Question 1
1. The one-worker, multiple machines approach functions as:
a one-person production line.
a production bottleneck.
a poka-yoke device.
a way to create uniform workstation loads.
Question 2
1. Continuous improvement with lean systems:
involves navigating a ship over treacherous rocks.
requires periodically increasing lot sizes or workforce levels to uncover problems.
entails systematically stressing the system and focusing on problem areas.
focuses exclusively on internal operations because the logistics department addresses relationships with customers and suppliers.
Question 3
1. An important mechanism for lean systems is a kanban system. Which one of the following statements correctly describes the behavior of a two-card kanban system?
A withdrawal kanban is issued to authorize production in the fabrication process.
A production-ordering kanban authorizes the assembly process to remove the materials from the storage location.
The fabrication process produces certain units defined by the lot size and pushes them down to the assembly process.
Containers must never be removed from the storage location without an authorizing withdrawal kanban.
Question 4
1. Case 9.1
A toy company uses a kanban system to make a metal fastener that is a component of several toys. The waiting time for a container of the fasteners during production is 0.25 day; average processing time is 0.15 day per container. Each container holds 200 fasteners. The company uses 2000 fasteners a day in the production of its product.
Use the information in Case 9.1. How many kanban containers would be required if a 10% policy variable is used?
Three or fewer
Four or five
Six or seven
Eight or more
Question 5
1. Case 9.3
A company uses a kanban system. The demand for part A over an eight-hour production day is 1000 units. The average waiting time for a container of parts is 45 minutes. The processing time for a container of part A is 2 hours, and a container holds 70 units.
Use the information in Case 9.3. How many kanban containers would be required if a 5% policy variable is used?
Fewer than 2
5 or 6
50 to 650
700 or more
Question 6
1. Which of the following actions would increase the number of containers in use in a kanban system?
Larger containers that can hold more parts than before
Less demand for the part held by the container
Increased waiting time for the container
Faster processing times for the part held by the container
Question 7
1. A supplier to a company using JIT II:
will incur increased invoicing and payment costs but will get higher prices.
will be able to sell directly to the engineering department of the customer.
must be very flexible to incur the dramatic swings in requirements from the customer.
enjoys a savings in personnel costs because the in-plant representative is employed by the customer.
Question 8
1. The final assembly schedule in a lean system:
should be developed for each product independent of the process requirements for the other products.
strives to create a uniform flow at the work centers in the plant.
avoids the use of small lot sizes because they create many production orders and cause confusion.
allows daily changes in demand levels, regardless of size, to be incorporated immediately into the work center schedules.
Question 9
1. Which of the following is a process consideration in the implementation of a lean system?
Firms might have to change existing layouts.
Workstations typically will be moved farther apart.
A contract with strict job classifications will be adopted.
Plant access by rail will be necessary.
Question 10
1. When implementing a lean system:
managers can mitigate some of the effects of worker stress by judiciously using safety stocks and emphasizing material flows rather than worker pace.
management should base the reward system on production volume.
the plant layout is the only environmental characteristic that need not be analyzed.
it is critical to develop a master production schedule that changes frequently as forecasts change.