Chapter 6
six sigma
1. a process that is 99.9997% capaple, 3.4 defets per million opporuntiies 2. a program designed to reduce defects, lower costs, save time, and improve customer satisfaction
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
A
Costs associated with reducing the potential for defective parts or service are: A. prevention costs. B. appraisal costs. C. internal failure costs. D. external failure costs. E. None of these; they are all major categories of costs associated with qual
A
PDCA, developed by Shewhart, stands for which of the following? A. Plan-Do-Check-Act B. Plan-Develop-Check-Accept C. Problem-Develop Solution-Check-Act D. Problem-Do-Continue-Act E. Prepare-Develop-Create-Assess
A
Quality can improve profitability by reducing costs. Which of the following is NOT an aspect of reduced costs by quality improvements? A. flexible pricing B. increased productivity C. lower rework and scrap costs D. lower warranty costs E. All of these are aspects of reduced costs by quality improvement
A
The goal of inspection is to: A. detect a bad process immediately. B. add value to a product or service. C. correct deficiencies in products. D. correct system deficiencies. E. all of these
A
Which of the following statements regarding "Six Sigma" is TRUE? A. The term has two distinct meanings-one is statistical; the other is a comprehensive quality system. B. Six Sigma means that about 94 percent of a firm's output is free of defects. C. The Six Sigma program was developed by Toyota in the 1970s. D. The Six Sigma program is for manufacturing firms and is not applicable to services. E. Six Sigma certification is granted by the International Standards Organization (IS
A
Quality circle
A group of employees meeting regularly with a facilitator to solve work-related problems in their work area.
Joseph Juran
A pioneer in teaching the Japanese how to improve quality, Juranbelieved strongly in top-management commitment, support, andinvolvement in the quality effort. He was also a believer in teams thatcontinually seek to raise quality standards. Juran varies from Demingsomewhat in focusing on the customer and defining quality as fitnessfor use, not necessarily the written specification
ISO 14000 Standards
A set of environmental guidelines established by the International Organization for Standardization that are recognized as the global standard for environmental management. Certification by this organization to standards is acknowledged in the industry as benchmark achievement.
ISO 9000
A set of quality standards developed by the international organization for standardization (ISO). Certification
Just in time (JIT)
An inventory-management approach in which supplies arrive just when needed for production or resale cuts cost of quality improves quality
"Quality lies in the eyes of the beholder" is: A. an unrealistic definition of quality. B. a user-based definition of quality. C. a manufacturing-based definition of quality. D. a product-based definition of quality. E. the definition of quality proposed by the American Society for Quality
B
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
B
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
B
Costs related to evaluating products, process, parts, and services are: A. prevention costs. B. appraisal costs. C. internal failure costs. D. external failure costs. E. None of these; they are all major categories of costs associated with quali
B
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
B
Poka-yoke is the Japanese term for: A. card. B. foolproof. C. continuous improvement. D. fishbone diagram. E. just-in-time production
B
Three broad categories of definitions of quality are: A. product quality, service quality, and organizational quality. B. user based, manufacturing based, and product based. C. internal, external, and prevention. D. low-cost, response, and differentiation. E. Pareto, Shewhart, and Deming
B
Total quality management emphasizes: A. the responsibility of the quality control staff to identify and solve all quality-related problems. B. a commitment to quality that goes beyond internal company issues to suppliers and customers. C. a system where strong managers are the only decision makers. D. a process where mostly statisticians get involved. E. ISO 14000 certification
B
PDCA is most often applied with regard to which aspect of TQM? A. Six Sigma B. employee empowerment C. continuous improvement D. benchmarking E. JIT
C
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 occur
C
Which of the following is the cost of quality classification for costs such as defects that passthrough the system (e.g., customer warranty replacements, loss of customer or goodwill, handling complaints, and product repair)? A. Appraisal costs B. Prevention costs C. External failure costs D. Customer return cost E. Workmanship costs
C
Which of the following statements is NOT true? A. Self-promotion is not a substitute for quality products. B. Inferior products harm a firm's profitability and a nation's balance of payments. C. Product liability transfers from the manufacturer to the retailer once the retailer accepts delivery of the product. D. Quality-be it good or bad-will show up in perceptions about a firm's new products, employment practices, and supplier relations. E. Legislation such as the Consumer Product Safety Act sets and enforces product standards by banning products that do not reach those standards.
