Question 1

In order to drive performance the organization must create value for lean within the organization's culture. Which of the following factors enables the organization to create lean value?
A)A visual management system that makes problems visible.
B)A technical resource center.
C)Outsourcing of logistical supply operations.
D)Purchasing additional exercise equipment for employees.

Accepted Answer

A visual management system that makes problems visible enables the organization to create lean value. Common factors that drive the organizational lean culture include building awareness, building desires, providing information and lean knowledge, holding leadership accountable, evaluating the culture, and building the organization's lean abilities and skills.

Question 2

To drive business results for the organization you must measure what matters to the customer. Which of the following choices would NOT be a form of "voice of the customer" data collection?
A)Customer surveys.
B)Media advertising.
C)Product focus groups.
D)Personal inquiry by employees.

Accepted Answer

Media advertising would not be a form of "voice of the customer" data collection. The voice of the customer helps prioritize what the customer desires. Media advertising may be used for customer persuasion, but the advertising itself has no data collection methods. ROI for advertising would be measured using surveys, focus groups, or inquiries.

Question 3

A trigger event occurs when a condition exceeds established process parameters, values, or normal conditions. Once a trigger event has occurred, what is the next step?
A)To determine if the process error was human in nature.
B)To determine what condition requires an immediate response.
C)To determine if the event was caused by equipment error or maintenance.
D)To begin collection of data on the process parameters.

Accepted Answer

Once a trigger event has occurred the next step in a trigger event is to determine what condition requires an immediate response. The next step is to determine if the trigger requires the process to be shut down. When control limits are exceeded a lack of immediate data may not be available to readily determine Jidoka. Statistical process control techniques such as Individual-Moving Range charts, P charts, and U charts are used to monitor and manage product quality and identify trigger events.

Question 4

Normal conditions are those we expect to meet a certain standard. Abnormal conditions are those which do not meet the standard. Which of the following factors does NOT impact a reaction to abnormal conditions?
A)An employee is assigned ownership for the abnormal condition.
B)Visual indicators make the abnormal condition easily visible.
C)The standard must be known by employees and followed.
D)No set standard of identification is required.

Accepted Answer

Not setting a standard of identification impacts a reaction to abnormal conditions. Written standards, visual indicators, or process parameters need to be clearly identified; otherwise employees arbitrarily determine abnormal conditions.

Question 5

Waste is identified as anything that does not add value to a product or process. Lean measurements reveal waste in processes. Which of these statements is incorrect concerning guidelines for lean measurements?
A)What gets measured in lean gets done.
B)Flow requires measuring process times.
C)Financial measurements can substitute for lean metrics.
D)Lean measurements should be real-time measurements, not averages over months, quarters, or years.

Accepted Answer

Financial measurements cannot be substituted for lean metrics. Financial measures are reported after the fact as a result. A financial indicator cannot be used to lean a process; it can only be used to show the result.

Question 6

Understanding customer demand and characteristics requires understanding of the "pull" of customers. Customer demand affects which of the following?
A)Kanban quantities.
B)Determination of Takt time.
C)Both A and B.
D)Process capability for attributes.

Accepted Answer

Customer demand affects both Kanban quantities and the determination of Takt time in an operation.

Question 7

Several factors may affect company business results and customer retention. Which of the following does NOT impact customer retention?
A)The level of customer service.
B)Provision of incentives such as samples.
C)Requesting feedback for what the customer wants.
D)Analysis of competing companies.

Accepted Answer

An analysis of competing companies does not impact customer retention in terms of the voice of the customer. The level of customer service, provision of incentives such as samples, and requesting feedback for what the customer wants all impact customer retention. However, an analysis of a competing company may give insight as to how the other company approaches customer retention.

Question 8

Lean waste measurements impact a business's bottom line. Which factor given below can hide quality defects by increasing the time between the creation of a defect and when it is discovered?
A)Inaccurate calculations of the total cost of production.
B)Incorrectly managed cycle time.
C)An employee who is not properly trained.
D)A high level of inventory.

Accepted Answer

A high level of inventory can hide quality defects by increasing the time between the creation of a defect and when it is discovered. This hidden defect increases the likelihood the problem will be repeated. In this type of environment employees can impact the product while it is in process and before it is placed in the inventory.

Question 9

Employees have to be developed to improve their capability with lean and sustain lean improvements. Which of the following is NOT an action management would take to be viewed as supportive in terms of "people development measures"?
A)Assessing the lead time in the production environment.
B)Assessing the management environment for level of lean engagement.
C)Identifying and optimizing competencies required for lean.
D)Describing roles and problem solving responsibilities in the strategic context.

