-20 percent of the final product cost. - 20-30 percent of the final product cost. - 30-40 percent of the final product cost. - 40-50 percent of the final product cost.

30-40 percent of the final product cost.

Under Juran's Law, whenever a problem occurs, what percentage of the time is the problem the result of a system/process error? - 15 percent - 50 percent - 85 percent - 100 percent

85 percent

Good reasons to reduce your setup times in a factory are: (Choose all that apply) - A down machine has no output. - Throughput increases after a machine change-over. - Setup times are constant and cannot be controlled. - Long setup times create additional inventory.

A down machine has no output, Setup times are constant and cannot be controlled, Long setup times create additional inventory

Which of these is a true statement? (Choose all that apply) - A system can have more than one bottleneck. - Constraints can be eliminated by applying proper scheduling techniques. - A factory's bottleneck can change depending on what products are being made. - According to the Theory of Constraints, each machine should operate at its maximum throughput.

A system can have more than one bottleneck, A factory's bottleneck can change depending on what products are being made

An example of a short-term capacity increase decision is: - Adding specialized labor. - Installing new equipment. - Adding new facilities. - Adding low-skilled labor.

Adding low-skilled labor

Inventory held due to bottlenecks in a process causes: - Increased storage requirements - Quality issues - Increased labor costs - All of these

All of these

Continual improvement of processes is important because: - Competitors are improving their processes. - Customer preferences change over time. - Technology is constantly changing. - All of these.

All of these.

Factors affecting the success of a TQM effort do not include: - An existing crisis - A charismatic leader - An uncomplicated product - Trust between labor and management

An uncomplicated product

Throughput is generally equal to which thing? - Time to completion - The number of process steps - Inventory buildup - Arrival rate

Arrival Rate

Utilization is equal to which of the following? - Arrival rate divided by service rate - Service rate divided by arrival rate - Arrival rate times service rate - Service rate minus arrival rate

Arrival rate divided by service rate

"Economies of scale" means that large factories operating a planned capacity are able to make many different products at the same time and promise short delivery times. T/F?

False

"Queuing" means the scientific study of the use of the letter Q in the English language. T/F?

False

A Push system requires a high degree of coordination between production stations. T/F?

False

Because they are paying for the contract, the buyer's company should receive the cost savings from a learning-curve application. T/F?

False

Design-for-Six-Sigma programs offer a set of quality standards accepted by all industries. T/F?

False

Scheduling major change-overs sequentially helps to shorten overall setup times for the factory. T/F?

False

The saturation effect says that queuing performance changes with utilization in a steady, straight line. T/F?

False

The simplest way to think about throughput is the quantity of work completed. T/F?

False

Throughput, sometimes referred to as output rate, is expressed in units produced per hour. T/F?

False

Foundries owe much of their success to: - Location - Flexibility - Volume purchases of materials & supplies - Diseconomies of scale

Flexibility

Which of these in not an approach to capacity planning? - Tracking - Leading - Forecasting - Following

Forecasting

The first step in the Theory of Constraints is to: - Make the constraint of the system more efficient - Measure the output of the factory - Identify the bottleneck - Build a buffer inventory in front of the constraint

Identify the bottleneck

Process thinking causes managers to address critical process elements, including: - If you don't like the outcome, focus on the people. - Processes are guidelines to thinking about to best staff activities. - Processes drive measurement. - If you don't like the outcome, change the process.

If you don't like the outcome, change the process.

Which of the following would you NOT expect to find in a company attempting to implement lean/just-in-time production? - Emphasis on flexible, cross-trained workers - Inspections after each piece is produced - Frequent changeovers from one product to another - Emphasis on preventive maintenance for equipment

Inspections after each piece is produced

Little's Law states there is a relationship between: (Choose All that apply) - Inventory - Flow time - Output - Throughput

Inventory, Flow Time, and Throughput

Total Quality Management: (Choose all that apply) - Is managed proactively - Involves only production processes - Focuses on the customer - Ensures on-time delivery

Is managed proactively, Focuses on the customer

In the lean systems approach, as a system improves, it should have ____________ inventory on hand. - More - The same amount of - Less - Twice the amount of

Less

The TQM view of organizational structure states that: - Employees must support management decisions. - Management must support employees. - Customers want quality products. - Middle management must support and enforce top management decisions.

Management must support employees.

What can managers do with queuing theory? - Calculate net profits - Measure and predict performance - Create better marketing - Eat at fancy restaurants

Measure and predict performance

Subcontracting is typically considered at what time horizon when doing capacity planning? - Short-term - Medium-term - Long-term - It is not part of the capacity planning process.

Medium-term

If a company can eliminate all sources of variance in a process: - It will be able to operate at maximum capacity at all times. - There will be no constraints in the process. - Continuous improvement will not be necessary. - None of these are true.

None of these are true.

Kaizen events are most effective when applied to problems involving which of the following elements? - Processes - Products - Customers - Measures

Processes

Which of the following statements is true of Push and Pull systems? - Push and Pull systems are opposites and can not be used together - Push and Pull systems are opposite but can still be used together - Push and Pull systems are essentially the same system - Push and Pull systems are only good for controlling machines on a shop floor

Push and Pull systems are opposite but can still be used together

Which of the following statements is false? - Quality dimensions are easy to measure for tangible goods, while they are difficult to measure for services. - Many dimensions of service quality are similar to the dimensions of quality for tangible goods. - Some firms still have a poor understanding of quality and quality management. - All of these are false.

