Deck 3: Managing Processes and Capacity

Question 1

Little's Law suggests that the key to increased throughput is:

A)Shorter flow times.
B)Fewer defects.
C)Eliminating waste.
D)Increased inspection.

Answer 1

Shorter flow times.

Question 2

Joe Jones, plant manager at Waco Industries, told a friend that if it was necessary, his plant could produce 1,000 items a day if all conditions were just right.Joe is describing his plant's:

A)Effective capacity.
B)Yield rate.
C)Utilization.
D)Maximum capacity.

Answer 2

Maximum capacity.

Question 3

Suppose you learn that a process has a very long waiting time.Which of the following would decrease the waiting time?

A)Decrease utilization.
B)Increase the coefficient of variation of job arrival times.
C)Increase the coefficient of variation of job processing times.
D)None of these would decrease waiting time.

Answer 3

Decrease utilization.

Question 4

If a company can eliminate all sources of variance in a process:

A)It will be able to operate at maximum capacity at all times.
B)There will be no constraints in the process.
C)Continuous improvement will not be necessary.
D)None of these are true.

Question 5

Process thinking causes managers to address critical process elements, including:

A)If you don?t like the outcome, focus on the people.
B)Processes are guidelines to thinking about to best staff activities.
C)Processes drive measurement.
D)If you don?t like the outcome, change the process.

Question 6

One implication of increased utilization in a process is that:

A)Process cost typically will go up.
B)Waiting time typically will go up.
C)Variance typically will be reduced.
D)All of these.

Question 7

Which of the following statements about economies of scale is NOT true?

A)One reason economies of scale occur is because fixed costs can be spread over more units of production as output increases.
B)One reason economies of scale occur is because employees become more efficient as volume increases.
C)Economies of scale refers to the fact that as volume increases, total cost of production decreases.
D)Economies of scale may not exist at all levels of production.

Question 8

A bottleneck activity in a process is generally the activity with:

A)The smallest number of resources devoted to it.
B)The least capacity.
C)No delays in front of it.
D)The highest cost.

Question 9

Which of the following forms of capacity can only be determined AFTER the completion of activities?

A)Demonstrated capacity
B)Maximum capacity
C)Design capacity
D)Effective capacity

Question 10

A short-term, highly focused effort for improving a process is known as a:

A)Jidoka Event.
B)Kaizen Event.
C)Chaebol Event.
D)Poka-yoke Event.
E)Enchilada Event.

Question 11

An example of a short-term capacity decision is:

A)Adding specialized labor.
B)Installing new equipment.
C)Adding new facilities.
D)Adding low-skilled labor.

Question 12

Adam Smith described his company's process as follows: "Under ideal conditions we can produce 10,000 units a day.However, our normal production is 6,000 units a day.Today, we actually produced 8,000 units." Which of the following is true?

A)Utilization is 60 percent of maximum capacity.
B)Yield is 133 percent of effective capacity.
C)Utilization was 133 percent of effective capacity.
D)All of these are true.

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT a basic activity type in processes?

A)Delay
B)Operation
C)Reporting
D)Storage

Question 14

The following sequence shows four operations for a computer chip assembly process and the effective capacity of each.Which step is the bottleneck? Step 1: 500 chips/hour Step 2: 250 chips/hour Step 3: 200 chips/hour Step 4: 550 chips/hour

A)Step 1
B)Step 2
C)Step 3
D)Step 4

Question 15

Under Juran's Law, whenever a problem occurs, what percentage of the time is the problem the result of a system/process error?

A)15 percent
B)50 percent
C)85 percent
D)100 percent

Question 16

You walk into a hair stylist shop.All stylists are busy and you sit in the waiting area.You are in which of the following process activities?

A)Operation
B)Delay
C)Storage
D)You are not in a process activity.

Question 17

Most processes involve two basic types of flows:

A)Information flows and physical flows.
B)Product flows and decision flows.
C)Information flows and operator flows.
D)Physical flows and security flows.

Question 18

A manager is currently unhappy with the capabilities of a particular process and wants to improve its capabilities.To accomplish this, the manager needs to focus on the process:

A)Inputs, outputs, and flows.
B)Activities.
C)Management metrics.
D)Structure.

Question 19

Government regulations belong to which of the following elements of a process?

A)Activities
B)Inputs/outputs/feedback
C)Process structure
D)Management policies

Question 20

The following sequence shows four operations for a computer chip assembly process and the effective capacity of each. Step 1: 500 chips/hour Step 2: 250 chips/hour Step 3: 200 chips/hour Step 4: 550 chips/hour
Suppose the utilization is 70 percent of effective capacity.What is the actual output of the process?

A)140 chips/hour
B)350 chips/hour
C)175 chips/hour
D)200 chips/hour

Question 21

Which process activity is due to other factors (e.g., insufficient operating capacity, lack of material, equipment breakdowns)?

A)Delay
B)Operation
C)Storage
D)Transportation
E)Inspection

Question 22

Space on the shop floor, bins, carts, racks are most frequently associated with which of the following process activities?

A)Delays
B)Transportation
C)Inspections
D)Operations.

Question 23

Which of the following actions will NOT increase output?

A)Increasing capacity through physical additions.
B)Outsourcing.
C)Managing the flow of work into the system.
D)Changing the processes to eliminate unnecessary steps.

Question 24

Kaizen Events are most appropriate for which type of operations problem?

A)Customer-based
B)Metrics-based
C)Process-based
D)Product-based

Question 25

Which of the following elements of a process most directly impacts or affects process capabilities?

A)Activities
B)Inputs/Outputs/Feedback
C)Process Structure
D)Management Policies.

Question 26

Make/buy/subcontract is typically considered at what time horizon when doing capacity planning?

A)Short-term
B)Medium-term
C)Long-term
D)It is not part of the capacity planning process.

Question 27

Which of the following two effects is directly a result of bottlenecks?

A)Increase in costs and increase in defects.
B)Increase in output and increase in lead-times.
C)Decrease in inspections and increase in costs.
D)Decrease in output and increase in lead-times.

Question 28

Which of the following statements best differentiates a delay from storage?

A)There is no difference - they both refer to the same concept.
B)Delays are planned activities; storages are not.
C)Delays are due to other factors; storages are not.
D)Delays require control; storages doe not.