Accepted Answer

Assessing lead time in the production environment is NOT an action management would take to be viewed as supportive in terms of "people development measures". Lead time assessment is not a people development measure; it is a process measure.

Question 10

Which quality measure for business results would be used to measure repetitive wear and tear on employees working on an assembly line?
A)Ergonomic management.
B)Targeted training hours.
C)Days worked without a lost time accident.
D)Reportable incidents.

Accepted Answer

Ergonomic management would be used to measure repetitive wear and tear on employees working on an assembly line. Safety is a quality measure for business results. Ergonomic management is a key indicator in quality for production management.

Question 11

Lean cost and productivity measurements may include employee labor productivity and individual or group sales productivity. Calculate the number of products produced per hour by a factory that produced 16,000 items with 8 employees working 8-hour shifts 5 days per week, with a total of 40 hours each per week, for 4 weeks.
A)16 products per hour
B)12.5 products per hour
C)42 products per hour
D)7 products per hour

Accepted Answer

When you calculate the number of products produced per hour by a factory that produced 16,000 items with 8 employees working one eight-hour shift five days per week, with a total of forty hours each, the result is 12.5 products per hour. This is calculated by dovodong the number of products by the total work hours of the employees over the four-week period. The total work hours are equal to 8 employees x 40 hours per week x 4 weeks, which equals 1280 hours. Divide 16,000 items by 1280 and the answer is 12.5 products per hour.

Question 12

Lean measurements such as safety, quality, financial, employee, and responsiveness have a competitive impact in corresponding balanced scorecard measures. What measure would include the amount of manufacturing space used?
A)Lean quality measurements.
B)Lean responsiveness measurements.
C)Lean financial measurements.
D)Lean safety measurements.

Accepted Answer

Lean financial measurements include the amount of manufacturing space used. Manufacturing space used translates into overhead costs. Lean financial costs also include the margin costs and the conversion costs, which are the labor costs per unit of product.

Question 13

Lean metrics typically fall into the two categories of results or drivers. What do driver metrics tell you?
A)Behavior changes which need to be made down the road.
B)Future operational planning parameters.
C)Financial indicators, both positive and negative.
D)Immediate feedback on how a process is running.

Accepted Answer

Driver metrics tell you immediate feedback on how a process is running. Driver metrics allow you to make immediate changes in an identified measure, whereas result metrics are reported after the fact and require analysis to determine the cause.

Question 14

Alignment of lean requires good measurement systems. A Measurement System Analysis (MSA) is a designed experiment that seeks to identify the components of variation in the measurement. Which of the following is NOT considered in a Measurement Systems Analysis?
A)Determining the design of experiments.
B)Assessing procedures and operators.
C)Assessing the measuring device.
D)None of the above are considered in a Measurement Systems Analysis.

Accepted Answer

Determining the design of experiments is not considered in a Measurement Systems Analysis. The Measurement Systems Analysis includes selecting the correct measurement and approach, assessing procedures and operators, and assessing the measuring device. An experiment is typically designed to test a process, but is not a step in an MSA.

Question 15

Measures and measurement systems are interdependent. Individual measures are tested in the measurement system to develop an analysis. Which metric element requires that the exact calculation of the metric be known?
A)The frequency of the measure.
B)The objective of the measure
C)The unit of the measure.
D)The formula for the measure.

Accepted Answer

The formula for the measure requires that the exact calculation of the metric be known. Objective metric elements require that organizational objectives must be clear for the metric. Unit metrics require that the measuring units be defined. The frequency metric element requires that the recording and reporting periods for the metric are predetermined.

Question 16

Internal measures should be aligned with the voice of the customer (VOC). Which of the following examples would provide a supporting measure for the voice of the customer?
A)Improvement ideas from employees.
B)A reduction in the cost of production labor.
C)Increased cost of input supplies.
D)Success of new products.

Accepted Answer

Success of new products would provide a supporting measure for the voice of the customer. Key measures for the voice of the customer would include market share and customer surveys. Supporting measures confirm what is measured by key measures.

Question 17

Lean employees should be measuring the results of the "whole" system. Which of the following measures would be an example of a measure as a "whole"?
A)A workplace safety board which shows lost work days at 0.
B)A visual board in a break room which shows monthly productivity, customer satisfaction, and injury rates.
C)A quality improvement A3 which shows first pass yield results for the month of January.
D)Customer satisfaction numbers for the month of March are displayed at the entrance to the factory.

