BSEM Operations Management & Process Improvement 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In operations management, what does 'cycle time' refer to?
- The total time from order placement to delivery
- The time required to complete one unit from start to finish at a workstation (Correct answer)
- The interval between scheduled maintenance cycles
- The frequency of inventory audits
Correct answer: The time required to complete one unit from start to finish at a workstation
Cycle time is the elapsed time to complete one repetition of a process at a given workstation, directly affecting capacity and throughput.
Question 2: Which quality management tool displays the frequency distribution of defects by category to identify the most significant causes?
- Control chart
- Pareto chart (Correct answer)
- Scatter diagram
- Fishbone diagram
Correct answer: Pareto chart
A Pareto chart ranks defect categories by frequency, applying the 80/20 rule to focus improvement efforts on the most impactful causes.
Question 3: What is the primary purpose of Statistical Process Control (SPC)?
- To set production quotas for each shift
- To monitor a process using statistical methods and detect variation (Correct answer)
- To calculate the cost per unit produced
- To rank suppliers by delivery performance
Correct answer: To monitor a process using statistical methods and detect variation
SPC uses control charts and statistical techniques to monitor process variation and distinguish common-cause from special-cause variation.
Question 4: In the Theory of Constraints (TOC), what is the first step in the five focusing steps?
- Exploit the constraint
- Elevate the constraint
- Identify the system's constraint (Correct answer)
- Subordinate everything to the constraint
Correct answer: Identify the system's constraint
The first focusing step is to identify the constraint—the bottleneck limiting system throughput—before taking any action to improve it.
Question 5: What does 'poka-yoke' mean in lean manufacturing?
- A Japanese term for continuous improvement
- A mistake-proofing device or technique that prevents errors (Correct answer)
- A visual workplace organization system
- A pull-based scheduling approach
Correct answer: A mistake-proofing device or technique that prevents errors
Poka-yoke refers to any mechanism that makes it impossible or immediately obvious when an error occurs, preventing defects at the source.
Question 6: Which inventory management system orders a fixed quantity when stock falls to a predetermined reorder point?
- Periodic review system (P-system)
- Fixed-order quantity system (Q-system) (Correct answer)
- Material Requirements Planning (MRP)
- Just-in-Time (JIT) system
Correct answer: Fixed-order quantity system (Q-system)
The Q-system (fixed-order quantity model) triggers an order for a constant quantity Q whenever inventory drops to the reorder point, regardless of timing.
Question 7: What is takt time in lean manufacturing?
- The time a machine is available for production each day
- The available production time divided by customer demand rate (Correct answer)
- The average time to set up equipment between runs
- The maximum cycle time observed across all workstations
Correct answer: The available production time divided by customer demand rate
Takt time = Available Production Time / Customer Demand Rate, setting the pace at which products must be completed to meet demand.
BSEM Operations Management & Process Improvement 2
In operations management, what does 'cycle time' refer to?