C
According to the manufacturing-based definition of quality: A. quality is the degree of excellence at an acceptable price and the control of variability at an acceptable cost. B. quality depends on how well the product fits patterns of consumer preferences. C. even though quality cannot be defined, you know what it is. D. quality is the degree to which a specific product conforms to standards. E. quality lies in the eyes of the beholder.
D
Based on his 14 Points, Deming is a strong proponent of: A. inspection at the end of the production process. B. an increase in numerical quotas to boost productivity. C. looking for the cheapest supplier. D. training and knowledge. E. all of these.
D
Viewing quality as a precise and measurable variable is: A. an unrealistic definition of quality. B. a user-based definition of quality. C. a manufacturing-based definition of quality. D. a product-based definition of quality. E. the definition of quality proposed by the American Society for Qualit
D
Which of the determinants of service quality involves performing the service right the first time? A. access B. courtesy C. credibility D. reliability E. responsiveness
D
Which of the four major categories of quality costs is particularly hard to quantify? A. prevention costs B. appraisal costs C. internal failure costs D. external failure costs E. None is hard to quantify
D
DMAIC cycle
Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control
Kaizen is a Japanese term meaning: A. a foolproof mechanism. B. just-in-time (JIT). C. a fishbone diagram. D. setting standards. E. continuous improvement.
E
The philosophy of zero defects is: A. the result of Deming's research. B. unrealistic. C. prohibitively costly. D. an ultimate goal; in practice, 1 to 2% defects is acceptable. E. consistent with the commitment to continuous improvement
E
Walter Shewhart
He is known as the father of statistical quality control. His moreconventional work led him to formulate the statistical idea of toleranceintervals
Armand Feigenbaum
His 1961 book Total Quality Control laid out 40 steps to qualityimprovement processes. He viewed quality not as a set of tools but asa total field that integrated the processes of a company. His work inhow people learn from each other's successes led to the field of cross-functional teamwork.
Employee empowerment
Involving employees in every step of the production process.
Total quality management (TQM)
Management of an entire organization so that it excels in all aspects of products and services that are important to the customer. Everyone is responsible.
Benchmarking
Selecting a demonstrated standard of performance that represents the very best performance for a process or an activity.
Quality
The ability of a product or service to meet customers needs
user based quality
The ability of the product to meet the user's expectations. Marketings job
PDCA
a continuous improvement model of plan, do, check, act
pareto chart
a graphic way of classifying problems by their level of importance, often referred to as the 80-20 rule
quality loss function
a mathematical function that identifies all costs connected with poor quality and shows how these costs increase as product quality moves from what the customer wants
target oriented quality
a philosophy of continuous improvement to bring a product exactly on target
cause and effect diagram
a schematic technique used to discover possible locations of quality problems
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
an award given by the President of the United States to organizations judged to be outstanding in specific managerial tasks that lead to improved quality for both products and services
flowchart
block diagrams that graphically describe a process or system
other reasons why quality is important
company reputation product liability global implications
manufacturing based quality
conformance to standards, making it right the first time
prevention costs
costs associated with reducing the potential for defective parts or services
appraisal costs
costs related to evaluating products, processes, parts, and services
external failure
costs that occur after delivery of defective parts or services. highest cost
internal failure
costs that result from production of defective parts or services before delivery to customers
check sheet
form that is designed for recording data
scatter diagram
graph that shoes the relationship between two measurements
edwards deming
insisted management accept responsibility for building goodsystems. The employee cannot produce products that on averageexceed the quality of what the process is capable of producin
8 user based quality dimensions
performance features reliability conformance durability serviceability aesthetics perceived quality
quality robust
products that can be produced uniformly and consistently in adverse manufacturing and environmental conditions.
product based quality
specific and measurable attributes of the product
Cost of quality (COQ)
the cost of doing things wrong - that is, the price of nonconformance