Accepted Answer

A visual board in a break room which shows monthly productivity, customer satisfaction, and injury rates would be an example of a measure as a "whole." It not only shows production and customer satisfaction, but also elements of supporting measures such as safe work. Combined, these show the "whole" system.

Question 18

Removing waste reduces lead time. When measuring waste in a process what is the lead time of that process?
A)The amount of time from order to initial processing
B)The sum of all the value-added and non-value-added steps in a process.
C)The total time on the production line.
D)The total time on the production line minus down time.

Accepted Answer

The lead time of a process is the sum of all the value-added and non-value-added steps in a process. The lead time of a process provides the most accurate time for production to determine which non-value-added steps to eliminate.

Question 19

Measuring flow requires measuring the time a process or a product takes from start to finish. This involves managing bottlenecks and constraints, as well as which of the following?
A)Aligning similar processes, cross training employees, and sharing employee resources.
B)Performing incremental tests of change using the plan, do, study, act (PDSA) cycle.
C)Showing humility to employees.
D)A and B.

Accepted Answer

Measuring flow requires managing bottlenecks and constraints, aligning similar processes, cross training employees, and sharing employee resources while performing incremental tests of change using the plan, do, study, act (PDSA) cycle.

Question 20

Lean accounting measurement is used to support lean thinking within the organization. In traditional accounting, waste is hidden. Which of the following is NOT one of the ways in which traditional accounting measures hide waste?
A)Incorrect standards.
B)Inadequate reporting in production, design, or sales.
C)Incorrect accounting formats.
D)Overhead allocations for the organization.

Accepted Answer

Incorrect accounting formats is not one of the ways in which traditional accounting measures hide waste. The formats are consistent with accounting principles in lean and traditional accounting. The difference is that traditional accounting does not use lean principles in exposing waste.

Quiz 1: Business Results

In order to drive performance the organization must create value for lean within the organization's culture. Which of the following factors enables the organization to create lean value?

To drive business results for the organization you must measure what matters to the customer. Which of the following choices would NOT be a form of "voice of the customer" data collection?

A trigger event occurs when a condition exceeds established process parameters, values, or normal conditions. Once a trigger event has occurred, what is the next step?

Normal conditions are those we expect to meet a certain standard. Abnormal conditions are those which do not meet the standard. Which of the following factors does NOT impact a reaction to abnormal conditions?

Waste is identified as anything that does not add value to a product or process. Lean measurements reveal waste in processes. Which of these statements is incorrect concerning guidelines for lean measurements?

Understanding customer demand and characteristics requires understanding of the "pull" of customers. Customer demand affects which of the following?

Several factors may affect company business results and customer retention. Which of the following does NOT impact customer retention?

Lean waste measurements impact a business's bottom line. Which factor given below can hide quality defects by increasing the time between the creation of a defect and when it is discovered?

Employees have to be developed to improve their capability with lean and sustain lean improvements. Which of the following is NOT an action management would take to be viewed as supportive in terms of "people development measures"?

Which quality measure for business results would be used to measure repetitive wear and tear on employees working on an assembly line?

Lean measurements such as safety, quality, financial, employee, and responsiveness have a competitive impact in corresponding balanced scorecard measures. What measure would include the amount of manufacturing space used?

Lean metrics typically fall into the two categories of results or drivers. What do driver metrics tell you?

Alignment of lean requires good measurement systems. A Measurement System Analysis (MSA) is a designed experiment that seeks to identify the components of variation in the measurement. Which of the following is NOT considered in a Measurement Systems Analysis?

Measures and measurement systems are interdependent. Individual measures are tested in the measurement system to develop an analysis. Which metric element requires that the exact calculation of the metric be known?

Internal measures should be aligned with the voice of the customer (VOC) . Which of the following examples would provide a supporting measure for the voice of the customer?

Lean employees should be measuring the results of the "whole" system. Which of the following measures would be an example of a measure as a "whole"?

Removing waste reduces lead time. When measuring waste in a process what is the lead time of that process?

Measuring flow requires measuring the time a process or a product takes from start to finish. This involves managing bottlenecks and constraints, as well as which of the following?

Lean accounting measurement is used to support lean thinking within the organization. In traditional accounting, waste is hidden. Which of the following is NOT one of the ways in which traditional accounting measures hide waste?