Quality dimensions are easy to measure for tangible goods, while they are difficult to measure for services.

The learning curve measures: - Overall factory performance - Reduction in direct labor costs - Reduction in production costs per unit - Increase in production volume

Reduction in direct labor costs

If a tangible good or service performs the promised function dependably, we say that it has high: - Conformance. - Durability. - Reliability. - Perceived quality.

Reliability

Which of the following are the components of a queuing system? (select all that apply) - Servers - Waiting area - Arrivals - Computers

Servers, Waiting area, Arrivals

"tp" stands for "average service" time and can be found by taking the inverse of which thing? - Arrival Rate - Service Rate - Utilization - Coefficient of Variation

Service Rate

Implementation of a Six Sigma program typically involves: - Applying for the Malcolm Baldrige Award. - Setting up training at various levels including green belt and black belt training. - A cost of quality analysis. - None of these are usually involved in implementing Six Sigma.

Setting up training at various levels including green belt and black belt training.

Process variation that are intrinsic to the process are: - common, nonassignable causes of variation. - special or assignable causes of variation. - prevention costs. - internal failure costs. - external failure costs.

common, nonassignable causes of variation.

Achieving the goal of producing at the output rate that matches the rate of customer demand is the goal of: - Jidoka. - Poka-yoke. - Total productive maintenance. - TAKT time flow balancing.

TAKT time flow balancing.

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? - The assembly line - Ford's River Rouge assembly plant - The productivity of American workers - The American supermarket

The American supermarket

An organizational culture is shaped by: - The experiences of certain charismatic leaders - Leadership memos and meeting statements - The organization's value statement or motto - The actions taken by leadership

The actions taken by leadership

The second, simpler formula is only valid for which condition? - The arrival and service rates are derived from a Normal distribution - The arrival and service rates are derived from a Chi-Square distribution - The arrival and service rates are derived from a Poisson distribution - The arrival and service rates are derived from a Beta distribution

The arrival and service rates are derived from a Poisson distribution

A Pull system is likely to struggle to meet demand during demand spikes. T/F?

True

Equipment utilization is normally expressed as a percentage of design capacity. T/F?

True

The "C's" in the equation for the general queue stand for "Coefficient of Variation." T/F?

True

The output of a factory can be no higher than the output of the slowest machine, the constraint of the system. T/F?

True

In which operational setting has lean/just-in-time experienced the lowest levels of acceptance/implementation? - Manufacturing - Services - Across the supply chain - Turbulent business settings

Turbulent business settings

Which of the following results in waiting lines? - Hungry patrons - Small doors - Variability - System age

Variability

Increasing which of the following causes degraded queuing performance according to the saturation effect? (choose all that apply) - Variability - Utilization - Line length - System size

Variability, Utilization

Which of these is a proper application of the learning curve? (Choose all that apply) - When production processes are highly automated - When labor content is high - When the supplier is using a new process - When the supplier has a stable direct-labor workforce

When labor content is high, When the supplier is using a new process, When the supplier has a stable direct-labor workforce

Supply may contribute to the containment of the costs of poor quality by addressing: - appraisal costs. - internal costs. - external costs. - prevention costs. - appraisal costs, internal costs, external costs and prevention costs.

appraisal costs, internal costs, external costs and prevention costs.

Lean quality management philosophy is based on: - maximizing customer value. - minimizing waste. - statistical process control (SPC). - maximizing customer value and minimizing waste. - maximizing customer value, minimizing waste and statistical process control (SPC).

maximizing customer value and minimizing waste.

A supplier certification program: - adds cost to the supplier, but provides few benefits to the supplier. - may improve quality, but at best will not raise costs. - always improves quality, but usually at a higher purchase price. - may enable the buyer and seller to lower costs and improve quality. - typically costs more to implement than the value of the quality improvement.

may enable the buyer and seller to lower costs and improve quality.

A formal service quality evaluation process: - measures the gap between service expectations and performance perceptions. - is relatively simple and applicable for all types of services. - is performed exactly the same as it is for goods. - is impossible to quantify if the service is highly intangible. - is most easily done on the buyer's premises.

measures the gap between service expectations and performance perceptions.

The real costs of quality: - tend to rise significantly with the cost of prevention. - rise significantly as defects increase in the finished product. - are incurred in the quality control department. - are easily identified by the accounting department. - are frequently overstated in an organization.

rise significantly as defects increase in the finished product.

Quality function deployment: - seeks to understand what value represents to the customer. - is a system for deploying quality at supplier facilities. - provides direction on the appropriate level of product performance and which features should be included. - seeks to understand what value represents to the customer and is a system for deploying quality at supplier facilities. - seeks to understand what value represents to the customer, and provides direction on the appropriate level of product performance and which features should be included.

seeks to understand what value represents to the customer, and provides direction on the appropriate level of product performance and which features should be included.

A sampling technique that is based on the cumulative effect of information that every additional item in the sample adds as it is inspected is called: - random sampling. - 100 percent testing. - cumulative sampling. - sequential sampling. - additive testing.

sequential sampling

The match between a commercially available material, good or service and the intended function is known as: - quality. - best buy. - suitability. - reliability. - functionality.

suitability